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October 8, 2001: The National Center for Policy Analysis notes recession hits entry-level jobs -- cites October 8, 2001 Wall Street Journal Article: "Former welfare recipients who found work now get pink slips."
The welfare reforms initiated in 1996 caused many on welfare to enter the workforce precipitously.
Although the U.S. economy started faltering many months before the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, those acts have led to a sharp deterioration in the labor market in recent weeks, experts report.
Food service and travel and tourism industries -- the largest source of entry-level jobs -- have been especially hard hit and layoffs are counted in the hundreds of thousands.
An official of the Hotel Employees and Restaurant Employees International Union estimates that between one-third and one-half of that union's 300,000 members have been laid off during the past three weeks -- with countless more put on reduced hours.
The Labor Department reports that payrolls in general have fallen by 800,000 since January -- and experts predict that unemployment will climb from the present 4.9 percent to 6 percent.
Labor analysts haven't completely abandoned optimism, however. They say that so long as the unemployment rate doesn't rise too much for too long, some progress from the 1990s will endure. Many of the people who joined the labor force over the past five years but are now losing jobs will be better prepared to find new ones in the future. See Full Article.
Also, see companion article by Jacob M. Schlesinger and Russell Gold, "High-Employment Era Seems Over in Wake of Terrorist Attacks," Wall Street Journal, October 8, 2001. For full article, WSJ subscribers can access through http:/interactive.wsj.com/articles/SB1002498606260307160.htm
For more on Recession, see NCPA's full recession-topic library.
October 8, 2001: USA Today "Unemployed find jobs in short supply." By Stephanie Armour, USA TODAY
Workers already unemployed before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and the launch of the U.S. response Sunday now face a grim reality: more hiring freezes and far stiffer competition for fewer available jobs.
The number of workers on payrolls outside the farm sector fell 199,000 last month — the steepest job loss in a decade — the government reported Friday. And the report, which showed the unemployment rate holding steady at 4.9%, did not reflect the full impact of the Sept. 11 attacks.
For those already out of work, the employment outlook is rapidly going from bad to worse: More than 70% of companies plan to maintain or reduce workforces, according to a survey by Manpower. A hiring outlook survey by the Bureau of National Affairs found production and service workers will face sharp employment declines. Just 10% of companies expect growth in hiring clerical and office staff. See Manpower 4thQ 2001 Report.
For full article, see: http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/2001-10-08-no-jobs.htm
October 8, 2001: Philadelphia Inquirer "Hospitality workers cope with cutbacks in hours."
Since September 11, housekeepers, doormen and other hourly employees working for area hotels, motels and other businesses catering to travelers are either making do with smaller paychecks or worrying about being the next ones to be laid off or have their hours cut. See full article.
October 8, 2001: Forbes updates national site on tabulated data on layoffs as a result of current economic conditions. Total job cuts since January 1, 2001: 818,486. Not all layoffs since September 11 have been recorded. See Forbes Magazine Layoff Data Page
September 24, 2001: Albany Business Journal: "Hospitals, nursing homes cope with nursing shortages, burn out"
September 23, 2001: Washington Post: "A Job Market Divided by Skill: Low-Tech Workers Vulnerable as Some Local Employers Cut Positions"
September 17, 2001: Tampa Bay Business Journal: "Elder care reform amplifies need for more nurses, assistants"
September 17, 2001: Tampa Bay Business Journal: "CNA training programs follow legislative mandate"
September 17, 2001: Tampa Bay Business Journal: "State nursing programs rally to fill critical shortages"
May 5, 2001: Revised data on March and April job cuts. In contrast to the CG & C survey below, AP reports a much higher job cut number for April of 223,000 and a much lower revised number in March of 53,000. See USA Today Story.
May 3, 2001: May Announced job cuts hit record high in April — Job cuts announced by U.S. companies hit a record high in April — the highest since the survey began in 1993 — and were four times higher than in the same month a year earlier, a research group said Thursday. In a sign that companies are coping with a U.S. economic slowdown by slashing payrolls, 165,564 new job cuts were announced in April compared with 162,867 in March, according to international outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas. It was the fifth consecutive month in which more than 100,000 job cuts, a survey record, were announced. During the first four months this year companies have announced 572,370 planned job cuts compared with just 179,144 during the same period last year, Challenger said. See USA Today Article
March 21, 2001: PA Department of Aging Releases Two Critical LTC Staffing Reports. PA Secretary of Aging Richard Browdie today released two reports on Pennsylvania's long-term care industry workforce. The reports were commissioned by the Intra-Governmental Council on Long-Term Care.
"These reports provide a deeper understanding of the issues affecting the direct-care workforce in long-term care," said Browdie, who chairs the Council. "With this information, the Council now can develop recommendations to address the growing challenge of recruiting and retaining frontline workers." See PA Department of Aging staffing reports press release. The reports themselves are available there or at the LTC section in our Resources library. Click on Resources to the left.
February, 2001: Manpower, Inc. issues its 2nd Quarter, 2001 national hiring report: LONG-AWAITED HIRING SLOWDOWN LIES AHEAD See Report Summary.
A long-awaited decline in new hiring activity among employers throughout the nation appears ahead for the second quarter, according to results of the Employment Outlook Survey conducted quarterly by Manpower Inc., the world’s leading employment services firm.
In the poll of nearly 16,000 companies, 28% indicated plans for additional hiring, 8% expected staff decreases, 59% intend no change and 5% are undecided. In the same quarter of last year, 32% anticipated additions, 6% foresaw decreases, 58% planned to remain unchanged and 4% were uncertain. While the results one year ago were unsurpassed for any second quarter since 1978, the present outlook is below those of like periods in the past three years. All industries and regions shared in the decline, but Durable Goods Manufacturing and Wholesale & Retail Trades were the hardest hit.
"We have seen remarkably consistent demand for new workers for more than three years and very substantial hiring remains to be done," said Jeffrey Joerres, Manpower President and Chief Executive Officer, "but the slowdown now on the horizon is considerably greater than seasonal variation alone."
January 11, 2001: The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) issued a final rule concerning "qualified transportation fringe benefits" provided to employees for transit use, vanpools, and parking. This rule appears in the January 11, 2001, Federal Register, pages 2241- 2251. See Federal Register Citation or WF21 News Brief. The value of the transit benefit, which allows employer-provided pre-tax transit passes, vouchers for acquiring transit passes, or cash reimbursement for the value of transit use, is set at $65 per month, is subject to upward indexing by the IRS based on annual cost-of-living adjustments, and is scheduled to increase to $100 per month, starting January 1, 2002 (the value of pre-tax parking benefits, originally set at $175 per month, also is subject to annual cost-of-living adjustments, and has increased to $180 for 2001). In its final rule, the IRS restricts the opportunity for employers to provide cash reimbursements to employees to cover their transit or vanpooling costs; this reimbursement method is to be used only if direct distribution of transit passes, or of vouchers that employees can use to obtain passes, are not readily available to the employer. This concept of "ready availability" is explored at some length in the IRS rule. For additional information on this rulemaking, contact John Richards of the IRS at 202-622-6040.
November 26, 2000: Philadelphia Inquirer Reports: Out of the city, to suburban work. Retailers are scrambling for workers, especially during the holiday shopping crunch. All of the stores at the center display "Now Hiring" banners or signs. It hasn't gotten so drastic that retailers have been forced to cut back hours, but store managers say they must work harder and look farther for workers. By Jennifer Lin, INQUIRER STAFF WRITER. See article in the Inquirer.
November 10, 2000: Louisville Business Journal Reports: Southern Indiana program offers HR support to firms: Four Southern Indiana social service agencies, working with the chamber, are offering human resources help to employers who don't have their own HR staffs. The program, called REACT (Regional Employment Assistance Coordination Team), allows a company or its employees to contact the agency with an HR problem and get advice or direction. By Greg Goldsmith. See article in the Business Journal.
November 10, 2000: Philadelphia Business Journal Reports: Bayada offers a remedy for shortage of nurses: The shortage of nurses worsens by the day. Despite the nursing shortage, the firm continues its 25-year record of steady growth, placing some 4,700 nurses out of 62 offices in 11 states. In 1999, the firm's revenue was $115 million, up 18 percent from 1998. Revenue in 1998 was 24 percent greater than 1997 and the 1997 figure was 20 percent higher than 1996. Baiada's answer is so simple it almost sounds suspicious. If he's playing straight, though, there may be a lesson here for any corporate leader struggling with labor-shortage issues. "We care about people," said Baiada. By Adam Katz-Stone, Special To The Business Journal. See article in the Business Journal.
November 10, 2000: Philadelphia Business Journal Reports: Allied professionals now in short supply: Hospital patients typically don't know the names of the people who take their blood, run the X-ray machines and fill their prescriptions. Yet while these folks are not in the limelight, their work is crucial to patient care. Today a national shortage of medical professionals is making it harder for hospitals to fill positions in job openings in these areas, known collectively as the allied health professions. While the nursing shortage has drawn the lion's share of attention, hospitals are facing a shortage of allied health professionals that may be just as severe. By Adam Katz-Stone, Special To The Business Journal. See article in the Business Journal.
November 6, 2000: Albany Business Journal Reports: Banks struggling to fill teller jobs. By Barbara Pinckney, Business Review Reporter. See article in the Business Journal.
October 27, 2000: Houston Business Journal Reports: Toughest jobs: When the work environment is a real challenge. By Scott Clark. See article in the Business Journal.
October 27, 2000: Triad Business Journal Reports: A Helping Hand (Model WtW Program.) By Lloyd Whittington, The Business Journal. See article in the Business Journal.
October 27, 2000: Washington Business Journal Reports: Virginia gets grants for work force, transportation: On Oct. 20, Sen Chuck Robb announced two federal grants totaling $4.4 million geared toward Northern Virginia's work force shortage and traffic congestion. George Mason University (http://www.gmu.edu) will receive $1.7 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation. By Mike Sunnucks. See article in the Business Journal.
October 10, 2000: Philadelphia Inquirer reports: Major nurse shortage feared in years ahead: Many experts believe that what Philadelphia and much of the nation is undergoing now is the beginning of what is likely to be a long and serious shortage. By Stacey Burling, PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER STAFF WRITER. See article in the Inquirer. Also here on site.
October 1, 2000: Complete phase-in of changed eligibility and uses for funds under national TANF guidelines: See State Sample - PA Proposed TANF Amendments 10/1/2000. See also national WtW changes: The WtW Amendments of 1999 - A Summary. These are critical changes for employers and employee clients. TANF dollars can now be spent on an array of support nervices and new initiatives. Client eligibility is changed to eliminate barrier of HS diploma; reduce required multiple barriers to employment and increse eligibility under TANF to 235% of poverty. This can allow single wage earners to make over $10/hour and still qualify for benefits. (Families over $17/hour.)
October, 2000: IRS moves on interpretive regulations to TEA-21. The IRS is at work on a new federal tax proposal that will undoubtedly have an impact on your business. It is a mate to the Transportation Equity Act of the 21st Century (TEA-21) and intends to make more formal the opportunities that are available to encourage employers to establish transportation spending accounts. Similar to the day-care and health-care expense accounts employers now set up for their workers, these accounts would allow employees to set aside pre-tax money to pay for some of their commuting costs. See our policy brief.
September 16, 2000: President advises in radio address and paper of new investment in nursing home quality. Key component is a $1 billion grant program to incerase retention and improve staffing levels: See White House Summary See our resources section for link to complete Report to Congress: "Appropriateness of Minimum Nurse Staffing Ratios in Nursing Homes" and July 27, 2000 testimony made at the Senate Special Committee for Aging: "Nursing Home Residents: Short-changed by Staff Shortages, Part II".
August 28, 2000: States still maintain $2.85 Billion surplus of TANF dollars that can be used for any authorized purpose including recruitment, job training, education, transportation, child care or other support services. Cumulative unobligated balances for fiscal years 1997, 1998 and 1999 equal $2.85 billion, or approximately 6% of the total $46.8 billion in Federal funds awarded to them since implementation of the TANF program. The $2.85 billion in unobligated funds remain in the federal treasury until states have an immediate need to draw them down. Thirteen states have spent or obligated all of the federal funds they had available through the end of FY 99. See most recent US DHHS ACF report.
August 7, 2000: "Job sharing increasingly an option for balancing work and life." By Carol Kleiman, Chicago Tribune. (Published in the Philadelphia Inquirer.)
February, 2000: Manpower, Inc. issues its 2nd Quarter, 2000 national hiring report. See Report Summary. U.S. firms plan to hire more people in the second quarter than any other quarter in more than 21 years, a private survey says. ``The personnel shortage continues to plague companies in all industries and geographic regions,'' said Jeffrey Joerres, Manpower's president and chief executive. ``Their search for new employees will take them to corners rarely explored and offer opportunities to many more workers,'' Joerres said.
February 02, 2000: Update: Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) Allotments (includes all info and forms) This week the Department of Labor released funds to the States for the administration of this year's WOTC. The awards total $20M. The WOTC is a federal income tax credit that encourages employers to hire eight targeted groups of job seekers. The tax incentive is designed to help the job seekers most in need of employment gain on-the-job experience and move towards economic self-sufficiency.