Mike: Good day to all. Today is starting out with some bad news on the layoff front, as this blog’s headline suggests. Must be the corporate leaders are getting back from their extended July 4 breaks and are ready to get back to downsizing.


There are a couple of defense related layoffs with the Boeing and Lockheed announcements being the eye-catchers. And although there is significant waste and overspending in defense department budgets, it shows how banks are given trillions to survive and they produce nothing, but defense manufacturing jobs are eliminated to contain federal budgets. Why not give Boeing and Lockheed additional funds to develop some useful products, such as hybrid vehicle batteries, less expensive wind turbines, and other products that depend less on oil, which would be beneficial for defense needs and peacetime pursuits.  Corrupt banks are given everything and more by the feds, but the workers of this country are given less and less. The continuing destruction of manufacturing jobs at the expense of Goldman and other banking profits shows just whose side your federal representatives are on: Boeing to cut 1,000 defense jobsLockheed to Cut 600 Jobs.


Unemployment: It’s worse than you think:

I may often come across as a pessimist or a sky-is-falling kind of guy, but I’ve developed that habit after seeing how both private industry, especially banks/investment banks/insurance companies/mortgage brokers/etc., along with inefficient government and lax oversight have brought the world economies to the point of collapse. Reading the following article puts the current unemployment crises into perspective. I have mentioned many of the unemployment issues that are contained in the following article, but this article is written much more clearly and concisely by Mort Zuckerman than I have been able to present. I urge you to read the entire piece in and absorb the many facts which show that the true state of unemployment is worse than advertised and not likely to improve anytime soon.

– The average length of unemployment is higher than it’s been since government began tracking the data in 1948.

– June’s total assumed 185,000 people at work who probably were not. The government could not identify them; it made an assumption about trends. But many of the mythical jobs are in industries that have absolutely no job creation, e.g., finance. When the official numbers are adjusted over the next several months, June will look worse.

– More companies are asking employees to take unpaid leave. These people don’t count on the unemployment roll.

– No fewer than 1.4 million people wanted or were available for work in the last 12 months but were not counted. Why? Because they hadn’t searched for work in the four weeks preceding the survey.

– The number of workers taking part-time jobs due to the slack economy, a kind of stealth underemployment, has doubled in this recession to about nine million, or 5.8% of the work force. Add those whose hours have been cut to those who cannot find a full-time job and the total unemployed rises to 16.5%, putting the number of involuntarily idle in the range of 25 million.

– The average work week for rank-and-file employees in the private sector, roughly 80% of the work force, slipped to 33 hours. That’s 48 minutes a week less than before the recession began, the lowest level since the government began tracking such data 45 years ago. Full-time workers are being downgraded to part time as businesses slash labor costs to remain above water, and factories are operating at only 65% of capacity. If Americans were still clocking those extra 48 minutes a week now, the same aggregate amount of work would get done with 3.3 million fewer employees, which means that if it were not for the shorter work week the jobless rate would be 11.7%, not 9.5% (which far exceeds the 8% rate projected by the Obama administration).

– The average length of official unemployment increased to 24.5 weeks, the longest since government began tracking this data in 1948. The number of long-term unemployed (i.e., for 27 weeks or more) has now jumped to 4.4 million, an all-time high.

– The average worker saw no wage gains in June, with average compensation running flat at $18.53 an hour.

– The goods producing sector is losing the most jobs — 223,000 in the last report alone.

– The prospects for job creation are equally distressing. The likelihood is that when economic activity picks up, employers will first choose to increase hours for existing workers and bring part-time workers back to full time. Many unemployed workers looking for jobs once the recovery begins will discover that jobs as good as the ones they lost are almost impossible to find because many layoffs have been permanent. Instead of shrinking operations, companies have shut down whole business units or made sweeping structural changes in the way they conduct business. General Motors and Chrysler, closed hundreds of dealerships and reduced brands. Citigroup and Bank of America cut tens of thousands of positions and exited many parts of the world of finance.

Continue by clicking link:

via Average length of unemployment highest since 1948. – WSJ.com.


Jack Ohman

Jack Ohman

Larger layoff announcements and important economic reports:

US/Canada:
International:
Navigation links to today’s stories:

Microsoft/Google/IBM and other Rumors & News


cisco2– Cisco Systems (NSDQ:CSCO) reportedly is preparing to ax more positions this week as the company continues the job cuts and restructuring it first highlighted in its second-quarter earnings call in February.

Sources have told Channelweb.com that Cisco would most likely start slashing more jobs this week. It was unclear exactly how many positions could be eliminated.

via More Cisco Job Cuts Coming? – Networking – IT Channel News by CRN.



General Economic News




NEW YORK, July 15 (Reuters) – U.S. mortgage applications rose for a second straight week, driven by a jump in demand for home refinancing loans as interest rates tumbled, data from an industry group showed on Wednesday.

However, demand for home purchase loans, an early indicator of home sales, fell to its lowest level since late-May. The drop does not bode well for the hard-hit U.S. housing market, which is plagued by a huge supply and demand imbalance amid mounting foreclosures.

The MBA’s seasonally adjusted purchase index fell 9.4 percent to 258.8, the lowest reading since the week ended May 22.

via US mortgage applications rise as interest rates tumble | Reuters .


NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) — A key index of consumer prices rose more than expected in June but showed the largest year-over-year decline since January 1950, the government said Wednesday.

via Consumer price index up 0.7% in June, down 1.4% over year – Jul. 15, 2009 .


July 15 (Bloomberg) — Manufacturing in the New York region shrank this month at the slowest pace in more than a year, bolstered by the largest gain in orders since the recession began.

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s July general economic index climbed to minus 0.6, the highest level since April 2008, from minus 9.4 the prior month, the bank said today. Readings below zero for the Empire State index signal

via Manufacturing in New York Area Shrank at Slower Pace (Update2) – Bloomberg.com.


Mike: Another positive spin on a lousy report. Here you have a 0.4 dip in industrial production from a revised number that was worse than reported last month.

The Federal Reserve reported Wednesday that production at America’s factories, mines and utilities fell 0.4 percent last month as the recession crimped demand for a wide range of manufactured goods, including cars, machinery and household appliances.

The decline, however, was not as bad as May. Industrial activity posted a revised 1.2 percent drop then, which turned out to be slightly worse than first reported.

via Industrial activity logs smaller-than-expected dip – Yahoo! Finance.


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Scott Stantis

Scott Stantis




Government Layoff News



calif-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has ordered department heads to eliminate 2,000 jobs on top of the 5,000 positions he wants to cut as part of his budget solution, his officials said Tuesday.

Although Schwarzenegger and legislative leaders remain far apart in how to close the state’s $26.3 billion shortfall, the governor’s latest job-slashing order is aimed at helping prepare for inevitable cuts in state services, said Lynelle Jolley, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Personnel Administration.

via Schwarzenegger orders 2,000 more state jobs cut.


– California: The haves and have-nots


– Instead of making a planned budget presentation to the DuPage County Board Tuesday, Regional Office of Education Superintendent Darlene Ruscitti was in Springfield lobbying for missing state grant funds that forced her to cut 14 jobs.

via Daily Herald | State withholds grants, DuPage education czar cuts 14 jobs.


– Bryan city officials are eliminating 10 positions to help recover a $1.3 million shortfall in the general fund budget.

City Manager David Watkins said two of the positions are vacant and will not be filled, while eight people are being laid off. The savings, which includes salaries and benefits, amount to $500,000 to $600,000.

via 10 jobs to be cut, 3% raises OK’d | Bryan/College Station, Texas – The Eagle.


–  Even before Miami-Dade begins filling a gaping hole in its fiscal 2010 budget, the county’s Park and Recreation Department has laid off 23 full-time employees just to make ends meet this year.

via Miami-Dade parks lays off 23, signal of tough budget choices ahead .


– HAMMONTON — The town followed through with plans to lay off four municipal workers, a move expected to save the town up to $180,000.

via thehammontonnews.com | The Hammonton News | Hammonton news, community, yellow pages and classifieds. Serving Hammonton, NJ.


– The city of Twinsburg is looking to cut 25 firefighters, Twinsburg Mayor Katherine Procop says.



US and some Canada Layoff News



blue-cross-blue-shield1– More than 2,000 South Carolina jobs are in jeopardy after a BlueCross BlueShield of South Carolina subsidiary lost out on the bids to help run the military’s health insurance program.

Administering government health care programs is a key business strategy for BlueCross and it has been involved with the military’s plan for years.

via Lost contracts threaten 2,000 S.C. jobs – Local / Metro – The State.


boe– The head of Boeing’s Integrated Defense Systems (IDS), Jim Albaugh, told workers in an internal message Monday the division will eliminate about 1,000 jobs because of Pentagon budget cuts.

via Boeing news | Boeing says defense cuts will mean loss of 1,000 jobs | Seattle Times Newspaper. .


usair– MINNEAPOLIS – US Airways said on Tuesday it will cut 600 ground jobs this fall because of the slow economy.

The airline said it will close its Las Vegas US Airways Club and cut jobs at its club in Phoenix, and also shut the walk-up ticket counter at its headquarters in Tempe, Ariz., its last counter outside an airport.

via US Airways job cuts to affect Wichita Mid-Continent Airport | Top Stories | Wichita Eagle.


lockheed– July 14 (Bloomberg) — Lockheed Martin Corp., the world’s largest defense company, will cut 600 more jobs in New York following the cancellation last month of its contract to develop and build the next U.S. presidential helicopter.


andersen– In another sign that the housing market has yet to hit bottom, window manufacturer Andersen Corp. said Tuesday it will permanently eliminate 250 management and staff positions, more than half of them at its Bayport, Minn., headquarters.


– Four hundred space shuttle employees will be laid off beginning in October, a spokesman for a National Aeronautics and Space Administration contractor told CNN on Tuesday

Jeff Carr, spokesman for United Space Alliance, NASA’s primary contractor for the space shuttle, said he thinks most of the layoffs will come from volunteers, and 60 percent are to come from Florida crews.

He said notice of the layoffs has been sent to the entire corps of Space Shuttle employees.

via NASA to cut 400 jobs, contractor says – CNN.com.


-The company that services NASA’s space shuttles announced plans Tuesday to shed nearly 250 jobs in Florida later this year — its first major layoff in a looming disaster for an economy tied to Kennedy Space Center.

United Space Alliance, the prime contractor for U.S. space-shuttle operations, will also cut its work force in the Houston area by about 150 people.

via First wave of shuttle layoffs due at KSC in October – OrlandoSentinel.com.


– DALHART — By late September a hundred forty-five people in Dalhart will be without a job.

Premium Standard Farms is making cutbacks.

via Dalhart Job Cuts.


norfolksouth– MUSCLE SHOALS – Norfolk Southern has reduced the amount of job cuts at the Sheffield rail yard to 65, officials said Tuesday.

Company officials initially planned to cut 84 jobs at Sheffield, said Robin Chapman, a spokesman for Norfolk Southern in Atlanta.

via Railroad reduces job cuts to 65 | TimesDaily.com | The Times Daily | Florence, AL.


– Independent Health Association said Tuesday that it is laying off 50 employees, outsourcing some technology and telecommunications jobs, and selling the majority of its third-party administration business to a local industry veteran.

via Independent Health cuts 50 jobs : Business : The Buffalo News.


– ESAB Welding of Florence is set to cut back jobs by the end of this year

via ESAB Welding to cut jobs in 2009 : News : WPDE .


– YOUNGSTOWN – Forum Health will eliminate about 50 jobs at Northside Medical Center when it moves the hospital’s adult Behavioral Health services to Trumbull Memorial Hospital over the next month, officials announced Tuesday.

via Northside to cut 50 jobs, move behavioral health – TribToday.com – News, Sports, Jobs, Community Information – Tribune Chronicle – Warren, OH.


-Nokia Canada has cut 20 more jobs in British Columbia as Nokia’s parent, Finnish-based Nokia Oyj, aims to cut costs by centralizing its gaming development, Bloomberg News reported on Tuesday.

via Nokia cuts 20 B.C. jobs .


– CALGARY – The University of Calgary has become the latest public sector employer to consider layoffs amid lean economic times, with the school’s president warning faculty and staff Tuesday that as many as 200 jobs will be cut by the fall.



International Layoff News



jaguar-land-rover– LONDON (Reuters) – British luxury car-maker Jaguar Land Rover will cut 300 jobs from its Halewood plant in the north of England and stop production of its X-Type car due to the downturn in the auto industry.

via Jaguar Land Rover to cut 300 jobs, slows production | Reuters .


– Thousands of postal workers are to strike on Friday in a worsening dispute with Royal Mail over jobs, pay and services.

via 12,000 post staff plan to walk out | Metro.co.uk .


– We plan to enter a mass program of lay offs, which might result in sacking 600 persons in our headquarters. We shall conduct consultation talks and we hope to reach an agreement with the trade unions. Following that approval we shall begin structural changes, which should be concluded this year,” said Andrzej Klesyk, president of PZU.

via Warsaw Business Journal – Online Portal – wbj.pl.


– Slovenj Gradec, 15 July (STA) – The Prevent car seat covers manufacturer group is set to let go nearly 170 people in Slovenia in the coming weeks. 119 workers at Prevent will get pink slips in the coming days, while an additional 50 working in parent company Prevent Global are to follow in August, Monika Zvikart of Prevent Global told STA on Wednesday.


– EIGHT jobs will be axed in Barton after supermarket bosses announced the closure of the Co-op store in Barton.


Hiring News and News You Can Use



– SEGUIN — Commissioners learned Tuesday that the Caterpillar plant now under construction will bring with it more than a dozen primary suppliers that will need facilities within two miles of the plant — and will create in all 4,000 local jobs, a nearly three-fold increase over Caterpillar’s workers alone.


– A Wilmington air cargo charter company that serves DHL Worldwide Express plans to move its 150-person operation to Florence pending the approval of payroll tax credits from Florence City Council.

via ASTAR bringing 150 jobs to Florence | Cincinnati.com | Cincinnati.Com.


Mike: A busy day for layoff announcements and news. Tomorrow brings us the Jobless Claims report, which is expected to show some improvement from last week’s 565,000 claims. I’ll put my guess on 555,000, but I think the revised number will increase to 575,000. Till then……………………….


Tom Toles

Tom Toles



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2 Comments to “Unemployment: It’s worse than you think – CA to cut another 2000 state jobs? – Boeing to cut 1000 defense jobs – US Airways to release 600 – Lockheed to chop 600 – Andersen cuts more than 500”

  1. […] community around issues such as human rights, education, civil liberties, poverty, and health. Unemployment: It’s worse than you think – CA to cut another 2000 state jobs? – Boeing … – layofflist.org 07/15/2009 Mike: Good day to all. Today is starting out with some bad news […]

  2. Mary Lintz says:

    I am from Michigan, we have the highest unemployment rate in the Nation. I heard that Congress just past 73 more weeks of UI for Indiana, but not for her neighbours.Thats rude. There are no Jobs here, where I am, and its looking like there aren’t going to be any anytime soon. So what are we supposed to do,hm? Cannot get Food Stamps, we make too much on UI. Something needs to be done, soon. What we should do is go to these big companies and tell them to either hire these people who are out of work, or they can pay the UI.

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