Truck maker Paccar to eliminate shifts at Tenn., Wash. plants

Truck maker Paccar to eliminate shifts at Tenn., Wash. plants

By ERIK SCHELZIG
AP BUSINESS WRITER

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Truck maker Paccar Inc. is eliminating one shift each at its Peterbilt Motors Co. plant outside Nashville and its Kenworth Truck Co. plant in Renton, Wash.

Both plants will be left with one daily shift because of an expected downturn in demand due to higher costs associated with meeting new federal emissions regulations, Paccar spokesman Andy Wold said Monday.

Wold declined give specific staffing and layoff numbers for either plant, but The Tennessean newspaper reported on its Web site that 667 of 1,200 workers in Madison, Tenn., have been sent layoff notices. Officials with the United Autoworkers Local 1832 in Madison did not return a telephone message seeking comment.

Wold said the average price for trucks will jump between $6,000 and $9,000 in the new year to cover the cost of new emissions regulations.

The planned layoffs come in a banner year for truck production for Peterbilt and Kenworth.

"Peterbilt and its sister division Kenworth in North America are performing exceptionally well, with current market share at record levels above 25 percent," Wold said. "That's a full 2 points above the year prior.

"There's a lot of reasons why the market is strong in 2006: The economy is good, our customers are healthy, there's a lot of freight volumes. And 2007 should be a good year - but lower than 2006," Wold said.

Peterbilt also laid off about 600 of the Madison plant's 900 employees following the launch of new U.S. Environmental Protection Agency emission rules in 2002. Bellevue, Wash.-based Paccar rehired the workers a year later and the expanded the Peterbilt plant amid stronger demand.

New federal regulations on diesel fuel went into effect last month. In the past, diesel could have a sulfur level of up to 500 parts per million; low-sulfur diesel has no more than 15 parts per million. Tougher emissions standards for truck engines take effect on Jan. 1.

"There's been a huge acquisition of trucks in the last year or so and there is likely to come to a fairly sharp drop-off here as the new, cleaner engines are introduced into the population," said Allen Schaeffer, executive director of the Diesel Technology Forum, a Frederick, Md.-based diesel advocacy group funded by automakers, diesel engine manufacturers and others.

Peterbilt is not part of the forum.

The new engines will combine lower emissions with greater fuel efficiency, Schaeffer said. But he acknowledged that it will likely take a while for trucking companies become fully comfortable with the new engines.

"I just think it's going to take some time for some of the natural-born skeptics to take a look at and accept this new technology," he said. "For the first couple quarters of 2007, there's somewhat of an uncertainty there and a hesitation about how robust sales will be."

Paccar shares closed down 63 cents to $64.32 on the Nasdaq stock exchange. Shares have traded between $45.19 and $66.88 over the last 52 weeks.

Mass layoffs affected 113,724 U.S. workers in October

Author: RP news wires In October, employers took 1,171 mass layoff actions, seasonally adjusted, as measured by new filings for unemployment insurance benefits during the month, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics reported November 24. Each action involved at least 50 persons from a single establishment, and the number of workers involved totaled 113,724, on a seasonally adjusted basis. The number of layoff events increased by 39 from the prior month, while the number of associated initial claims decreased by 3,049. During October, 398 mass layoff events were reported in the manufacturing sector, seasonally adjusted, resulting in 54,852 initial claims. Both the number of events and the number of initial claims in manufacturing were higher than a month earlier. In October 2006, the national unemployment rate was 4.4 percent, seasonally adjusted, down from 4.6 percent the prior month and 4.9 percent in October 2005. Total non-farm payroll employment, seasonally adjusted, increased by 92,000 over the month and by about 2.0 million over the year. Industry Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted) The 10 industries reporting the highest numbers of mass layoff initial claims, not seasonally adjusted, accounted for 36 percent of the total initial claims in October. The industry with the highest number of mass layoff initial claims was temporary help services with 8,283, followed by heavy-duty truck manufacturing and automobile manufacturing. Together, these three industries accounted for 21 percent of all initial claims due to mass layoffs in October. The manufacturing sector accounted for 32 percent of all mass layoff events and 47 percent of all related initial claims filed in October; a year earlier, manufacturing comprised 28 percent of events and 41 percent of initial claims. In the current month, the number of manufacturing claimants was highest in transportation equipment manufacturing (19,224, mostly in motor vehicle manufacturing), followed by food manufacturing (5,246) and machinery manufacturing (5,167). Administrative and waste services accounted for 15 percent of events and 13 percent of initial claims filed in October, with the majority of layoffs in temporary help services and professional employer organizations. Retail trade accounted for 8 percent of events and 7 percent of initial claims during the month, largely from general merchandise stores. Construction accounted for 10 percent of events and 7 percent of initial claims in October, largely from specialty trade contractors. Ten percent of all layoff events and 6 percent of initial claims filed during the month were from agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, mostly in the farm labor contractors and crew leaders industry. Government establishments accounted for 5 percent of both mass layoff events and initial claims filed in the current month, largely from educational services and from executive, legislative, and general government. On a not seasonally adjusted basis, the number of layoff events in October 2006, at 964, was up 59 from a year earlier, and the number of associated initial claims increased by 6,863 to 98,804. The largest over-the-year increases in initial claims were reported in machinery manufacturing (+3,879), wood product manufacturing (+3,440) and transportation equipment manufacturing (+3,383). The largest over-the-year decreases in initial claims were reported in motion picture and sound recording industries (-2,224), apparel manufacturing (-1,922), and professional and technical services (-1,642). From January through October 2006, the total number of initial claims, at 1,093,702, was the lowest reported for any January-October period in program history. Collection of comparable mass layoff data for the January-October period began in 1996. Geographic Distribution (Not Seasonally Adjusted) Among the four census regions, the highest number of initial claims in October due to mass layoffs was in the West, 32,780. Administrative and support services and agriculture and forestry support activities accounted for 32 percent of all mass layoff initial claims in that region during the month. The Midwest had the second largest number of initial claims, 28,833, followed by the South, 23,687. Transportation equipment manufacturing accounted for 35 percent of initial claims in both the Midwest and the South regions. The Northeast, with 13,504, had the lowest number of initial claims. The number of initial claimants in mass layoffs increased over the year in three of the four regions – the South (+6,071), the West (+1,658) and the Midwest (+992). The Northeast experienced the only regional decrease (-1,858). Four geographic divisions had over-the-year increases in the numbers of initial claims associated with mass layoffs. The largest increase was in the East South Central division (+7,323), followed by the Pacific (+1,763) and East North Central (+1,242). Of the five divisions with over-the-year decreases, the largest declines were in the Middle Atlantic (-1,591) and West South Central (-1,577). Among the states, California recorded the highest number of initial claims filed due to mass layoff events in October (25,931), followed by Kentucky (9,645), Pennsylvania (6,920), Michigan (6,432) and Illinois (5,508). These five states accounted for 54 percent of all mass layoff events and 55 percent of all initial claims for unemployment insurance. Kentucky had the largest over-the-year increase in the number of initial claims (+6,935), largely due to layoffs in transportation equipment manufacturing. Indiana had the next largest increase in initial claims (+2,341), followed by South Carolina (+1,409). The largest over-the-year decreases in claims occurred in Ohio (-1,930) and Delaware (-1,583). From January to October, California reported 255,626 mass layoff initial claims, 23 percent of the national total. The states with the next largest number of claims over this period were Michigan (94,486)Pennsylvania (66,594),New York (61,989) and Ohio (59,445).

Florida records 56 mass layoff actions in October

Florida employers accounted for 56 mass layoff actions in October, as measured by new filings for unemployment insurance benefits during the month, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

A mass layoff event occurs when 50 or more initial claims for unemployment insurance benefits are filed against an establishment during a five-week period, regardless of duration.

The 56 mass layoff actions recorded this October in Florida are up from 36 in October 2005, the BLS says, accounting for a total of 3,289 claims that were made for unemployment insurance, up 21 percent from 2,706 in October 2005.

Nationwide, employers took 1,171 mass layoff actions involving 113,724 workers, the BLS reports. Year to date through October, the total number of initial claims (1,093,702) was the lowest reported for any January-October period in program history, the BLS reports.

The industry with the highest number of layoff claims was temporary help services with 8,283. The manufacturing sector accounted for 32 percent of all mass layoff events and 47 percent of all related initial claims filed in October.

Among the states, California had the highest number of initial claims in October with 25,931, followed by Kentucky (9,645), Pennsylvania (6,920), Michigan (6,432) and Illinois (5,508).

A breakdown by census region shows that the West led all others with the highest number of initial claims in October due to mass layoffs (32,780). The Midwest was second-largest (28,833), followed by the South (23,687). The Northeast (13,504) had the lowest number of initial claims.

From January to October, California also led the pack, reporting 255,626 mass layoff initial claims -- 23 percent of the national total. The states with the next-largest number of claims over this period included Michigan (94,486), Pennsylvania (66,594), New York (61,989) and Ohio (59,445).

Smurfit-Stone to lay off 70 on Westport Road

Smurfit-Stone Container Corp. is laying off 70 employees at its Westport Road facility, according to a notice filed with the state.

The notice filed with the state Division of Workforce and Employment ServicesTuesday gives 60 days' warning of a layoff.

The Smurfit-Stone corrugated box operation is located just northeast of Ford Motor Co.'s Kentucky Truck Plant.

Company officials did not immediately return calls seeking comment Wednesday.

Online Jobs for IT Climb in New York

By Deborah Rothberg
November 21, 2006

Fueled by greater demand for qualified IT workers, online opportunities in New York climbed in October, according to the local employment index released by online career and recruitment resource Monster Worldwide on Nov. 20.

Heightened demand for temporary workers and generally tighter labor market conditions contributed to an increase in online recruitment activity in 22 of 28 monitored markets in October.

"The broad increase in demand for workers in major cities during October is also partly due to an increasingly tight labor market, as reflected by a national unemployment rate that is now at a five-year low of 4.4 percent," Steve Pogorzelski, Monster Worldwide's group president, international, said in a statement.

The two-point jump in online job opportunities in the New York City area was driven largely by higher demand for computer and mathematical occupations, according to the report.

After a lukewarm third quarter, this marked a slight acceleration in the market's annual growth rate.

Demand for IT pros was also strong across sectors including finance, business and professional services.

However, online job opportunities in engineering as well as architecture were flat over the year on the whole, hitting the hardest in many key northeastern and western markets.

An increased demand for sales and related occupations signaled the start of pre-holiday hiring season, Monster reports.

Cleveland posted the largest increase in job availabilities, owing largely to an upsurge in demand for retail and marketing pros. Phoenix saw a dip in recruitment activity for the second straight month amid cooling in its housing market

"The Monster Local Employment Index findings for October show stepped-up recruitment activity across most major U.S. cities, largely driven by the start of the pre-holiday hiring season when employers typically boost hiring efforts to meet their heightened staffing needs," said Pogorzelski.

Houston followed by Minneapolis, Cleveland, Kansas City, St. Louis and Seattle on a year-over-year basis occupied the top spots in the Index. Los Angeles, Orlando, Tampa and Washington D.C. fill out the bottom.

Valley job market continues to grow

Nevada holds the No. 1 rank in total nonagricultural job growth for September 2006 over September 2005, with a 5.1 percent increase, representing 63,400 jobs, according to the current issue of the Blue Chip Job Growth Update.

Among metropolitan markets with a work force of more than 1 million, the Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale metropolitan area had the highest rate of growth in nonagricultural employment for September 2006 over September 2005, posting a 5.1 percent gain, which represented 91,900 jobs. The Pascagoula , Miss., metropolitan area ranked first among metropolitan markets with less than 1 million workers, posting a 12.3 percent gain (6,100 jobs).

Overall, the U.S. economy grew by 1,705,000 nonagricultural jobs in September 2006 over September 2005, a 1.3 percent increase.

The Blue Chip Job Growth Update has been the first-to-user source of complete federal employment data since its inception in 1992. It presents data compiled from the U.S. Bureau of Labor in an easy-to-read format, permitting state-to-state comparisons within 24 hours of the release of the data. The National Consensus Forecast of Labor Employment, Compensation and Productivity, which appears quarterly in the Job Growth Update, contains information from a panel of leading economists around the country.

The Blue Chip Job Growth Update is available online to subscribers. A sample issue and subscription information can be found online at ( http://wpcarey.asu.edu/jgu ).

Icos gives layoff notices to 300

By Luke Timmerman

Seattle Times business reporter

More than 300 of the 500 employees at Icos in Washington state have been given layoff notices as Eli Lilly prepares to take over the company, and the rest will find out in coming weeks whether they still have jobs.

The latest round of cuts brings the layoff tally so far to nearly 500 out of 700 jobs at the Bothell company.

The Indianapolis-based pharmaceutical giant, which struck a deal last month to buy Icos for $2.1 billion, still has not revealed its plans for workers in three departments: operations, research and contract manufacturing.

Earlier this month Lilly cut about 180 Icos sales and marketing staffers based around the country. The national sales reps in that group, who pitch the impotence drug Cialis to doctors, are being invited to apply for jobs at Lilly, said Icos spokeswoman Lacy Fitzpatrick.

The cuts at the region's largest locally based biotech company have gotten the attention of Gov. Christine Gregoire, who, on Monday sent a letter to Eli Lilly Chief Executive Sidney Taurel. Her letter did not challenge the layoff decision but invited Taurel to cooperate with state and local officials during the takeover.

"To ensure the best possible outcome," the governor wrote, "I encourage you to work closely with Icos management, Snohomish County officials, and my office."

Many of the local employees are getting 60-day layoff notices, while others are being asked to stay through the transition period.

The cuts come from a variety of departments, including clinical, finance, legal and information technology.

None of these laid-off employees has been offered jobs at Lilly or transfers to Indianapolis, Fitzpatrick said. Workers are being offered outplacement services and undisclosed severance packages, she said.

The layoffs are all contingent on the takeover being finalized. A special shareholders' meeting is scheduled Dec. 19 at Icos headquarters in Bothell, and the companies expect the deal to close soon after.

When the acquisition was announced, Taurel said there would be "significant" job cuts in Bothell, and that Cialis would help boost his company's profits by 2008.

Kristin Jacobsen, a spokeswoman for Gregoire, said it is unusual for the governor to send a letter directly to an acquiring company's CEO. So far, there's been no response.

Deborah Knutson, president of the Snohomish County Economic Development Council, said her agency and the Snohomish Council Workforce Development Council are offering help to the laid-off workers.

She also hopes to discuss with company officials their plans for Icos' manufacturing plant, which makes biotech drugs under contract.

If Lilly doesn't plan to keep that facility, Knutson said, she hopes her agency can help market it to another company. Plants that can manufacture genetically engineered protein drugs are expensive and time-consuming to build.

"What they have is a really valuable asset," Knutson said, adding, "All the brainpower that's leaving the company, we'd like to find a way to keep it in the county."

Luke Timmerman: 206-515-5644, ltimmerman@seattletimes.com

Layoff numbers dwindle but state ranks near top

EMPLOYMENT: Illinois had 61 mass layoffs, third highest in the nation

BY MICHAEL JOE
Medill News Service

This story ran on nwitimes.com on Saturday, November 18, 2006 12:47 AM CST

Illinois ranks third in the nation for company layoffs, even though the state's third-quarter figures fell, compared with its second quarter.

Nationally, mass layoffs, or layoffs involving 50 or more people at a company in business for more than a month, numbered 836 during the period that ended September 30, a drop of 38 percent from the previous quarter.

Third-quarter claims for unemployment insurance totaled 104,548, a decrease of more than 50 percent in claims filed during the second quarter, according to a report from the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics this week.

"The economy is better, unemployment is down to 4.7 percent now and it doesn't seem like the economy is slowing at this point," said John A. Challenger, employment and outsourcing consultant at Challenger, Gray and Christmas Inc.

Illinois had 61 mass layoffs in the third quarter, leading to 8,046 claims for unemployment insurance, compared to 91 mass layoffs and 21,050 claims in the second quarter.

California had the highest number of people who lost jobs in mass layoffs during the third quarter, with 29,693. Florida followed with 21,002; Illinois was third with 10,052; and New York ranked fourth with 8,311. Together, the four states accounted for 53 percent of all laid-off U.S. workers.

By sector, the manufacturing industry was hit hardest by mass layoffs, accounting for 32 percent of the total.

Challenger said that while the economy may be showing signs of a downturn, many employers are hanging on to their employees.

"When the economy slows, often employers don't recognize it right away. They are optimistic in good times," Challenger said. "In the same way, businesses are reluctant to hire more people when the economy improves."

Mill layoffs: Georgia-Pacific announces cuts in Camas

Friday, November 17, 2006
By JULIA ANDERSON and JONATHAN NELSON, Columbian Staff Writers


CAMAS — Reality replaced rumors at the Georgia-Pacific pulp and paper mill Friday when the company announced plans to lay off 300 workers.

Mill management and union leadership, as well as corporate representatives, met throughout the day with workers to explain the mill’s restructuring agenda. Plans call for the shutdown of three of five paper machines and a pulp-making line that will take the mill work force from 800 to 500 over the next six to 12 months.

“The loss of these jobs is a sad thing,” said Jock Moszter, president of the Association of Western Pulp & Paper Workers, Local 5, which represents hourly mill workers. “These are good people. We’re hoping that this area’s employers will step up and hire them.”
Average annual pay for the mill’s hourly workers is $60,000.

Mike Tompkins, mill manager, said that despite the cutback, Georgia-Pacific intends to stay in Camas.

The mill will continue to make pulp to support production of a variety of white communications papers sold under such brand names as Eureka! and Xerox. A paper-towel-making machine will make premium brands enMotion and Rollmaster.

“These are great assets … technically up-to-date equipment with some of the best workers in the industry,” Tompkins said. “These workers will take the remaining operation well into the future. We have no plans to sell this site or sell the business,” he said.

‘Fairly old’ machines

Robert Burns, a G-P spokesman, traveled from the company’s Atlanta headquarters to help deliver the news to workers who gathered on production floors inside the sprawling 656-acre mill site.

The machines being discontinued produce tissue and towel products such as Angel Soft tissue and Costco brand towels. Tompkins described the machines as “fairly old and relatively small” compared to industry standards.

Burns emphasized that the cutbacks were not the result of the sale of G-P to Koch Industries late last year, but of an internal evaluation that began in mid-2005.

“It’s a matter of having the right equipment in the right place to serve the customer base,” Burns said. Since early this year, G-P has been rolling out similar cutbacks and changes throughout its U.S. operations. This week, according to The Florida Times-Union, Georgia-Pacific announced cuts at a sawmill in Palatka, Fla., leaving 108 people out of work.

Burns said the towel and tissue production being eliminated in Camas will be picked up by G-P mills in Georgia and Wisconsin.

Severance packages

Union officials said negotiations with the company over severance packages for hourly workers will begin the week of Nov. 27.
Who stays and who goes will depend on how many workers take severance and on employment longevity with the mill. Those decisions will likely be made by mid-December.

Burns and Tompkins said Camas is not competing with the G-P mill in Wauna, Ore., for capital investment dollars.

In August, the company said it would spend $200 million on buildings and equipment to expand paper towel and bath tissue production there. But the product mix at Wauna is substantially different and more retail-oriented than at Camas, Tompkins said.
“I don’t know that there was ever any competition between the two sites or between the two states,” he said.

Wait is over

Friday’s announcement ended months of speculation about how many jobs were being lost and the mill’s future in a town that once depended on the company for its lifeblood.

G-P remains central to Camas. The business generates $6 million a year in property and business taxes, and the payroll is $85 million. The planned cuts represent a 40 percent reduction in the work force and will result in total annual payroll and benefits of $50 million.

Technology companies such as WaferTech and SEH America arrived in Camas two decades ago and have helped ease the area’s revenue reliance on Georgia-Pacific. Still, feelings are mixed. The mill has ties to the town that date back to the 1800s. Generations of families have punched time cards at the mill.

“The general feeling around the mill is one of loss,” said Moszter, the union president. “It’s scary to think about losing jobs. But it’s good to get this out, so people can plan their lives.”

To read the official announcement, click here: www.columbian.com/news/localNews/millstatement.cfm

GOOD JOB! BIG APPLE UNEMPLOYMENT SINKS

By DAVID SEIFMAN City Hall Bureau Chief

November 17, 2006 -- If the subways seem more crowded than ever during rush hour, here's one reason why: The city's unemployment rate fell last month to 4.1 percent, the lowest level in 30 years.

"The number is catching a lot of attention," said James Brown, an analyst for the state Labor Department, which has been compiling the data since 1976.

It was just a year ago, in October 2005, that the unemployment rate here stood at 5.8 percent.

Jason Bram, an economist at the New York Federal Reserve Bank, said last month's drop from 4.5 percent in September isn't simply a statistical blip.

"The reason it's particularly good news is sometimes this unemployment rate at the local level can jump around a little bit. In this case, it's gone down for a few months in a row," he explained.

The increase in jobs is being felt on the front lines.

"It hasn't been this fruitful since 2000," said Hillary Taylor, who has run her own employment agency in lower Manhattan for 31 years. "There's not enough qualified candidates."

Dave Lewis, who described himself as a fulfillment manager at Wall Street Services, a temp agency, agreed.

"It's an applicants' job market right now," he said.

"We have a great pool of applicants used as repeaters. We're now finding we have quite a few extra job orders."

Lewis' agency fills a wide range of temp positions, from $20-an-hour administrative assistants to high-end financial analysts who command $125 or more an hour.

Bram, the Federal Reserve economist, noted that the city's unemployment figures were actually lower than the nation's 4.4 percent.

"It's very unusual," he said. "It's not only a record low, but it's below the national rate."

Mayor Bloomberg quickly pointed to the numbers as evidence that his economic strategy is lifting all five boroughs.

"New York City's economic future was uncertain after September 11th, but no one makes a comeback like New Yorkers, and today's news is a testament to the strength and vibrancy of our economy," the mayor said.

But Marcia Van Wagner, the deputy city comptroller, sounded a more cautionary note.

"The mayor is definitely accentuating the positive here," she said.

While the number of New Yorkers employed jumped by 15,400 last month to more than 3.5 million, Van Wagner pointed out that private-sector payroll employment was down by 5,000.

"I think a lot of people are scratching their heads," she said. "The speculation is there's a lot more self-employment that wouldn't show up in a survey of employers. But that's purely speculative."

The most jobs were added in education and health services. Manufacturing actually lost jobs.

The Labor Department is projecting that the single job with the most openings through 2012 - 11,300 a year - will be cashier.

But the median pay is only $16,290.

david.seifman@nypost.com

Lower production, smaller work force

Lower production, smaller work force

Chicago Ford Assembly plant workers consider buyouts

BY ANDREA HOLECEK
holecek@nwitimes.com
219.933.3316

This story ran on nwitimes.com on Thursday, November 16, 2006 12:44 AM CST

CHICAGO | The Chicago Ford Assembly plant recently reduced the speed of its production line by more than 30 percent, a move that gives Ford the ability to reduce its work force by that percentage.

The plant at 12600 Torrence Ave. currently builds the Ford 500, Ford Freestyle and Mercury Montego. The plant's production slow down is in conjunction with the Ford Motor Co. plan to slash vehicle production by 20 percent in the fourth quarter to meet slower demand.

"After the line rate reduction, each operator will have more time to perform additional work because each unit (vehicle) passes through their work station at a slower rate," said United Auto Workers Local 551 Chairman Tony Tallarita, in a message to his membership. "As work stations are removed and workload from one operator to another are split up and added to other operations, we will be left with fewer jobs at the plant."

The plant, which has 2,400 hourly workers, began the production slow down on Nov. 6 when workers returned from a three-week layoff. Their return was in the middle of the Oct. 16 to Nov. 27 period when those eligible could accept one of the eight buyout packages being offered to UAW members.

Ford plans to close 16 North American plants by 2012 and eliminate as many as 30,000 factory jobs and 10,000 white-collar positions by 2008. To speed job cuts, the automaker has offered buyout and retirement incentives up to $140,000 to its 76,000 employees represented by the UAW.

Currently those who have accepted buyout packages are being used as extras on the line, said Ford Assembly plant veteran David Schoenecker, of Valparaiso.

"They're reducing production and operational tasks so there's no need to train them on new jobs if they're leaving," he said.

Carl Bryant, president of UAW Local 551, which represents the plant's hourly workers, said Wednesday he doesn't know the exact number of workers who already have accepted layoffs. If enough workers accept buyouts, layoffs won't be necessary, he said.

"I don't know what number they're looking for," Bryant said. "I don't know the mind set of the company, so I don't know if there will be enough or not. They'll see how many they need. If enough people take the plan they won't have to get rid of any. I know the company wants to get people out of here."

Schoenecker said many workers who had decided to accept a buyout apparently changed their minds during the layoff period.

"It seems like people are waking up to the realization of what it would mean," he said.

Whirlpool laying off 250 at Amana plant

Published: 11/15/2006 11:18 AM

By: George C. Ford - The Gazette

AMANA, IA - Monica Teague, manager of media relations at Whirlpool, attributed the
layoff to decreased demand for products made at the Amana plant. She said Whirlpool expects a market turnaround in the second quarter of 2007.
With 150 employees laid off in September, the total number on temporary layoff will climb to 400.
Whirlpool's long-term hiring plans for the Middle Amana plant call for
adding 438 workers. The company announced plans in July to invest up to $11 million in the plant to expand production.

US enjoys strong IT jobs growth

NACCB report paints rosy picture

Robert Jaques, vnunet.com 13 Nov 2006

The number of US IT jobs has grown by nearly 140,000, or almost four per cent, since October 2005, new research has revealed.

According to the latest IT Employment Index from the National Association of Computer Consultant Businesses (NACCB), the annual figures hide "a slight pullback" in IT employment in October.

The IT trade association representing IT staffing and solutions firms said that its data points to continued growth in IT employment and strength in the IT services sector.

There were 3,669,400 IT workers in October, a slight decline of 1,800, or 0.05 per cent, from the previous month.

Speaking at the recent NACCB Annual Conference, economist Alan Beaulieu predicted continued strength in the market for IT services through to the middle of 2008.

The slight decline in October was attributed to dips in employment in some manufacturing sub-sectors, NACCB believes, but service industries continued to show growth.

"In light of strong year-over-year employment data, very favourable anecdotal reports and upbeat predictions from prognosticators, I continue to be very bullish on the prospect for strong demand for the services of IT staffing firms which are able to identify and recruit the right IT professionals on a 'just in time' basis," said NACCB chief executive Mark Roberts.

"Despite the slight downturn in October, I am pleased to see the index reflect strong year-over-year growth in IT employment."

NACCB's IT Employment Index is based on US Bureau of Labour Statistics data, which is subject to monthly revisions.

A Times reporter gets part of it right

The US has created "an estimated 5.8 million new ones in just five years, according to a recent Labor Department report. The government’s household employment survey showed a gain of 437,000 jobs in October alone. Unemployment that month fell to just 4.4 percent, a 5½-year low. Jobs are so abundant that investors are worried that the Federal Reserve may delay making interest rate cuts, lest inflation revive. The concern is that all these new jobs may lead employers to bid up wages, heaven forbid. There are so many jobs, in fact, that we can’t fill them all ourselves.

“increased use of offshore resources may impact up to 1.47 million general and administrative jobs,” the Organization for International Investment, a business group representing American units of foreign companies, says that such domestic subsidiaries employ 5.4 million people in this country. In all likelihood, that total will grow.

SO the real issue isn’t saving jobs. It’s helping those whose skills suddenly become obsolete to adjust to the new world around them. The big new job gains, for example, mask continuing job losses in manufacturing as well as recent declines in construction employment, meaning more bad news for people who work with their hands. That, in turn, suggests more income inequality ahead. Washington, despite its recent track record of bungling on so many fronts, will need to play a role in helping these people and their communities adjust, and unfortunately that’s one job we can’t easily send offshore.

Bill Gates says West not supplying enough IT talent

By James Kilner

MOSCOW (Reuters) - A shortage of information technology graduates from Western universities is leading companies to call on developing countries to meet research demand, Microsoft chairman Bill Gates said on Tuesday.

After the break-up of the Soviet Union, Russia's internationally renowned education system became a cheap talent pool for the West. Now dozens of Russian language Web sites offer computer programming jobs in the United States, alongside visa support and language training.

"Worldwide, a lot of the developed countries are not graduating as many IT students as they were in the past, which is kind of ironic as it does mean it does increase the opportunities," Gates said.

Russia loses around 700,000 people each year -- about 0.5 percent of its total population -- to emigration, disease and alcoholism.

Many Western firms have also outsourced data management, software development and other high tech operations to lower cost operators in Asia, where education standards are high in some countries but wages are still comparatively low.

"There is a shortage of IT skills on a worldwide basis. Anybody who can get those skills here now will have a lot of opportunity," Gates said.

Gates spoke for about 30 minutes at the 2006 Microsoft Business Forum in Moscow in a speech in which he emphasized the need to retain the pace of research in the IT sector.

He said roll-up and stuff-in-your-pocket screens would be available in the next few years and students would study from portable computer tablets that act as interactive tutors.

"The curriculum will be redesigned in such a way around that device," he said.

Earlier on Tuesday, Gates attended a seminar on innovation and information technology for regional officials from across Russia alongside First Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, a man touted as a possible successor to President Vladimir Putin, whose second and final term in office expires in 2008.

(Additional reporting by Dmitry Solovyov)

Deluxe Media to close Kenosha County plant, cut 425 jobs

Deluxe Media Services L.L.C., a manufacturer of compact discs and digital versatile discs, plans to close its Pleasant Prairie plant early next year, resulting in 425 layoffs.

The layoffs at the Kenosha County plant, 11500 80th Ave., are expected to start on Feb. 1, 2007, according to a mass layoff notice filed Monday with the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development.

In addition to making CDs and DVDs, Deluxe also provides supply chain management for distributors of film, music and interactive media.

Deluxe is owned by The Rank Group plc, London.

The company's North American headquarters is located in Vernon Hills, Ill. Deluxe also operates facilities in Wayne, Mich. and North Little Rock, Ark.

Kaiser To Lay Off Up To 50 Employees In Hawaii

Kaiser Permanente Hawaii announced that it will lay off up to 50 of its employees by the end of the year, and that more layoffs could happen next year.Employees will be notified by Nov. 14 if they will be among those laid off.

More than 4,700 people work for Kaiser in Hawaii.

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The layoffs are a necessary part of a restructuring plan that is needed because of rising costs, a spokeswoman for Kaiser said.The health care company said that none of its 380 physicians is part of the layoffs.

November, 2006: A different view

This is a summary of the unemployment report for October, 2006 coming on after two good months.

The unemployment rate dropped to a five-year low of 4.4 percent in October as employers added 92,000 new jobs. The civilian unemployment rate fell 0.2 percentage point from 4.6 percent in September. It marked the third month in a row that the jobless rate declined.

Workers’ average hourly earnings climbed to $16.91 in October, a 0.4 percent increase from September. That increase was larger than the 0.3 percent rise economists were expecting. Over the last 12 months, wages grew by 3.9 percent.

The average time that the unemployed spent in their search for work in October was 16.5 weeks, an improvement from the average 17.4 weeks registered in September.

There was additional data that spoke to better employment for blacks, Latinos and teens, three populations notorious for high unemployment rates (teens how unemployment rates in the mid teens—like their age).

Now, let me offer an interpretation you may not see in the popular press. I could be wrong but, for those of you on the front lines of hiring, maybe you’ll see what I’m seeing.

After a horrendous recession where we lost so many jobs, after all the news accounts about the impact of offshoring upon the US technology job market (my regular readers know that there are now more people working in information technology than there were at the peak of the dotcom bubble—after we reduced the number of H-1b immigrants admitted into the United States to 75000 per year, after consecutive 2,000,000 new jobs creation years and with so many new business starting that suck people out of the labor market, I believe we are hitting a milestone that makes the job creation numbers misleading.

That milestone is the advent of the era of US labor shortages.

Manpower, an international staffing firm, completed a worldwide annual survey of 32000 employers of all sizes (at least 1000 in the US). The survey looked at companies in many industries came to some startling conclusions.

First of all, the days when a company could extend a job offer and offer someone two choices (take it; leave it) are over for now. More and more firms are noticing something that I have been warning people about for the past year—labor shortages are now a part of the corporate landscape.

45% of employers are finding it difficult to locate engineers, nurses and accountants.

38% of firms are already paying higher salaries.

29% are finding it extremely difficult to find talent (not just the categories above).

25% are already paying higher wages than they were a year ago.

The US economy is expanding at an extraordinary pace. Jobs are going begging because companies can’t find sufficient numbers of people with the skills sought to fill these jobs. Many of these positions are for less experienced people—those who the current generation or population just does not have sufficient numbers to fill.

This has been a demographic inevitability for quite some time and will probably result in a few years of needed wage inflation to replace the half decade of wage deflation that occurred in the post 9/11 era.

For now, the biggest problem firms will have is retaining and obtaining human capital to meet objectives.

I may be found slightly ahead of the curve, but it’s coming.

Jeff Altman

The Big Game Hunter
Concepts in Staffing
jeffaltman@cisny.com

© 2006 all rights reserved.

Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter, is Managing Director with Concepts in Staffing, a New York search firm, He has successfully assisted many corporations identify management leaders and staff in technology, accounting, finance, sales, marketing and other disciplines since 1971. He is a certified leader of the ManKind Project, a not for profit organization that assists men with life issues, and a practicing psychotherapist.

To receive a daily digest of positions emailed to you, search job openings, use his free meta job lead tool or to subscribe Jeff’s free job search ezine, Head Hunt Your Next Job, go to, http://www.jeffaltman.com. To subscribe to Jeff’s free recruiting ezine, Natural Selection Ezine, subscribe at www.naturalselectionezine.com For information about personal search services, go to www.VIPPersonalSearch.com.

If you would like Jeff and his firm to assist you with hiring staff, or if you would like help with a strategic job change, send an email to him at jeffaltman@cisny.com (If you’re looking for a new position, include your resume).

Unemployment rate falls to five-year low

The unemployment rate dropped to a five-year low of 4.4 percent in October as employers added 92,000 new jobs. The civilian unemployment rate fell 0.2 percentage point from 4.6 percent in September. It marked the third month in a row that the jobless rate declined.

Workers’ average hourly earnings climbed to $16.91 in October, a 0.4 percent increase from September. That increase was larger than the 0.3 percent rise economists were expecting. Over the last 12 months, wages grew by 3.9 percent.

The average time that the unemployed spent in their search for work in October was 16.5 weeks, an improvement from the average 17.4 weeks registered in September.

VF Jeanswear to close plant and lay off nearly 400 people

STEVE HARTSOE

Associated Press

RALEIGH, N.C. - VF Jeanswear, the world's largest maker of jeans, will close a laundry and finishing plant in Winston-Salem that employs nearly 400 people and move the work out of the country, company officials said Monday.

The plant is the last major production facility in the U.S. operated by Greensboro-based VF Corp., the parent company of VF Jeanswear. The company began phasing out operations at the plant Monday and will close it in March.

"I would say we're the last major apparel maker to exit the U.S.," said Sam Tucker, vice president of human resources for VF Jeanswear. "From a manufacturing standpoint, you know, we held out here a long time."

VF Jeanswear makes the Wrangler, Lee, Rustler and Chic brands.

Layoffs will begin after the new year, and the plant will operate with about 60 percent of its current work force until it closes, Tucker said. Most of the work will be shifted to contractors in Central America, primarily in Costa Rica.

"From an operational standpoint, we thought we needed to move this facility closer to where the products are being made," Tucker said. "It was built to support plants hundreds of miles away," not those thousands of miles away.

The company still operates a small cutting plant in Alabama, he said.

Employees will be offered a package with some combination of severance pay, educational assistance for retraining, outplacement assistance and other benefits, officials said.

The company will also help look for a new tenant for the Winston-Salem plant, which opened in 1992.

"We'll try to market the building, ideally, to someone who will be able to come in and hopefully re-employ a lot of the work force," he said.

After the closing, VF will have 1,250 employees in Greensboro and 450 at its distribution center in Mocksville, Tucker said.

The closing announcement comes the same month VF Corp. reported that its third-quarter earnings rose 10 percent. Net income increased to $197.7 million, or $1.75 per share, from $179.6 million, or $1.57 per share, a year ago, the company said on Oct. 20.

VF shares rose $1.34, or 1.8 percent, to close at $75.97 on the New York Stock Exchange.

Employment Costs Up 1% in Third Quarter

Posted by Tom Hanna on November 01st 2006 to Economic Indicators

Seasonally adjusted total compensation costs for employees increased 1% in the civilian labor force, 0.9% in the private sector and 1.4% for state and local government workers, during the third quarter with benefits costs accounting for one-third of the increase, according to the Employment Cost Index released Tuesday by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Wages and salaries rose 0.9% while benefits costs rose 1.1%. For state and local government workers health insurance cost increases alone accounted for 1/4 of the total compensation cost increase.

IceRocket Tags: employment costs, benefit costs, wages, salaries

EMPLOYMENT COST INDEX-SEPTEMBER 2006

Total compensation costs for civilian workers increased 1.0 percent from June
to September 2006, seasonally adjusted, virtually unchanged from the 0.9 percent gain
from March to June, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor
reported today. Benefit costs between June and September rose 1.1 percent, compared
with the gain of 0.8 percent from the previous quarter. Wages and salaries increased
0.9 percent during the quarter, unchanged from the gain of the previous quarter.
The Employment Cost Index (ECI), a component of the National Compensation Survey, measures quarterly changes in compensation costs, which include wages, salaries, and employer
costs for employee benefits for civilian workers (nonfarm private industry and state and
local government).

Increases in benefit costs accounted for one-third of the rise in compensation costs
for civilian workers from June to September 2006. Among private industry workers, benefit
costs attributed about one-fourth of the compensation gains during the quarter.
Among state and local government workers, benefit costs comprised approximately two-fifths
of the compensation cost gains during the June to September quarter. Health insurance
costs and defined benefit contributions represented over one-quarter of the gain in
compensation costs for state and local government workers from June to September 2006.

Quarterly changes, seasonally adjusted

Compensation costs for the private sector rose 0.9 percent from June to September, after
advancing 0.8 percent in the prior quarter. For state and local government workers,
compensation costs increased 1.4 percent from June to September, after increasing
1.1 percent for the quarter ended in June. (See tables A and 1.)

Wages and salaries of civilian workers increased 0.9 percent during the September
quarter, unchanged from the gain of the June quarter. Wages and salaries for private
industry workers rose 0.8 percent for the September quarter, compared with an increase of
0.9 percent in the prior quarter. Wages and salaries in state and local government
advanced 1.4 percent during the June to September period, higher than the 0.9 percent
gain in the prior quarter. (See tables A and 2.)

Benefit costs advanced 1.1 percent for civilian workers in the September
quarter, compared with a 0.8 percent gain in the June quarter. Private sector benefit
costs rose 1.0 percent for the September quarter, following a 0.7 percent gain in the
previous quarter. Benefit costs for state and local government workers increased 1.5
percent in the September quarter, unchanged from the gain in June. (See tables A and 3.)

Table A. 3-month percent changes in the Employment Cost Index, seasonally adjusted
Dec. Mar. June Sep. Dec. Mar. June Sep.
Compensation component 2004 2005 2005 2005 2005 2006 2006 2006
Civilian workers
Compensation costs 0.7 0.9 0.7 0.8 0.8 0.6 0.9 1.0
Wages and salaries 0.5 0.7 0.6 0.6 0.7 0.7 0.9 0.9
Benefit costs 1.3 1.6 0.9 1.1 0.9 0.5 0.8 1.1
Private industry
Compensation costs 0.7 0.9 0.6 0.7 0.7 0.6 0.8 0.9
Wages and salaries 0.4 0.7 0.5 0.6 0.6 0.7 0.9 0.8
Benefit costs 1.2 1.5 0.8 0.9 0.7 0.4 0.7 1.0
State and local government
Compensation costs 0.8 1.0 0.9 1.0 1.1 0.5 1.1 1.4
Wages and salaries 0.5 0.7 0.6 0.7 1.0 0.4 0.9 1.4
Benefit costs 1.5 1.6 1.4 1.6 1.5 0.7 1.5 1.5

Over-the-year changes, not seasonally adjusted

Annual compensation costs for civilian workers increased 3.3 percent for the year
ended September 2006, compared with a 3.0 percent over-the-year increase for
September 2005. Compensation costs in private industry rose 3.0 percent in the year ended
September 2006, compared with a 2.9 percent increase in September 2005. For state and
local governments, compensation costs increased 4.1 percent for the year ended
September 2006, compared with the over-the-year gain of 3.9 percent in September 2005.
(See tables B, 4, 5, and 7.)

Table B. 12-month percent changes in the Employment Cost Index, not seasonally adjusted
Sep. Sep. Sep. Sep. Sep. Sep.
Compensation component 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
Civilian workers
Compensation costs 4.1 3.5 3.9 3.8 3.0 3.3
Wages and salaries 3.6 3.1 2.9 2.5 2.3 3.2
Benefit costs 5.1 4.5 6.3 6.6 5.0 3.3
Private industry
Compensation costs 4.0 3.5 3.9 3.8 2.9 3.0
Wages and salaries 3.5 3.1 3.0 2.6 2.3 3.0
Benefit costs 4.9 4.3 6.3 6.7 4.5 2.8
State and local government government
Compensation costs 4.4 3.7 3.7 3.4 3.9 4.1
Wages and salaries 3.9 3.0 2.4 2.1 2.6 3.7
Benefit costs 5.6 5.3 6.7 6.5 6.5 5.2

The components of compensation differed in their rates of change. While increases in
wages and salaries became greater, the sharp increases in benefit costs seen for civilian
and private industry workers over the past several years slowed to a more moderate pace. For
civilian workers, wages and salaries rose 3.2 percent in the year ended September 2006, greater
than the gain of 2.3 percent in September 2005 and 2.5 percent in September 2004. Benefit
costs gained 3.3 percent for civilian workers for the year ended September 2006, slowing
significantly from increases of 5.0 percent for the year ended September 2005 and 6.6 percent
for the year ended September 2004. (See tables B, 8, and 12.)

Nonfarm private industry

For the year ended September 2006, compensation costs increased 2.2 percent for
goods-pro

ducing industries, slowing from the increase of 3.4 percent for the year ended
September 2005. The rise in compensation costs for manufacturing moderated for the year ending September 2006, advancing 1.6 percent compared with the 3.2 percent gain in September 2005. Compensation costs for construction rose 3.3 percent in September 2006, the same rate of increase as in September 2005. (See table 5.)

The over-the-year increase for September 2006 in compensation for service-providing
industries was 3.2 percent, compared with the 2.8 percent gain for the year ended
September 2005. Among service-providing supersector industries, compensation gains ranged
from 2.8 percent in the leisure and hospitality industry to 3.9 percent in education and
health services. For the year ended September 2006, compensation costs jumped 10.7 percent
in the utilities industry sector, higher than the increase of 4.5 percent for the year
ended September 2005. In contrast, compensation costs slowed sharply for the real estate
and rental and leasing sector, increasing 1.6 percent for September 2006 compared with
a jump of 8.0 percent for the year ended September 2005. (See table 5.)

Among white-collar occupational groups, over-the-year compensation cost gains for the
year ended September 2006 ranged from 2.5 percent for sales and related workers, to 3.6 percent for professional and related employees. Among blue-collar occupational groups, compensation cost changes ranged from 2.0 percent for production workers to 3.6 percent for construction and extraction workers. Compensation costs for service workers gained 2.8 percent for the year ended September 2006. (See table 5.)

Compensation costs for union workers advanced 2.8 percent over the year ended
September 2006, compared with 3.0 percent for the year ended September 2005. For nonunion workers, compensation costs rose 3.1 percent for the year ended September 2006, compared with a gain of 2.9 percent in September 2005. Wages and salaries for nonunion workers rose 3.2 percent for the 12 months ended in September 2006, compared with the over-the-year increase of 2.2 percent for union workers. Benefit costs for union workers rose 3.6 percent, compared with the 2.7 percent gain for nonunion workers in September 2006.
(See tables C, 6, 10, and 12.)

Table C. 12-month percent changes in the Employment Cost Index, private industry workers,
by bargaining status, not seasonally adjusted
Sep. Sep. Sep. Sep. Sep. Sep.
Compensation component 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
Union workers
Compensation costs 3.3 4.5 4.7 5.6 3.0 2.8
Wages and salaries 3.5 4.1 2.7 2.9 2.5 2.2
Benefit costs 3.1 5.1 8.3 10.1 4.0 3.6
Nonunion workers
Compensation costs 4.1 3.2 3.9 3.4 2.9 3.1
Wages and salaries 3.5 3.0 3.2 2.5 2.3 3.2
Benefit costs 5.4 4.0 5.9 5.9 4.6 2.7

State and local government

Wages and salaries for state and local government workers rose 3.7 percent in the year
ended September 2006, greater than the gain of 2.6 percent for the year ended September 2005.
Benefit costs rose 5.2 percent for the year ended September 2006, moderating from the
gain of 6.5 percent for the year ended September 2005. (See tables B, 11, and 12.)

For the year ended September 2006, compensation costs increased 5.6 percent for the
health care and social assistance industry, significantly higher than the 3.3 percent
increase for the year ended September 2005. Compensation costs for elementary and secondary schools rose 4.9 percent, compared with an increase of 3.7 percent for the year ended
September 2005. Among occupational groups, compensation costs for professional and related
workers rose 4.6 percent, for office and administrative support workers, 4.3 percent, and
for service workers, 4.0 percent for the year ended September 2006. (See table 7.)

Over-the-year changes in wages and salaries, constant dollars, not seasonally adjusted

Annual changes are computed in terms of December 2005 dollars to give an approximate
measure of changes in wages and salaries after adjustment for the changes over the same
time in the price of consumer goods and services. These estimates, in “constant dollars,”
show that wages and salaries for civilian workers rose 1.1 percent for the year ended
September 2006; a 3.2 percent gain in nominal wages and salaries for the year ended
September 2006 was offset by an increase of 2.1 percent in the Consumer Price Index for
the same time period. Wages and salaries for civilian workers declined 2.3 percent for the
year ended September 2005. Wages and salaries in private industry rose 1.0 percent in the
year ended September 2006, compared with a decline of 2.3 percent in September 2005. Wages and salaries increased 1.6 percent for state and local government workers for the year
ended September 2006, compared with an over-the-year decrease of 2.0 percent in
September 2005. These inflation-adjusted ECI series were derived using the Consumer
Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), U.S. City Average All Items.
(See table D, the Technical Note, and the Constant Dollar historical listing at
http://www.bls.gov/web/ecconst.pdf, for details.)

Table D. 12-month percent changes in wages and salaries, Employment Cost Index,
constant dollars, not seasonally adjusted
Sep. Sep. Sep. Sep. Sep. Sep.
Sector, occupational group and industry 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
Civilian workers 0.9 1.5 0.6 0.0 -2.3 1.1
Occupation
Management, professional, and related 1.3 1.5 0.8 -0.1 -2.2 1.5
Sales and office -0.2 1.9 0.8 0.4 -2.4 1.0
Natural resources, construction, and
maintenance 1.2 1.3 0.3 -0.2 -2.1 1.3
Production, transportation, and
material moving 1.1 1.4 0.2 0.0 -2.5 0.2
Service 0.7 1.5 0.0 -0.6 -2.1 0.6
Industry
Goods producing 0.7 1.3 0.6 0.3 -2.3 0.7
Service providing 1.0 1.6 0.6 -0.1 -2.3 1.2
Private industry 0.9 1.5 0.8 0.0 -2.3 1.0
State and local government 1.2 1.5 0.1 -0.5 -2.0 1.6

Labor Department Report

Labor Department data on employment costs were higher than had been expected

Valley focus: Employment

Valley focus: Employment

according to data released by the California Employment Development Department. From professional services to manufacturing, job growth across many sectors resulted in one of the best August-to-September performances in 16 years, while the number of jobs in Silicon Valley increased 1 percent from a year ago — a strong indicator that job growth is here to stay. Total workforce Number of force employed Number of force unemployed Unemployment rate Total jobs Total farm jobs Goods producing Services providing Trade, transportation Information Financial activities Professional, business services Health care, social assistance Leisure, hospitality Education Government Other services