EVANSTON, Ill., Nov. 2 /PRNewswire/ — /Manufacturers’ News, Inc./ –
Industrial employment in Tennessee fell 12.6% over the past twenty-four months according to the 2010 Tennessee Manufacturers Register, an industrial directory published annually by Manufacturers’ News, Inc. (MNI) Evanston, IL. MNI reports Tennessee lost 56,647 manufacturing jobs over the past two years, with 15,110 jobs lost between September 2007 and September 2008 and 41,537 industrial jobs from 2008 to September of this year.

Manufacturers’ News reports Tennessee is now home to 7,711 manufacturers employing 403,030 workers, compared to a high of 547,494 industrial workers recorded by MNI in 2001. Manufacturing jobs have declined steadily in the state since 2001, dropping 144,464 jobs or 26.4%. The loss of nearly 41,537 manufacturing jobs over the past year marks the sharpest decline MNI has ever reported in the twelve years it has been tracking the state’s industry.

“As with the entire nation, the recession continues to hit Tennessee’s core sectors, while the faltering housing market has affected industries such as wood products, furniture and building products,” says Tom Dubin, President of the Evanston, IL-based publishing company, which has been surveying industry since 1912.

Full Article Here: www.reuters.com

Knoxville’s job market is expected to slow slightly in the fourth quarter, although some employers will be adding workers, according to the latest Manpower Employment Outlook Survey.

Twelve percent of the Knoxville area companies surveyed said they planned to hire more employees from October through December, while 11 percent expect to reduce their payrolls, according to the forward-looking survey.

Seventy-four percent of the companies surveyed expect to keep staffing levels steady and 3 percent are not certain what they will do.

“The hiring activity (in the Knoxville area) is expected to be slightly lighter than the previous quarter when 15 percent of companies surveyed planned to increase staff levels and 12 expected to cut payrolls,” said Manpower spokesperson Ron Garrett.

Job sectors expected to see the most hiring in the fourth quarter include financial activities, leisure and hospitality, other services and government.

Job cuts are expected in the durable goods manufacturing, nondurable goods manufacturing and education and health services sectors, according to the survey.

Manufacturing in Knoxville and the surrounding region has been hard hit in recent months as companies such as Sea Ray Boats, which has plants in Knoxville and Vonore; and aluminum maker Alcoa Inc., which has a plant in Blount County, have laid off hundreds of workers.

Full Store Here: KnoxNews.com

Managers are planning to hire workers to support both long- and short-term initiatives, as 53% of employers expect to hire full-time employees over the next 12 months. Meantime, 40% will hire contract, temporary or project professionals and 39% will add part-time employees, according to a new survey by Robert Half International and CareerBuilder.

“Companies already are identifying the key skill sets they will need in new hires to take advantage of the opportunities presented by improving economic conditions,” said Max Messmer, chairman and chief executive officer of Robert Half International. “Firms that cut staffing levels too deeply may need to do significant rebuilding once the recovery takes hold.”

In the current economy, hiring managers consider customer service the function most critical to their organization’s success, followed by sales, marketing/creative and technology. Public relations/communications, business development and accounting/finance round out the list, the survey found. Looking ahead, respondents cited technology, customer service and sales as the departments that will add positions first. Marketing/creative, business development, human resources and accounting/finance also were cited.

When the pace of hiring begins to accelerate, entry- and staff-level workers can expect to benefit the most in terms of new opportunities. Some 32% of hiring managers plan to hire staff-level professionals, while 28% will hire entry-level workers. Companies may be looking to restore positions affected by layoffs or hiring freezes while continuing to rely on existing staff to occupy leadership positions.

Because companies are operating with fewer resources, hiring managers further appreciate the value of team members who can wear many hats. Asked to identify the most valuable characteristics in an ideal new hire, employers cited multi-tasking, initiative and creative problem-solving.

Despite high unemployment rates across the United States and an expanded pool of available talent, employers continue to report difficulty locating skilled professionals for open positions. Employers said that, on average, 44% of resumes they receive are from unqualified candidates. Fully 47% of hiring managers cited under-qualified applicants as their most common hiring challenge, followed by the reluctance of qualified candidates to leave secure positions (22%).

As they lay the ground work for growth in their organizations, employers are open to paying more for hard-to-find talent; 61% of hiring managers said their companies are willing to negotiate higher compensation for qualified candidates.

Read Full Story Here: Business Journal Daily

Scott Winter was prepared for about three months of unemployment when a publishing house laid him off in March.

With his severance pay and unemployment benefits, plus his wife’s salary from a teaching assistant job, the Franklin family of four was making it, at first. Now, he’s beginning to panic.
“What I did defined me…,” said Winter, 38. “Here I am five months later, and I can’t get interviews. The identity crisis is huge for me, because it’s not just the pressure to provide for my family. I think, ‘What were my last 12 years about?’ “

Winter is part of the fastest-growing demographic looking for work during one of the worst economic downturns in the nation’s history. Across the country and in Tennessee, so many men have lost their jobs since the recession began that a Canadian news organization coined the term “mancession” to describe it.
Those who watch social and economic trends say a pattern of job loss among families’ chief breadwinners may prompt major changes — moving more families into poverty, more men into traditionally female-dominated jobs and killing the concept of a “macho man.”

“A loss of income can lead to a loss of the masculine identity as a breadwinner,” said Ron Aday, a professor of sociology at Middle Tennessee State University who specializes in family dynamics. “There is … real potential for emotional turmoil and even household tension for even those men in more egalitarian relationships, where two people are ordinarily pulling the cart.”

Across the country, unemployment has reached its highest level since the Great Depression, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data show. In June, the male rate was 10 percent and the female rate was 7.6 percent.
In Tennessee, new unemployment insurance claims filed by men between July 1, 2008, and June 30 grew at a rate of almost 50 percent higher than those filed by women.

Scary time for men
But throughout U.S. history, white men have been employed at higher rates than other workers, said Mark Perry, professor of economics at the University of Michigan-Flint.

Source: Tennessean.com

With the economy shrinking, many job-hunters are looking for a new career that pays well – and they need to find out what are the best jobs for the future. Here are the careers that are forecast for strong growth over the next decade, based on Bureau of Labor Statistics projections through 2016.

Robin Ryan, career coach and author of 60 Seconds and You’re Hired says, “I look at where you can make good money, where employers are looking for people and saying they can’t find them.”

She notes that the federal growth forecasts are a couple of years old, and some fields are undergoing rapid change. Be on the lookout for emerging opportunities, especially those that involve Internet skills. With the cost of education soaring, we asked our experts to focus primarily on careers you can get started in without a four-year degree. Based upon salary and career growth, here’s our list of best jobs for the future.

1. Physician’s assistant – The economy may be down, but people still get sick and need to go to the doctor. As the population continues to age, healthcare fields will continue to see strong growth, says Ryan. Health care is one of the top growing job fields. Physician’s assistants usually take a two-year course and need to pass a certification exam. Then, they assist doctors in hospitals and clinics or in rural areas they may provide care if a doctor isn’t always available. 27% projected growth. Median annual salary: $88,575

2. Database administrator – One thing’s for sure in this uncertain economy – companies continue to pile up data and need experts to make sure it’s properly organized and securely stored. Computer security is another one of the top growing job fields. Some database administrators get started with just a two-year degree – and if you enjoy computer programming, this is one of the best-paid areas in computer tech. 28.6% projected growth. Median annual salary: $73,388

3. Video game designer – The gaming field is exploding, notes Ryan. There are hugely successful, massive, multiplayer online role-playing games, casual games to play on computers, PDAs and cell phones, as well as games for Xbox, Nintendo and other proprietary game systems. If you’re a game nut, consider learning how to create games to cash in on this trend as the gaming industry tend to offer jobs that are fun and pay good money.

“These skills are often self-taught,” she notes. “And programming jobs pay extremely well, for anything where you know how to write code.” 35% projected growth. Median annual salary: $66,664

4. Medical equipment repair – As medical equipment uses more complex technology, there are more parts that can malfunction – and more need for repair technicians. You may need a two-year degree, but the BLS reports most training is on the job. 9.4% projected growth. Median annual salary: $62,115

5. Media planner/buyer – Though the official BLS data doesn’t show explosive growth here, the Internet is causing rapid change in this industry that probably isn’t figured into federal forecasts yet, says job-trends expert Debra Yergen, author of Creating Job Security: The 2009 All-In-One Workbook. While the traditional advertising industry may be shrinking right now, online skills are in demand, she says. Many online-media pros are learning on the job.

“This is an emerging area where talent is going to be rewarded,” Yergen says. 11.7% projected growth. Median annual salary: $47,149

Full story here: PayScale.com

A new study ranks Charlotte third among nine Southeastern metro areas on a range of factors affecting economic growth.

The benchmarking index was compiled by Harrison Campbell, associate professor of geography at UNC Charlotte.

He ranked the metro areas on employment and labor; income and productivity; livability and connectivity; new economy; and equity and diversity in a report prepared for the Charlotte Chamber.

The report, dubbed Benchmark Charlotte 2009, ranked the Charlotte area first for income and productivity and second for livability and connectivity.

Full story here: Charlotte Business Journal

Small businesses worldwide remain optimistic about their long-term prospects despite the economic downturn, according to a survey conducted in April by the Economist Intelligence Unit.

According to the survey, 83 percent of small-business executives are optimistic about their company’s long-term ability to rebound when the economy improves. About 65 percent expect their company’s market share to increase by the time the recession ends, and 73 percent expect revenue to have grown by then.

Only 6 percent of small-business executives worldwide expect the quality of talent in their organizations to decrease once the economy improves; 38 percent expect it to increase.

Yet many of the business leaders surveyed say their governments are doing too little to support them through the worldwide downturn.

Forty-eight percent said local government is unsupportive of their business, and 39 percent say the same of national governments.

Full Store Here: Charlotte BizJournal

The economy continues to lose jobs at a rapid pace, but payroll figures released Wednesday show signs that the labor market is improving.

Private employers cut 491,000 jobs in April, according to a report from payroll company Automatic Data Processing Inc. and forecasting firm Macroeconomic Advisers, compared with a steeper cut of 708,000 jobs in March. With government jobs continuing to expand, the report suggests that Friday’s government payroll report will show a loss of 483,000 jobs, far fewer than March’s 663,000 jobs lost.

“Before things get better, they have to get bad by less,” said Macroeconomic Advisers economist Ben Herzon. “If this is right, it suggests the labor market has reached an inflection point.”

Economists had projected that Friday’s report would show a decline of 610,000. But following the ADP report, which is based on a sample derived from roughly 24 million employees, some economists upgraded their estimates.

Source: Wall Street Journal

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A regional economist and professor at UNC-Charlotte says the worst of the recession is behind us.

But despite the rosier outlook, John Connaughton says there could be a few more bumps before things turn around.

“This thing is about to end, and the worst is probably behind us,” Connaughton said Tuesday afternoon while presenting his economic forecast.

He says the recession should end by June but it won’t be painless.

“We’re still going to see some lousy job numbers through all of 2009. We have to accept that. But we think the worst will be over very, very soon,” Connaughton said.

He predicts 40,000 more jobs will be lost in North Carolina, many in the financial sector, and an unemployment rate topping out at 11 percent by the end of the year in the Tar Heel state.

He blames that number in part on North Carolina’s appeal.

“Our labor force is growing while we are losing jobs,” Connaughton said.

So what’s it going to take to speed the recovery along? He says consumers and banks both need to start spending.

“When these things turn around the road to recovery begins,” he said.

And, Connaughton says, once the recovery begins, he expects 2010 to be a very good year.

For Connaughton’s full economic forecast, visit http://www.belkcollege.uncc.edu/default.asp?id=111.

We’ve been reporting the demise of newspapers now for a long time.

And, while it’s been very clear that unless the papers made radical changes to their business model they would go bankrupt – we didn’t expect it to happen THIS YEAR!

In fact – 2009 may be the final year of major newspaper circulation as we’ve always known it. Watch this video report posted by NBC today and you decide.