HR Articles

Los Angeles Education Jobs in Question

Several Los Angeles education jobs could soon be in danger.

The Los Angeles Unified School District recently instituted a policy meant to aggressively weed out poor-performing teachers and administrators.

"This district can rightly be criticized for the promotion of ineffective teachers over the years," Superintendent Ramon C. Cortines said. "That is about to change. We do not owe poor performers a job."

The policy encourages district supervisors to consider firing some of the 404 probationary teachers who were found to need improvement in their last performance evaluation. It also calls for greater scrutiny of the 339 administrators who have not yet become permanent and 175 tenured teachers who received negative evaluations last year.

The policy was implemented only days after the Los Angeles Times presented the district with conclusions of its own investigation. That investigation found the district has often failed to evaluate new teachers before granting them tenure, a status that makes it nearly impossible to fire teachers for performance reasons alone.

District officials have reported that the new policy is in response to 2,000 teachers who were laid off last year and expectations of future layoffs that must target teachers by seniority alone, according to state law.

Officials noted that, because of those measures, "some excellent teachers were let go while some who did not meet district standards were retained."

Teacher eliminations could end up affecting the Los Angeles area's thriving education industry, which has continued to see a monthly and yearly increase in employment, despite the current economic recession.

The Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale area's education and health services industry employed 520,000 workers during November, according to the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics. This is up from 519,300 workers during October and a 1.5 percent increase from last year.

Jobs in Atlanta Georgia Not Recovering On Par with Nation

Those looking for jobs in Atlanta Georgia may be facing a tough task, as the city is taking longer than most others to recover from the economic recession.

The Brookings Institution's third-quarter MetroMonitor found that while the nation has begun recovering from the recession, the metro Atlanta area is lagging behind. Of the 100 metro areas included in the report, Atlanta was ranked 94th.

The report found that Atlanta's unemployment rate increased by 1.3 percent from Q2 to Q3 2009. In addition, the city was ranked 84th for overall employment, which has decreased by 7.3 percent since jobs peaked during Q3 2007.

In comparison, the nation as a whole saw its unemployment rate increase by .5 percent from Q2 to Q3 of this year, while overall employment declined by 4.6 percent. The national average unemployment rate for that period was 9.5 percent, compared with the metro average of 9.6 percent and Atlanta's rate of 10.4 percent.

Although Atlanta's gross metropolitan product has decreased by 4.7 percent from its peak during Q3 2007, the city's current gross metropolitan product increased by .3 percent from Q2 to Q3 2009. At the same time, housing prices in Atlanta declined by 2.4 percent during Q3, compared to a 3 percent decline for metro areas and a 1.3 percent drop across the country.

"While the national recession appeared to end in the third quarter of 2009, it continued in a number of metropolitan areas," Alan Berube, research director of the Metropolitan Policy Program at Brookings Institution and co-author of the report, said. "In most metro areas where the regional economy expanded, job growth remained elusive.

"The national-level employment report for November indicates that more metropolitan areas may be adding jobs in the current quarter," he continued. "But the highly uneven effects of the downturn across metropolitan areas practically guarantee that, absent deliberate policies to help the hardest-hit communities, the nascent recovery will fail to be truly national in scope."

Arizona Unemployment Benefits in Danger

Jobless residents could soon be in danger of losing their Arizona unemployment benefits.

If Congress does not soon approve additional funding, nearly 84,000 Arizona residents will lose their extended unemployment benefits. A federal subsidy through COBRA that allows laid-off workers to pay for health insurance also is in danger of being cut during 2010.

According to the Arizona Department of Economic Security, residents will be notified shortly after the first of the year if Congress does not extend the benefits. If that happens, the $25 a week in unemployment benefits funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act also would be eliminated.

The average jobless resident in Arizona receives 26 weeks of unemployment benefits, which are administered by the state with money from a trust fund created through employer contributions, according to The Arizona Republic. If Congress approves an extension, laid-off workers will be eligible to receive benefits for an additional 73 weeks. Otherwise, only 26 weeks of benefits will be available.

The National Employment Law Project states that 46,000 Arizona residents who receive unemployment benefits have been out of work for longer than six months. Currently, 162,000 unemployed workers in the state receive maximum weekly benefits of $265.

In addition to unemployment benefits, federal funding from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act that helps laid-off workers pay for health insurance through COBRA also is in danger of being eliminated.

The program, which launched in March, pays 65 percent of COBRA costs for eligible employees who were laid off or will be laid off between Sept. 1, 2008, and Dec. 31, 2009. If Congress does not extend those benefits, thousands of unemployed workers throughout Arizona could be left without health insurance.

Job Openings in Miami Among the Worst

Anyone looking for job openings in Miami most likely did not have a lot of luck last month.

A recent report from CareerCast.com and JobSerf ranked Miami among the 10 worst cities for job seekers during November. The report, which was based on an index measuring U.S. managerial recruitment activity, named Miami as the fifth-worst city, down from it's place as the fourth-worst city during October.

This is not surprising, given that the city saw an increase in unemployment and a decrease in yearly employment during October, despite seeing a small monthly employment gain.

During October, the Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall area saw its unemployment rate increase from 11.4 percent to 11.8 percent, following a decrease from 11.8 percent during September. The area's current rate is higher than the national unemployment rate of 10.2 percent.

The area had a total non-farm employment of 1,011,400 workers during October, according to the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics. This is up from 1,010,200 workers during September, but a 2.8 percent decrease from last year.

In the report, Riverside, Calif., was named as the worst city for job seekers during November, followed by Detroit, Mich.; Memphis, Tenn.; and Tampa Bay, Fla. On the other end of the scale, Washington, D.C., was named as the best place for job seekers, followed by Boston, Mass.; San Francisco, Calif.; Seattle, Wash.; and Atlanta, Ga.

Overall, the national volume of managerial openings online increased by 5.9 points to 73.7. That means there was some positive job growth following two months of declines.

The index is figured by calculating scores against 2007, in which the number of job listings available online during each month equals 100 points. That means a score of less than 100 points indicates the number of job listings for the month is less than during the same month in 2007.

Report Ranks Phoenix Job Market Fourth-Worst

If you're one of the millions looking for a job Phoenix most likely has not had a lot to offer during the last year.

A recent report from the Milken Institute ranked Phoenix's job market the fourth-worst in the country. The report ranked metro job markets on such factors as their ability to attract, grow and retain high-wage occupations.

Of the 200 metro areas included in the report, Phoenix was ranked 196th for job growth between March 2008 and March of this year. The city was ranked 93rd for long-term high-wage job growth and prospects.

The low ranking is due in part to the current economic recession, which has resulted in a bad housing market and a decrease in consumer spending, tourism and business investments. However, it seems as though the local economy has taken a turn for the better as of late.

During September, the Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale area's unemployment rate remained flat at 8.6 percent, following a decrease from 8.7 percent during August. That rate was lower than the national unemployment rate at the time of 9.8 percent.

The area had a total non-farm employment of 1,708,800 workers during September, according to the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics. This is up from 1,700,500 workers during August, but an 8 percent decrease from last year.

The Milken report ranked the Temple-Fort Hood area in Texas first for job growth during the 12-month period, as well as for job creation from 2007 to 2008. On the other end of the scale, Fort Myers, Fla., ranked last for job growth during the last year and for 2007 to 2008.

Austin, Texas, ranked first for long-term high-wage job growth and prospects, while cities in Texas accounted for nine of the top 16 job markets included in the report. Conversely, Flint, Mich., was ranked last in this category. Cities in Michigan and Ohio accounted for 13 of the bottom 15 long-term job markets.

Austin Medical Jobs Receive Recognition

Those with Austin medical jobs at the Heart Hospital of Austin recently received some recognition.

Thomson Reuters named the hospital to its list of the top 30 community hospitals in the country. Heart Hospital, which opened in 1998, was designed by cardiologists and surgeons. Today the facility provides cardiovascular services to local residents of Central Texas and patients from across the country.

The top 30 community hospitals list was part of Thomson Reuters' study, "100 Top Hospitals: Cardiovascular Benchmarks," which also includes lists for the top 30 teaching hospitals with cardiovascular residency programs and the top 40 teaching hospitals without cardiovascular residency programs.

The 11th annual study examined the performance of 971 hospitals by analyzing outcomes for patients diagnosed with heart failure and heart attacks, as well as those who received coronary bypass surgery or percutaneous cardiovascular interventions.

Hospitals were scored in key performance areas, including risk-adjusted medical mortality, risk-adjusted surgical mortality, risk-adjusted complications, core measures, percentage of coronary bypass patients with internal mammary artery use, procedure volume, severity-adjusted average length of stay and wage-adjusted and severity-adjusted average cost.

The top 100 hospitals perform 50 percent more cardiac surgeries than other hospitals in the same categories. The study found that as a whole the hospitals have:

• 17 percent lower mortality rates for heart attack patients
• 10 percent lower mortality rates for heart failure patients
• 27 percent lower mortality for bypass surgery patients
• 22 percent lower mortality following PCI
• Fewer post-operative complications, with 99 percent of patients remaining free of complications
• Close to 12 percent shorter average hospital stay 
• 12 percent lower cost per case

"These hospitals provide balanced high performance across cardiovascular services," Jean Chenoweth, senior vice president for performance improvement and 100 Top Hospitals program at Thomson Reuters, said. "This means they are providing high quality and highly efficient care at a reasonable cost in comparison to peers across the United States."

Manufacturing Jobs Nashville Area Lost in Two Years Total 56,647

The manufacturing jobs Nashville area and Tennessee as a whole have lost during the last two years account for the biggest decline the state has seen in 12 years.

The 2010 Tennessee Manufacturers Register found that the state has lost 56,647 manufacturing jobs during the last two years. Of those jobs, 15,110 were lost between September 2007 and September 2008, and 41,537 were lost between September 2008 and September of this year.

The report, which was compiled by Manufacturers' News, Inc., found that Tennessee is currently home to 7,711 manufacturing companies that employ 403,030 workers. This is down from the state's record high of 547,494 industrial workers during 2001.

Since that year, Tennessee has lost 144,464, or 26.4 percent, of its manufacturing jobs. In the 12 years that MNI has been creating reports for Tennessee, the number of manufacturing jobs lost during the last year is the biggest decline ever reported in the state.

"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," MNI President Tom Dubin said.

When it comes to specific sectors, employment in the furniture and fixtures sector saw the biggest decline, losing 20.8 percent of its workers during the last two years. Employment in the lumber and wood sector decreased by 19.5 percent.

On the other end of the scale, the transportation equipment sector remained the state's top manufacturing sector, accounting for 43,959 jobs, but that number is still a 20.6 percent decrease from two years ago.

Following is the Industrial machinery and equipment sector, which accounts for 43,317 jobs, and that number is a 13.6 percent decrease from 2007. In third place is the fabricated metals sector, which accounts for 42,417 jobs, although that number is a 12.6 percent decrease from two years ago.

Other sectors in Tennessee's manufacturing industry that saw a decrease in employment during the last two years include: rubber and plastics by 20.4 percent; textiles and apparel by 16.1 percent; electronics by 15.4 percent; stone, clay and glass by 9.6 percent; food products by 9.3 percent; primary metals by 8.8 percent; paper products by 6.1 percent; and printing and publishing by 4 percent.

Podcast with Nick Fishman and Kevin Grossman

I recently sat down with HRMarketer’s Kevin Grossman to discuss the the growing threat of diploma mills and the risk they pose to employers. With more job applicants claiming to have these phony degrees, it’s more important than ever for employers to include an Education Verification in their background screening program. We highlighted this issue and its impact in our recent white paper, Smoke, Mirrors and Resumes: The Growing Threat of Diploma Mills.

Nick Fishman Podcast with HRMarketer

I recently sat down with HRMarketer's Kevin Grossman to discuss the the growing threat of diploma mills and the risk they pose to employers. With more job applicants claiming to have these phony degrees, it's more important than ever for employers to include an Education Verification in their background screening program. We highlighted this issue and its impact in our recent white paper, Smoke, Mirros and Resumes: The Growing Threat of Diploma Mills.

Pre Employment Tests are Changing

If you're applying for a sales job, chances are potential employers will ask you to take pre employment tests.

These tests are often used by employers to determine many aspects of a potential candidate and can include everything from personality to skills-based questions. However, some new types of tests are trying to distinguish themselves from all the others.

Traditional sales personality tests and sales aptitude tests are often called sales assessment tests, even though they are not. At the same time, conventional sales personality tests can ignore the impact of an applicant's experience, sales training and knowledge of sales techniques.

These tests can actually produce an adverse outcome and leave employers with the wrong candidate instead of the ideal one. For instance, a college graduate with no sales experience and someone with 25 years of sales experience are capable of scoring the same on a sales personality test if they share similar personality traits.

Those types of results can lead employers to make the wrong hiring decision, as the person with more experience would most likely outsell the college graduate, even though they both receive the same personality score.

Situations like these are why many employers are realizing that old sales personality tests are inadequate for hiring top salespeople. Because of this, companies are beginning to create tests that don't cater to the limitations of traditional tests.

One example is The JOY Tests of Total Sales Ability, which tests candidates for:

• sales prospecting ability
• appointment setting, cold calling, rapport and presentation ability
• objection handling and negotiating ability
• sales closing ability and asking for payment/deposit
• cementing the sale and the ability to get referrals
• computer, Internet, e-mail, CRM and sales tools ability
• miscellaneous crucial sales and marketing abilities
• sales team recruitment ability
• sales team management, leadership and motivation ability
• advertising, marketing and public relations ability

Tests such as these are able to test business development professionals at various career levels, including salespeople, sales managers, sales directors or vice presidents of sales. They also can be used for testing manufacturer's representatives, sales engineers, distributors and franchisees.