Mike: Thursday is showing a wide range of jobless news, but unfortunately most of that news showing continuing deterioration in the job market. Let’s see what the big numbers show:

The number of workers on jobless benefits rolls hit a 26-year high last month, although initial claims dipped last week, data showed on Thursday, underscoring the rapid deterioration in the labor market.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/Number-of-workers-on-jobless-rb-13745901.html

Mike: But the weekly number decreased for some odd reason. I don’t see this as being a trend, but an anomaly:

The number of Americans filing new unemployment insurance claims decreased last week, but the number of people continuing to collect benefits hit a 26-year high.

The Labor Department reported Thursday that initial filings for state jobless benefits decreased by 21,000 to 509,000 for the week ended Nov. 29. That was down from a revised 530,000 claims in the prior week.

Economists were expecting jobless claims to increase to 540,000, according to a consensus compiled by Briefing.com

http://money.cnn.com/2008/12/04/news/economy/jobless_claims/?postversion=2008120410

Pressured by the economic turmoil and the mounting loss of traditional phone customers, AT&T Inc. is cutting 12,000 jobs, about 4 percent of its work force.

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/081204/at_t_jobs.html

Mike: Unfortunately, tech companies are going to layoff more as the dismal holiday selling season comes to a close:

Adobe Systems Inc. is not making the expected revenues for their fourth-quarter earnings, which has prompted the corporation to plan an 8 percent reduction in their workforce. That is the equivalent of 600 employees that will be losing their jobs.

http://www.bestsyndication.com/?q=20081203_adobe_and_other_companies_announce_more_job_cuts_employee_layoffs.htm

Springfield (KMTR) – A difficult day for dozens of local employees as they learn Shorewood Packaging is closing its Springfield manufacturing plant.  The printing company will start to phase out its operation over the next two weeks to two months.

At a company staff meeting Wednesday morning, about 150 people were notified of the impending layoffs. Many of the employees have worked at Shorewood since it opened 13 years ago. 

http://www.kmtr.com/news/local/story/Shorewood-Packaging-closing-Springfield-plant/SJkEehmaIkGdD6Y7IJAzzQ.cspx

Cintas Corp., citing lowered demand, will close two Kentucky manufacturing plants, eliminating almost 300 jobs, the company said.

http://www.bizjournals.com/cincinnati/stories/2008/12/01/daily37.html

Frank Chervan, Inc. announced the closure of several operating units located in its Bedford, Virginia Plant.  The company today notified approximately 90 affected workers that operations will be closed in early February.  The company will still operate a rough lumber mill in Bedford that will likely employ approximately 30 people.

http://www.wsls.com/sls/news/local/article/frank_chervan_closing_majority_of_bedford_plant/22364/

Greif Inc. this week said it plans to close two fiber drum plants early next year, a move that will cost 67 jobs.

The Delaware-based industrial packager said it will close a 41-employee plant in Culloden, W.Va., and a 26-employee plant in Kansas City, Kan., by the end of January. 

http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/stories/2008/12/01/daily20.html

One of Wytheville’s oldest manufacturing businesses is closing next year. The 170 employees of Acument Global Technologies were notified at a 7 a.m. meeting Wednesday.

http://www.swvatoday.com/comments/wytheville_plant_to_close/news/4131/

A company that manufactures automotive fastener parts plans to close its Wytheville plant next year, eliminating about 160 jobs.

A spokesman for Acument Global Technologies said Wednesday the closing is due to “very difficult automotive industry conditions.” Timothy Weir says sales and use of plant capacity are down, and employment has declined steadily from 200 jobs last year to 162.

http://www.wvec.com/sharedcontent/APStories/stories/D94RBE402.html

SHERMAN — The planned February closing of the Bauhaus USA Inc. upholstered furniture plant here will cost 139 jobs, the latest setback for the area’s troubled furniture industry.

http://www.clarionledger.com/article/20081203/BIZ/81203010

TERRE HAUTE — Tough economic times are forcing another Valley business to cut its workforce.

Hoosier Handpak, a contract packager since 1995, expects to layoff 55 of its 60 employees by the end of January.

http://www.tribstar.com/local/local_story_338233805.html

The Bakersfield Californian will layoff 25 staffers as it tries to balance its budget amid shrinking advertising revenue and an unstable economy, the newspaper announced Wednesday.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2008/12/03/state/n180946S47.DTL

U.S. Steel Corporation (USS) has announced the layoff of approximately 3,500 employees at three facilities over the next several weeks.

http://chestertontribune.com/Business/12389%20us_steel_to_idle_three_facilitie.htm

A major layoff announcement from a New England jet-engine manufacturer. Pratt and Whitney will lay off 350 salaried employees, most of the cuts happening in Connecticut.

http://www.necn.com/Boston/Business/2008/12/03/Pratt-Whitney-to-layoff-350/1228349789.html

Mike: The following is from the The Docket – Massacheutts Lawyers Weekly’s news blog. You may want to put this in your favs to keep track of this layoff information:

Rumors are swirling as the clock ticks down to Jan. 1, the day many legal insiders expect law firms large and small in Massachusetts to announce layoffs.

http://blogs.masslawyersweekly.com/news/2008/12/03/law-firm-layoff-watch/

A new round of layoffs began Wednesday at the Arizona Republicas the newspaper’s parent company Gannett Inc. looks to trim 10 percent from its daily newspapers across the U.S.

Sources said 68 employees were laid off today, including 25 from the Republic’s newsroom. The cuts could continue tomorrow.

Hedge funds, which have long attracted Wall Street professionals with the promise of hefty salaries and bonuses, are now cutting staff in an effort to reduce expenses.

Much of the overhead a hedge fund has is related to salaries. So, if assets under management drop 50% due to a combination of redemptions and negative returns, these firms cannot support the same overhead

http://www.iddmagazine.com/issues/2008_46/187885-1.html?partner=fierce_finance

Mike: United really knows how to motivate employees to put out their best effort for the holiday rush:

Pink slips will soon be flying at United Airlines, which is preparing to lay off about 1,190 workers early next year, sources tell the Tribune.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-biz-united-layoffs-uaua-dec03,0,5385830.story

Idaho’s total number of unemployed workers will reach a record of 43,000 in November, Idaho Department of Labor Director Roger Madsen predicted Wednesday

http://www.idahostatesman.com/235/story/591880.html

Mike: To add insult to injury:

KANSAS CITY, MO  —  Unemployment across the state of Missouri is on the rise, which means more and more people are applying for unemployment benefits.

But with the increased volume of people claiming benefits, the state says the amount of time people have to wait before receiving an unemployment check is increasing as well. 

In some cases, people have had to wait up to 10 weeks to receive their first unemployment checks

http://www.myfoxkc.com/myfox/pages/News/Detail?contentId=7998345&version=4&locale=EN-US&layoutCode=TSTY&pageId=3.1.1

Unemployment rates in October were up in 112 of Kentucky’s 120 counties compared with October 2007, according to data released Tuesday by the Kentucky Office of Employment and Training.

Fayette and Livingston counties had the lowest unemployment rates, at 4.6 percent. Jackson County had the highest, at 10.1 percent.

http://www.bizjournals.com/louisville/stories/2008/12/01/daily42.html

Mike: More side affects of the crumbling housing market:

Florida Made Door, a subsidiary of Tampa-based Masonite Corp., is Astatula’s largest employer and Lake County’s fourth-largest manufacturer. It has been a staple of the town’s economy since it moved here from Orange County in the 1970s.

No new homes, no doors

According to county records, the company reported it had 150 employees this year. In addition to the 80 layoffs, some employees will be transferred to the company’s other facilities. The Astatula site will continue to sell and distribute doors with a bare-bones staff of about a half-dozen workers.

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/business/custom/thrifty/orl-hardhit0408dec04,0,7766874.story

Mike: As the next two articles show, the Baltimore area is getting hit hard:

Constellation Energy Group Inc. will lay off as much as 8 percent of its work force, or more than 800 people, mostly from the commodities trading division that propelled the company to the brink of bankruptcy this year and forced it into a proposed takeover, company officials said Wednesday.

via Constellation Energy Group to cut more than 800 jobs — baltimoresun.com.

Legg Mason Inc., the Baltimore-based fund manager that has lost three-quarters of its market value this year, plans to cut jobs as soon as this week as it seeks to reduce spending by $120 million a year, according to a person familiar with the matter.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=aiEFhQowGE34&refer=home

State Street Corp. became the latest titan of Boston’s financial services industry to unveil major job cuts with plans to trim 1,600 to 1,800 positions from the company’s global work force.

http://www.morningsun.net/business/x415862847/State-Street-Corp-plans-hefty-job-cuts

Mike: And on that note:

 

Tom Toles - Thursday, Dec 4

Tom Toles - Thursday, Dec 4

 

 



 

 

 


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