Archive for February, 2009

Nevada Jobs

Monday, February 23rd, 2009

Higher unemployment across the nation is causing problems for those looking for jobs in Las Vegas. Since the area relies heavily on tourism to generate work, the national recession has hit the area hard.

With fewer people having excess money to gamble or even vacation with, the city is practically bleeding jobs. Between November and December of last year, unemployment jumped 1.2 percent from 7.9 percent to 9.1 percent. Since January’s figures have yet to be released there is no telling how much more drastic this situation has gotten so far this year.

According to the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority, 2008 was not a good year for the city. The volume of visitors fell by 4.4 percent to 37.5 million, which means that more Vegas jobs could soon be cut. The percentage of hotel rooms being filled in the area also dropped 4.4 percent, meaning that, on average, only 86 percent of the city’s rooms were filled at any given time. This caused the cost of a hotel room in the area to fall 9.8 percent to $119.19 a night.

The report cited a myriad of problems as the cause for the city’s suffering tourism industry. Some of these included the housing crisis, the rising price of gas, the credit struggling credit market and staggering unemployment rates. Despite all of this, Las Vegas remains the number one vacation destination in the country.

All of these factors have planned a huge part in rising unemployment rates statewide. Between November and December the state unemployment rate jumped 1 percent from 8.1 to 9.1 percent. Many experts expect that those seeking jobs in Nevada won’t have an easy time throughout the remainder of this year. According to MSNBC.com and Larry Mosley of the State Department of Unemployment, experts believe that the jobless rate will climb as high as 11.4 percent before it starts to decline again.

In December alone 128,100 Nevada residents claimed unemployment benefits. The 9.1 percent jobless rate is particularly shocking when compared to the fact that only several months earlier, in July, only 6.6 percent of residents were unable to find work in the state.

Many without work are no longer only concerned about finding a job in Nevada. The newest issue to arise is the fact that state’s unemployment fund is beginning to feel the strain of all of these new claimants. If the jobless rate continues to rise at the speed it is currently going at, some fear that it will be tapped out before the end of the year. According to the State’s Department of Employment, Training and Rehabilitation, there is only around $533 million left in the account. Mae Worthey, the Department’s spokesperson, said that is possible they will have to borrow federal funding in order to make sure that all claimants receive their benefits.

“Unfortunately, we are expecting the fund to be depleted by the end of the year, and this time next year we may be looking at a deficit in the fund and have to borrow from the federal government,” said Worthey, according to MSNBC.com. “But there is no concern that people won’t get paid. They will definitely get their benefits. It’s just that we may be forced to go to the federal government to get a loan in order to pay those benefits.”

Tags: ,
Posted in Job Search | 2 Comments »

Advice for Finding an Internship in a Struggling Economy

Thursday, February 19th, 2009

Unemployment rates throughout the nation have been rising steadily. Jobs are becoming harder to find for professionals at all stages of their careers. Now many experts say that internships programs are beginning to suffer the effects of the national recession.

One company that recently had to do away with some of their internship positions is Caterpillar, Inc. Those in charge of the business recently announced that they would be decreasing the size of their workforce by around 20 percent, due to the economic strain. As part of this effort, 14 students lost their internship positions with the company.

Sadly, just as these positions become even more important to students they’re becoming scarcer. Now that it’s even harder for those entering the job market to find work, having the competitive edge that participating in an internship program gives an applicant is much needed.

Students who decide to intern and are lucky enough to find a program are more desirable to hiring managers. These individuals are seen as more responsible and as having at least some real work experience under their belts. In addition to this, interns who don’t find a job with the company they worked for before entering the employment market usually at least find themselves with several letters of recommendation. These come in particularly handy for those who have not held jobs while in college.

Although companies may be decreasing the number of internships they provide, only one style of program will likely be effected in a big way; paid internships. Since many of these businesses are having to scale back the size of their professional workforces, they don’t exactly have the money to pour into programs that train students.

Despite this, there should still be plenty of non-paid internships to go around. With offices having to cut the amount of money they spend on workers, many businesses will have a lot of over worked staff members. College students who are willing to work for the experience alone will be in high demand, if for no other reason than to help handle some of the excess work caused by vacant positions.

Those interested in finding an internship should first talk to their advisors, other college professors, or even their campus’ career center. These individuals usually know which businesses are looking for new interns.
If this doesn’t yield any results, social networking may come in handy. Make a list of all the professionals that you know who work in a field you may be interested in and then contact them. They may very well know about companies that are stilling hiring interns. Looking for positions on online internship search sites may also show you some possibilities you wouldn’t have encountered otherwise.

Tags:
Posted in Job Search | No Comments »

Green Companies Thrive; Jobs Available

Monday, February 16th, 2009

In spite of the economy, not all businesses are suffering. Environmental Waste Solutions (EWS) announces that, across the country, their affiliates are seeing their profits soar while so many others are forced into change just so they can work around a consistently lagging economy. No job cuts here.

While stocks on Wall Street continue to fall sharply and fear for a recession spreads across the country, EWS affiliates working across the United States have easily avoided the influence of the economy.

According to EWS, this is precisely because, “EWS is a recession-proof business,” enabling affiliates to see their profits soar despite an economy that only seems to be getting worse.

However, many tend to wonder how a business can be “recession-proof.” EWS reminds affiliates and those that are interested that it is not the typical corporation that will survive through millions of dollars of loss through government help or simply because it is that rich. Instead, EWS is a business that the economy will always have a hard time affecting because its success lies entirely in solid waste.

EWS operates by training its affiliates to look at solid waste from a drastically different perspective than is normal. Instead of looking at trash as something with no value, EWS affiliates view it as more of an opportunity. With the knowledge given to them by EWS, affiliates work with businesses in their areas and scrutinize their waste streams. In doing so, they can help their clients dispose of their solid way more efficiently–through better recycling and materials exchange programs. For larger and more complex clients, affiliates work with EWS in what they call a joint venture.

For EWS, their waste-centered business is not only recession proof for affiliates, but it also helps clients work around the economy as well. By helping them save money, EWS enables business to continue operating without cutting jobs or slowing down.

Posted in Job Search | 1 Comment »