It's been awhile since we've published a post on the country's employment situation report here at OnlineCareers.com, and luckily for our readers, you guys haven't missed much, save for a few months of heightened unemployment and discouraging job losses. We return to you with April's report, which reflects a decline of 20,000 positions in the U.S. over the course of the month. Sadly, when compared with the results from the past few reports, this cut in jobs is negligible�what I like to call small potatoes. The country has sustained some large payroll losses over the past few months: in January, February, and March combined; the nation managed to drop 240,000 positions.
Most of the major U.S. employment statistics remained unchanged in April.

The country's unemployment rate has stagnated around 5.0 percent. The revised unemployment rates for most of the major worker groups in the U.S. revealed minimal changes, and a decrease in the case of adult women (down to 4.3 percent). This was a welcome change following significant spikes in the rates for most of these groups in March. The employment-population ratio held steady at 62.7 percent, and the labor force participation rate (at 66.0 percent) displayed similar inactivity.

The construction industry underwent the most devastating cuts in April, with a loss of over 60,000 positions among specialty trade contractors and within residential and heavy and civil engineering construction. The manufacturing sector cut close to 50,000 jobs as well, while the retail trade industry tacked on an additional loss of 26,800 positions. Several service-providing industries posted impressive gains over the past month, but the deficits mentioned above proved too significant to offset.

Of the industries that landed in the plus column in April, contributions from health care and professional and business services had the most impact, helping to lessen our overall losses for the month. Specifically, the health care and social assistance sectors added over 43,000 positions. Ambulatory health care services alone added close to 22,000 jobs. Food services and drinking places also added 18,000 positions. Within professional and technical services, an industry that gained over 26,000 jobs in April, computer systems design (+10, 200 jobs) and accounting and bookkeeping services (+9,100 positions) experienced some of the healthiest growth. Administrative and support services added 13,000 positions last month as well.

Overall, things haven't changed that much since the start of 2008, or even further back into 2007 if we consider which industries are adding positions and which ones are losing ground. Sizeable declines in construction and manufacturing were the primary reasons why the U.S. posted an overall loss in jobs in April. On the other hand, health care and a handful of service industries have been the only constants when it comes to job creation in the U.S. It is worth noting that the American workforce has enjoyed moderate increases in their hourly pay over the past few months. While April only brought about a single-cent increase in wages, our average hourly earnings (which now sit at $17.88) have jumped 3.4 percent within the last 12 months.

Construction Woes Continue, Service Industries Provide a Minor Boost for the December Jobs Report

2008-01-08

Lackluster, disheartening, worrisome. The employment situation report released this past Friday was all these things and less (in terms of how many jobs were created in December). While the nation didn't technically lose jobs this past month, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics is reporting that we only managed to gain 18,000 positions overall. Since mid-2007, the payroll numbers have been hovering around the +100,000 mark, which was already well-below average when compared with gains from the previous year. Needless to say, this poor showing in December cements the fact that a weakened U.S. economy is wreaking havoc on certain industries, causing the entire employment picture to suffer as a result.

The national unemployment rate rose three-tenths of a percentage point to 5.0 percent last month. This inclusive number reflects increased unemployment rates among adult men (4.4 percent), adult women (4.4 percent), whites (4.4 percent), and Hispanics (6.3 percent). These rates were affected by an increase in the number of unemployed persons in December (+474,000), which brought the country's total unemployed population to 7.7 million. The labor force participation rate now stands at 66.0 percent.

When comparing payroll gains made in 2006 versus 2007, employment rose by 2.3 million jobs in 2006, while 2007 saw an increase of only 1.3 million positions. Despite the underwhelming progress that was made this past month, some industries were able to post sizeable gains in jobs. Professional and technical services added 33,000 jobs, while the health care industry gained 28,000 positions. The food services sector added 27,000 jobs as well. Employment gains in these fields are routine, and they provided a necessary boost that prevented the U.S. from slipping into an employment situation with negative payroll increases in December. Health care and food services were responsible for nearly two-thirds of all private sector job growth in 2007.

The biggest losses occurred within the construction and the manufacturing sectors. The construction industry dropped a whopping 49,000 jobs, while the manufacturing sector cut an additional 31,000. Contrary to its strong showing in November's report, retail trade experienced a loss of 24,000 positions in December as well.

Although this summary and the actual BLS report reveal some weak spots within the country's job market, prospective students and job seekers shouldn't give up all hope of securing an ideal job. You simply have to focus on professions that have a good chance of withstanding the economic downturns expected in 2008. Several service-oriented fields that are poised for healthy growth include: general management, e-business, and health care.

Manpower Survey Shows Stable Hiring in the U.S. for Next Quarter

2007-12-28

Manpower, Inc. recently released its Employment Outlook Survey for the first quarter of 2008, which indicated that hiring will soften slightly in the U.S. heading into next year. As a global leader in the employment services industry, Manpower surveys over 52,000 employers to create quarterly hiring outlooks for 27 countries and territories throughout the world. Although the U.S. survey is less than stellar, nations such as Peru, Singapore, India, Argentina, Costa Rica, Hong Kong, South Africa, Australia, Japan, and Norway all expect strong growth in the upcoming quarter.

Despite the one-point loss in the U.S. employment index for January through March 2008, the nation's previous recession began with a much more dramatic loss, when Manpower's index fell eight points in the second quarter of 2001. Employment shouldn't slump with such a minor drop, and economists are hoping that increased wages will help Americans endure the housing recession. In response to worries that these figures are an indication of worse things to come, Jeffrey A. Joerres, Chairman and CEO of Manpower, had this to say: "While we have seen a slight softening trend in U.S. hiring plans over the past year and a half, employers are not panicking, but rather, they are keeping a watchful eye on conditions and adjusting according to their business needs."

As expected, U.S. sectors with weaker hiring prospects in the first quarter of 2008 include finance, insurance, real estate, and construction. Job seekers and prospective college students looking for professions with growth potential should distance themselves from these sectors for the time being. Many employers in the country will continue to hire at their current rates, while 22 percent of the companies surveyed planned to expand their staffs in the first quarter of next year. Mining companies, service industries, and wholesalers possess the strongest hiring outlooks for the start of the new year.

If you are looking to earn your degree in an industry that is expected to grow in 2008 and beyond, OnlineCareers.com offers links to a variety of schools with health care, hospitality, technology, and human services programs.

Survey Shows Growth in Online Education, and More Students and Employers Endorse Online Degrees

2007-11-29

The Rochester Democrat and Chronicle recently published an article about the explosive growth of online education and the popularity of internet-accessible degrees. This isn't necessarily breaking news, but the piece offers some fresh statistics and background on the subject, especially if you are based in New York or interested in school in the Rochester area. And for those of you who are simply researching online education and degrees, the article includes encouraging testimonials from students who have experimented with this growing trend.

According to the article's primary source of information, an online education advocacy group called the Sloan Consortium, 3.5 million U.S. students were enrolled in at least one online course during the fall semester of last year, which more than doubles the totals from 2002. The number of institutions supporting this method of learning is growing as well, with more than two-thirds of all colleges and universities in the country now offering classes over the internet.

Although the typical online students continue to be working adults who can't fit traditional college programs into their schedules, the younger generations are joining in on this movement as well. Exposure to online resources in elementary and middle school is transforming the way that younger students expect to be taught. Whereas online education used to be a rarity, it is now becoming a norm in educational institutions of every level.

A critical point that prospective online students should take note of in this article is the fact that more employers are recognizing the legitimacy of internet-accessible degrees. Eduventures, an education consulting firm in Boston, reports that 62 percent of the 500 employers that it recently surveyed believe that online learning is equal to or better than face-to-face instruction. This shift in sentiment has inspired many organizations to encourage their employees to earn their advanced degrees online. Rochester Institute of Technology, the largest provider of online courses in the Rochester area (with 450 classes and a total enrollment of 4,000 students), has agreements with Xerox Corp., New York State Electric and Gas Corp., and Verizon to provide online training for their employees.

The article includes a few more notable statistics from the Sloan Consortium report. For example, two-year schools have the highest growth rate and account for more than half of all online enrollments in the nation. Overall, undergraduate students account for 86 percent of online enrollments in the U.S. For-profit schools, such as the University of Phoenix, account for a quarter of the online education market, while large, accredited public schools offer the majority of the country's online courses.

As I noted earlier, if you are interested in enrolling at a college based in New York or the Rochester area, it's worth taking a closer look at this article, as it lists some specific information about online programs and enrollment in that region. For those of you who aren't limiting yourselves to institutions from one part of the country, OnlineCareers.com links to an assortment of online schools, with degrees in everything from technology to health care to the legal field.

Florida Metropolitan University Changes its Name to Everest University

2007-11-26

Florida Metropolitan University officially changed its name to Everest University on November 5 as part of a repositioning strategy developed by FMU's parent company. Corinthian Colleges, Inc. operates more than 75 campuses throughout the U.S., and by uniting all of these institutions under one name, the organization hopes to strengthen the national recognition and reputation of the Everest brand. Participating branches include Everest University, Everest College, and Everest Institute, with locations in over 20 states nationwide and in various parts of Canada as well.

FMU's online institution and ten Florida-based campuses were all affected by this week's name change. For instance, the FMU Tampa campus, which is the oldest operating business college in Florida, is now called Everest University Tampa. FMU Online is now Everest University Online. FMU administrators are optimistic that this shift in names will benefit Florida-based students if they choose to leave the state and seek job opportunities in other parts of the country and beyond.

In spite of this name change, representatives from the college have been stressing the fact that nothing else about the school (including its instructors, its educational philosophy, and its classes) will be modified. As with all of the other schools in the Everest Career Education Network, Everest University specializes offering students in career-focused training. Whether you are completing your education online or at one of the school's many campuses, you will receive the vital information and expertise necessary to move forward in your intended profession.

Everest University offers degree and career training programs in accounting, business administration, computer information science, criminal justice, homeland security, massage therapy, nursing, health care administration, paralegal studies, medical assisting, and various other disciplines.

If students are too busy to attend class on campus, Everest University Online offers associate and bachelor degree programs in accounting, criminal justice, business, and paralegal studies. The school also provides students with the option of an internet-accessible MBA program.