March 3, 2009

A few local CFO's may be hiring
Posted by Jesse Nunes at 2:49 PM

By Chris Reidy, Globe staff

Be nice to chief financial officers - at a time when every day seems to bring news of more layoffs, some local CFOs are hiring.

That's one headline from a financial hiring index compiled by Robert Half International Inc., a California firm that provides staffing and risk consulting services and that has a presence in Boston.

According to the local component of the Robert Half survey, which was based on interviews with 200 chief financial officers from a sample of companies with 20 or more employees, the hiring of full-time accounting and finance professionals in the Boston area is expected to increase in the second quarter, with 9 percent of chief financial officers surveyed planning to add staff during the quarter and with 1 percent anticipating personnel reductions.

"The net 8 percent increase is up 2 points from the area's first-quarter 2009 forecast and 10 points above the national average," Robert Half said in a press release.

In a statement, Bill Driscoll, district president for Robert Half International, commented on the survey's local findings.

"Local companies remain cautious when it comes to hiring, but there are still some specialties in demand," Driscoll said. "In particular, roles in tax, credit, and collections are commonly filled quickly, and candidates in these fields may even receive multiple employment offers."

That would seem to be a silver lining for a local financial services industry that has seen its fair share of layoffs.

Last fall, the forecasting firm Moody's Economy.com projected that the collapsing stock market and weakening economy could cost the Massachusetts financial services industry 7,200 jobs, or 4 percent of the sector's statewide workforce, through the end of 2009. To read a Globe story about that survey, please click here. To read a press release about Robert Half's national survey, please click here.

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February 19, 2009

Where's your bailout?
Posted by Jesse Nunes at 3:16 PM

Do you have a job, pay your mortgage, invest prudently, and pay for health care?

Should the federal government be spending hundreds of billions to help those that don't? What's in all these bailout and stimulus packages for you?

Globe reporter Robert Gavin would like to hear from you. E-mail him at RGavin@globe.com.

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February 12, 2009

Grants for older workers announced
Posted by Jesse Nunes at 12:53 PM

This article originally appeared in the Business News Updates blog on Boston.com.

By Chris Reidy, Globe staff

A Massachusetts state agency said it has issued grants that target worker retention strategies.

"The purpose of these grants is to research and design methods of retaining older workers in fields such as health care, manufacturing, and higher education,” Secretary Suzanne M. Bump of the Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development said in a statement. “With these new strategies in mind, businesses in the commonwealth will be better prepared to preserve and maintain an experienced and knowledgeable workforce.”

One recipient of a $50,000 grant is the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, said Bump's office, which added that this grant "focuses on analyzing strategies that may impact the retirement of perioperative nurses.

An agency press release noted that the Institute for Community Inclusion at the University of Massachusetts at Boston is another recipient of a $50,000 grant; the grant will go towards a study of tenured faculty.

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February 11, 2009

Monster launches displaced workers initiative
Posted by Jesse Nunes at 3:23 PM

This article originally appeared in the Business News Updates blog on Boston.com.

By Chris Reidy, Globe Staff

Monster.com announced the launch of Monster Evolutions, a customized outplacement solution for employers designed to help recently displaced workers explore and identify new career possibilities.

With much of its operations in Maynard, Monster.com is a global online career and recruitment resource and the flagship brand of Monster Worldwide Inc.

"Monster Evolutions offers a comprehensive solution to companies who want to help employees affected by workforce reductions," Steve Cooker, senior vice president and general manager of sales for Monster, said in a statement. "By providing our customers with the latest in outplacement services, we are able to link their displaced workers to Monster's career management tools and help them connect directly to companies currently hiring on Monster.com. This combination of service illustrates our commitment to meet our customers' ever-evolving needs."

Monster.com has advertising alliances to with many newspapers and newspaper websites, including the Globe and Boston.com.

To read Monster's press release, please click here.

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Rise in Greater Boston's college employment
Posted by Jesse Nunes at 11:00 AM

This article originally appeared in the Business News Updates blog on Boston.com.

By Chris Reidy, Globe staff

Employment in colleges and universities increased 18.4 percent in the Boston area between 1990 and 2006, a steeper increase than the 11.1 percent gain across all industries, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics said.

In a report titled “The Prominence of Colleges and Universities in the Boston Metropolitan Area," the bureau looked at employment and wage data to analyze the labor market impact and contributions of colleges and universities on the local economy.

One report finding is hardly a surprise: No other metropolitan area in the United States came close to matching Boston’s concentration of employment in higher education. By the bureau's count, there are more than 80 private colleges and universities in the metro area, and they employ 68,600 people. All told, those schools have a collective student population of 360,000.

Boston area colleges and universities’ wages as a proportion of total private wages were 3.2 percent compared with 1 percent nationally, the bureau added.

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February 9, 2009

Backup career plan?
Posted by Jesse Nunes at 12:55 PM

Did you recently lose your job or are you trying to figure out what your options are just in case you do? And are you finding that your fallback positions aren't panning out?

We'd like to hear from you.

Please contact Globe reporter Erin Ailworth at eailworth@globe.com to share your story.

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February 4, 2009

January job cuts soar
Posted by Jesse Nunes at 9:39 AM

This article originally appeared on the Business News Updates blog on Boston.com.

By Chris Reidy, Globe Staff

Record downsizing in the retail sector helped push the number of planned job cuts announced in January to 241,749, said Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc. of Chicago, a global outplacement consulting firm that tracks layoffs.

"That is the largest monthly layoff total since January 2002, when job cuts reached an all-time high of 248,475," the firm said in a press release. "The January job-cut total was 45 percent higher than the 166,348 cuts announced in December. It was 222 percent higher than a year ago, when employers announced 74,986 job cuts to begin the year."

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February 2, 2009

Another unemployment extension
Posted by Jesse Nunes at 9:54 AM

The following article originally appearing in the Business News Updates blog on Boston.com on Friday, Jan. 30.

By Chris Reidy, Globe Staff

Massachusetts claimants who have exhausted regular and extended unemployment insurance benefits may be eligible for up to 13 additional weeks of benefits, effective Feb. 15, Secretary Suzanne M. Bump of the state's Executive Office of Labor and Workforce Development said Friday.

Bump's office said in a press release: "All potentially eligible Massachusetts claimants will be mailed instructions the week of Feb. 8 regarding how to file for additional extended benefits by the Division of Unemployment Assistance. The weekly benefit amount will be the same as the amount a claimant collected on their first extended benefit claim."

The benefits are available per the US Department of Labor under the Emergency Unemployment Compensation Act of 2008, Bump's office said.

More information is available at the www.mass.gov/dua website, Bump's office said.

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Report touts casino jobs
Posted by Jesse Nunes at 8:29 AM

This article originally appeared in the Business News Updates blog on Boston.com.

By Chris Reidy, Globe Staff

The gaming industry, particularly the unionized sector of the casino hotel industry, provides good jobs with good wages and benefits for often neglected parts of the workforce such as those without college degrees, women, and people of color.

That's a finding of a new report titled,“Gaming in Massachusetts: Can Casinos Bring ‘Good Jobs’ to the Commonwealth?” The report was released by the Labor Resource Center at the University of Massachusetts at Boston, and it was funded by the Construction Institute and the Future of Work in Massachusetts project, according to a UMass press release.

“In the conversion to a service-based economy, we lost many jobs with good wages and benefits that were available to workers without a college education," Susan Moir, an author of the study and the director of the Labor Resource Center at UMass Boston, said in a statement. "This study found that good jobs do exist in the gaming industry.”

The report's release comes shortly after the resignation of Salvatore F. DiMasi as the Speaker of the Massachusetts House. DiMasi was a staunch opponent of a casino gambling plan put forth by Governor Deval L. Patrick last year. Please click here to read a Globe story that suggests that DiMasi's departure could improve the odds for casino plans.

For a complete copy of the UMass report, please visit www.lrc.umb.edu.

Also, take a look at what types of jobs a casino may create in this photo gallery.

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January 29, 2009

Unions add to ranks
Posted by Jesse Nunes at 5:17 PM

The following story originally appeared in the Business News Updates blog on Boston.com.

By Robert Gavin, Globe Staff

Labor unions in Massachusetts added nearly 80,000 members last year and significantly increased the share of workers they represent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Union membership grew to 458,000, or about 15.7 percent of workers in 2008, up from 379,000, or about 13.2 percent, in 2007. Nationally, union membership rose to 12.4 percent of workers from 12. 1 percent in 2007.

"As the economy implodes, workers are increasingly looking for the protection and security provided by unions through collective bargaining," said Richard M. Rogers, executive secretary-treasurer of Greater Boston Labor Council.

Massachusetts is one of 20 states, including two others in New England, with higher union membership rates than the US average. In New England, Connecticut had the highest union membership rate, 16.9 percent of workers, up from 15.6 percent in 2007, followed by Rhode Island, with 16.5 percent, up from 15 percent.

Union membership in Maine rose to 12.3 percent from 11.7. In New Hampshire, it increased to 10.6 percent from 9.7 percent, and in Vermont, it remained unchanged at 10.4 percent of workers.

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