Labor Market is Strengthening!
Nationally, the U.S. jobless rate is at its lowest level in 21 months reported Bloomberg news on 2/4/11. According to Bloomberg, the Labor Department said unemployment declined to 9 percent in January from December’s 9.4 percent. Bloomberg also reports that employers only added 36,000 workers which is the smallest gain in four months. Economists believe the lower than expected payroll gain was due to the winter storms. Overall, the U.S. is showing signs of strengthening and the job market on a national level should start growing beginning in the spring. For more information, see the links below.
Overall summary of labor department report: http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=ajoitVF8tdRk
Interesting video on Bloomberg television regarding various perspectives on labor report: http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-02-04/brown-says-job-growth-may-be-above-trend-this-spring-video.html
Locally, many companies in Silicon Valley are ramping up their recruitment efforts. The San Francisco Business Times reported on 2/4/11 that Google is still growing and plans to add more than 6,000 new employees in 2011.
Google is not alone; in a recent article, the San Jose Mercury News reported several well known Tech companies in the region have ramped up hiring such as Cisco Systems and Facebook.
The Mercury News also mentioned that small companies are growing as well. The newspaper cited Clean Solar as an example. Last year they outgrew their location in San Jose. The company’s president, Randy Zechman said, “We grew 100 percent last year, and the year before that about 300 percent.”
My Take
I can also share with you that over the last 2 months, I’ve received an influx of inquiries from small business owners in my local area seeking help in hiring new employees. I am also helping several job seekers who need assistance revamping their resumes and cover letters. I believe hiring will continue to increase as the year progresses. In the coming months, I plan to share with you some important tips, if you are considering hiring new employees.
