Louisiana's income forecast has brightened, giving lawmakers more money to spend in the budget. The Revenue Estimating Conference this morning adjusted next year's forecast by $155 million—$65 million more than what was assumed in the House-passed version of the 2013-14 budget. Economists say the state's individual income tax collections are higher than expected, a sign of a strong labor market. The four-member income-forecasting panel also bumped up projections for this year by $129 million, which could help fill gaps in the current year's budget or be used for other items. The changes will give the Senate Finance Committee more wiggle room in crafting the Senate's version of spending plans for the coming fiscal year and the one to follow. The committee starts combing through the House-approved budget later this week.
Nick Pentas has been promoted to general manager of Mercedes-Benz of Baton Rouge. He joined the company in 2000 while attending LSU. He rose through the ranks at the dealership, working as roadside technician, cashier, service adviser, service manager, pre-owned vehicle manager, and general sales manager.
Offering a more upbeat view of the economy, President Barack Obama resurrected his jobs proposals today, advancing modest initiatives as he pushed for action on more ambitious efforts that face resistance from congressional Republicans. "We're poised for progress," he declared to an audience in Austin, Texas. The president chose the bustling state capital as a backdrop to refocus on higher wages, education and a manufacturing-driven agenda that has been eclipsed by his struggles over gun control and spending cuts and his ongoing push for an overhaul of immigration laws. "You might not know this, because if you listen to all the doom and gloom in Washington and politics, and watching cable TV, sometimes you might get kind of thinking nothing is going right," Obama told students at a technology high school. "The truth is, there's a lot of reasons for us to feel optimistic about where we're headed as a country." Nevertheless, Obama said that while housing markets are improving,...
The number of Americans who applied for unemployment benefits fell by 4,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 323,000, a five-year low. Layoffs have returned to pre-recession levels, a trend that could lead to more hiring. The Labor Department reports that the less volatile four-week average dropped 6,250 to 336,750. That's the fewest since November 2007, one month before the Great Recession began. Applications are a proxy for layoffs. Weekly applications have fallen about 9% since November and are now at a level consistent with a healthy economy. The last time weekly applications were lower was in January 2008, when they were 321,000. Economists were largely encouraged by the decline. "This is a very positive trend and we should embrace it," says Jennifer Lee, an economist at BMO Capital Markets, in an email to clients. The job market has also improved over the past six months. Net job gains have averaged 208,000 a month from November through April. That's up from an average of...
U.S. employers posted fewer job openings in March compared with February and slowed overall hiring, underscoring a weak month of job growth. The Labor Department reports today that job openings fell 1.4% on the month to a seasonally adjusted total of 3.8 million. Total hiring, meanwhile, declined 4.3% to 4.3 million. The separate jobs report for March showed U.S. employers added just 138,000 net jobs during the month, well below February's 332,000. Today's report shows that the slowdown occurred because gross hiring fell and layoffs increased. The unemployed faced heavy competition in March. There were 3.1 unemployed people, on average, for each job opening. That's above the ratio of 2-to-1 that is typical in a healthy economy. The Labor Department reports the economy performed better in April, when employers added 165,000 jobs and the unemployment rate dropped from 7.6% in March to a four-year low of 7.5%
U.S. employers added 165,000 jobs in April, and hiring was much stronger in the previous two months than the government first estimated. The job increases helped reduce the unemployment rate from 7.6% in March to a four-year low of 7.5% in April, the Labor Department reports this morning. The government revised up its estimate of job gains in February and March by a combined 114,000. It now says 332,000 jobs were added in February and 138,000 in March. The economy has created an average of 208,000 jobs a month from November through April—above the 138,000 added in the previous six months. An additional 210,000 people started looking for work in April, and many of them found jobs. The hiring last month was broad-based. The only sectors of the economy that cut jobs in April were construction and government. Professional and business services, which include high-paying fields such as accounting, engineering and architecture, added 73,000 jobs. Retailers added 29,000 employees, and...
A private survey released today in advance of the U.S. government's official April jobs report Friday shows U.S. companies added 119,000 jobs during the month, the fewest in seven months. The report from payroll processor ADP suggests that government spending cuts and higher taxes could be starting to weigh on the job market. And new requirements under President Barack Obama's health care law may be prompting some small and midsize companies to hold back on hiring. ADP also says job growth in March was slower than first thought: showing 131,000 added, down from an initial estimate of 158,000. "This is a bit disappointing; it shows the economy is growing more slowly as we go into the spring and summer," Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics—which compiles the report from ADP's data—tells The Associated Press. The slowdown in April was broad-based, the survey shows. Manufacturers cut 10,000 jobs, while firms in the service sector added the fewest in seven...
Confidence in the U.S. job market has rebounded to roughly a normal level from its record low after the Great Recession, and Americans increasingly feel they could find a new job if necessary. That's according to results of the 2012 General Social Survey, a long-standing poll of public opinion. The poll results indicate that fear of being laid off dropped last year from its 2010 peak to roughly its average for the past 35 years. Meanwhile, the percentage of Americans who said it would be somewhat or very easy to find a job if they lost theirs rose to 54% last year from 46% in 2010. The 2010 figure was the lowest since 1983, when the United States was also emerging from a deep recession. On average, in the survey's history, about 58% of respondents have said it would be very or somewhat easy to find a job. As layoffs have declined, fewer Americans fear losing their job. Last year, 11% of adults thought it was somewhat or very likely that they'd lose their job. That was down from a...
The 25th annual ranking of the best jobs to have in America by CareerCast.com has been released, with actuary topping the list and news reporter taking the bottom slot. Behind actuary, the top 10 best jobs on the list are biomedical engineer, software engineer, audiologist, financial planner, dental hygienist, occupational therapist, optometrist, physical therapist and computer systems analyst. The list is compiled using a composite scoring system that weighs work environment, income, stress and projected job growth for the profession. Just ahead of reporter at the bottom of the list is lumberjack, enlisted military personnel, actor, oil rig worker, dairy farmer, meter reader, mail carrier, roofer and flight attendant. You can check out the complete list here.
The jobless rate in Louisiana rose to 6.2% in March from 6% in February, though it remained below the 6.8% rate recorded last March. Louisiana's unemployment rate rose in March for the third straight month, as fewer people reported having work. The increase, reported today by the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, contrasts with a separate survey showing employer payrolls rose in Louisiana. The separate BLS survey of payrolls shows nonfarm employees rose by about 3,000 in March, climbing nearly 25,000 above year-ago levels. The number of people in the labor force fell, but was outstripped by a larger decrease in the number of people who reported being without a job. The number of unemployed Louisianans rose by almost 3,000 from February to above 129,000 in March. However, that was also below the nearly 143,000 in March 2012. Louisiana was one of 26 states that posted a year-over-year unemployment rate decrease in March, while seven states had rate increases and 17 posted flat...
A private survey of U.S. job growth released this morning in advance of Friday's official March jobs report from the government says companies added fewer jobs last month than they did in March a year ago. Private employers added 158,000 jobs last month, payroll processor ADP reports. That's down from February's gain of 237,000 and January's 177,000. Construction companies didn't post any gain in March, after average monthly increases of 29,000 in the previous three months. Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics, says the hiring surge during the previous months likely reflected a jump in rebuilding in the northeast portion of the U.S. after Superstorm Sandy. Moody's helps compile the monthly report with ADP. The ADP report is derived from actual payroll data and tracks total nonfarm private employment each month. The report suggests that the government's March payroll figures may come in below economists' forecast of 195,000 net jobs. Zandi says the drop job growth last...
Just one day after announcing plans to open a $55 million technology center on the downtown riverfront—a project that local and state officials are calling a game changer for Baton Rouge—IBM today announced a forthcoming job fair to begin filling some of the 800 jobs that will eventually be created by the project. "We have immediate opportunities for forward-thinking Application Development Specialists with technical degrees," reads an announcement for the job fair, to be held Tuesday, April 23, at the Baton Rouge Marriott. IBM says initial job offerings will be available for "all levels of experience." As a prelude to the job fair on April 23, IBM says it will hold a "campus blitz" between April 8 and April 19 at LSU, Southern University, Southeastern Louisiana University, UL Lafayette, UNO and other schools to target senior students and recent grads. In addition to the 800 jobs that will be created at the IBM center over the next four years, LSU estimates the project...
Diane Allen & Associates, an advertising and public relations firm, announced that Nancy Steiner has been named vice president of media services and Donny Charbonnet has been named director of media services. Steiner had served as the agency's media director, and Charbonnet as its senior media buyer. In addition to assuming their respective expanded responsibilities in the media department, both individuals will join the executive management team, led by co-owners Diane Allen and Al McDuff.
U.S. employers advertised more job openings in January, suggesting that hiring will remain healthy in the coming months. Job opening figures rose 2.2% in January from December to 3.69 million, the Labor Department says in a report released this morning. Openings had fallen nearly 5% in December; they were still below November's level of nearly 3.8 million. There were other positive signs in today's report: Employers laid off the fewest workers in January than in any month since records were first created in 2001. And the number of Americans quitting their jobs rose to the highest in more than four years: People usually quit when they have another job, so more quitting suggests it is easier to find work. There is still a lot of competition for open positions. About 12.3 million people were unemployed in January. That means there were 3.3 unemployed people, on average, competing for each job. In a healthy economy, that ratio is roughly 2 to 1. Rising openings and quits add to recent...
The economic outlook for the world's major economies improved in January, bolstered by signs of firmer recoveries in the United States and Japan, the Organization for Economic Development and Cooperation reports this morning. The international group's composite index of leading indicators rose to 100.4 in January, up slightly from the previous month and the highest level since June 2011. As the Los Angeles Timesreports, the group's index is another sign that the U.S. economic recovery is strengthening, following Friday's report that the February unemployment rate dropped to a four-year low of 7.7% after the nation added 236,000 new jobs. The monthly index projects economic growth trends over the next six to nine months using a variety of data, including orders, inventories, business confidence and financial market indicators. The index has been on the...
The median income for a woman working full-time in Baton Rouge was nearly $16,000 less than the median income for a man as of 2011, which places the city at No. 4 on a newly released ranking of the U.S. metro areas with the greatest gender pay inequality. According to Delaware-based financial news and opinion website 24/7 Wall Street, which compiled and released the rankings, women in Baton Rouge make just 69.3% of what men do on average. The website notes women fare even worse than their male counterparts in a few industries in particular. "In the construction and extraction industry, women earned just 52.4% of what men earned in 2011," the report says. "Other fields where the pay gap between men and women in Baton Rouge was large include production, where the median income of women in 2011 was just 40.6% of the median income of men, and transportation, where women's earnings were just 42.8% that of men's." The median income in Louisiana's capital city is $51,037 for men, whereas...
A private survey released this morning ahead of Friday's official jobs report from the government shows U.S. businesses added a solid number of jobs in February, indicating higher taxes and looming government spending cuts have yet to slow hiring. Employers added 198,000 jobs in February, according to the survey from ADP. The payroll processor also revised its January hiring figures to show companies added 215,000 jobs, 23,000 more than what had initially been reported. The ADP report is derived from actual payroll data and tracks total nonfarm private employment each month. It suggests that the government's February jobs report may come in above economists' forecasts. Analysts expect it will show the economy added 152,000 jobs and that the unemployment rate dipped to 7.8% from 7.9% in January. "Despite the ongoing fiscal uncertainty and the payroll tax hike, the recovery is picking up momentum," says Paul Ashworth, an economist at Capital Economics. Mark Zandi, chief economist at...
The oil and gas industry is facing a talent gap just as a large number of older and more experienced employees are nearing retirement, a troubling trend that is especially acute in the United States and Canada, demographics experts say. Companies in the industry need to do a better job of recruiting engineers and other professionals and training them, if necessary. "At this juncture, it appears this is a very precarious stage for the industry," says Surya Rajan, director of upstream research and global gas for IHS. James Tastard, vice president of human resources for Norwegian oil and gas firm Statoil, says the problem is especially noticeable in Canada and the U.S. For example, in the U.S., he says, the sector is forecasting an outflow of 22,000 petrochemical workers by 2015, just two years from now. "It's not a people shortage" that's anticipated, he says. Talent and training are key, Tastard notes, adding that people who are having difficulty moving because of underwater mortgages...
Linda Gibson has been named a partner at TWRU CPAs & Financial Advisors. Gibson has been with the firm since 1997. She practices primarily in the firm's audit service area, but she also provides tax and general business consulting to both individuals and businesses.
The Baton Rouge metro area's real gross domestic product—that is, the total value of all goods sold, factoring in inflation—dipped 0.1% to $37.6 billion in 2011, compared to 2010. That's according to a new report out today from the Commerce Department's Bureau of Economic Analysis, which ranks Baton Rouge No. 251 among the nation's 366 largest metro areas for real GDP growth in 2011. Real GDP increased in 242 of the metro areas included in the report in 2011—or about two-thirds of all U.S. cities—with a 1.6% average increase. While Baton Rouge's real GDP was relatively stagnant between 2010 and 2011, the report shows it has increased nearly 10% since 2008, when it was $34.3 billion. The state posted a better than 10% increase in real GDP growth between 2008 ($184 billion) and 2011 ($205.9 billion). LSU economist Jim Richardson says Louisiana weathered the national recession relatively well and did not see considerable declines in unemployment, housing and...
The state's jobless rate continues to decline. First-time unemployment claims for the week ending Feb. 9 decreased to 2,829 from the previous week's total of 3,126, or about 9.5%. That's also about 10% fewer first-time jobless claims than the comparable week one year ago. Meanwhile, the four-week moving average of initial jobless claims decreased to 3,177 from the previous week's average of 3,591; and continued unemployment claims fell to 29,781, which is 25% fewer than in the same period one year ago. "We are one of only two states in the South that have more people employed than in 2008," says economist Loren Scott, who attributes the positive trend to the low price of natural gas. "It's fueling an industrial expansion unlike anything I have ever seen here before, and it's one I expect to continue." —Stephanie Riegel
In his State of the Union address Tuesday night, President Barack Obama called for raising the federal minimum wage to $9 an hour. While Obama says the pay increase would increase customer spending for businesses, business owners in the Capital Region say it would cause them to hire fewer workers. "It either will cause pay loss in hours, or it will create the problem whereby small business will not hire," says Pat Felder, owner of Felder's Collision Parts. Although Felder says she doesn't hire for less than $10 an hour, raising the minimum wage in Louisiana to $9 from $7.25 would affect the earning power of workers who earned raises: "Well, I've got to bump everybody else up," she says. Felder is also chairwoman of BRAC's board of directors, but she declined to state BRAC's position on raising the minimum wage. A BRAC spokeswoman says the area chamber has not done any research on the subject and has no statement. Associated Grocers CEO J.H. "Jay" Campbell Jr., for his part, says the...
Employers across the country added 157,000 jobs in January and hiring was stronger over the past two years than previously thought, providing reassurance that the job market held steady while economic growth sputtered. However, the mostly upbeat Labor Department report released this morning included a negative sign: The unemployment rate rose to 7.9% from 7.8% in December. The unemployment rate is calculated from a survey of households, while job gains come from a survey of employers. The hiring picture over the past two years looked better after the department's annual revisions. Those showed employers added an average of roughly 180,000 jobs per month in 2012 and 2011, up from previous estimates of about 150,000. And hiring was stronger at the end of last year, averaging 200,000 new jobs in the final three months. One notable change in the job market is the stronger contribution from construction firms. They added 28,000 jobs in January and nearly 100,000 in the past four months.
A private survey by payroll processor ADP, released this morning in advance of Friday's official January jobs report from the federal government, shows private-sector employers in the U.S. added 192,000 jobs in January. The Los Angeles Times reports that's more than economists had expected, and indicates the forthcoming jobs report from the government may be a good one. "It feels to me that the job market is improving," says Mark Zandi, chief economist for Moody's Analytics. "Job growth has accelerated." However, the government also reports this morning that the nation's GDP unexpectedly contracted in the fourth quarter—a first since 2009. Job growth is now hovering at about 175,000 jobs per month, Zandi says, which should be enough to bring the unemployment rate down every month. Zandi predicts the unemployment rate, currently at 7.8%,...
Horne, an accounting and business advisory firm, announced Jeff Aucoin has been named partner within the firm. Aucoin works from the firm's Baton Rouge office, where he specializes in fraud, forensic and litigation services. Aucoin's experience includes numerous fraud investigations, including embezzlement schemes, employee theft and misappropriation of assets. He also provides litigation support services relating to economic damage claims, business interruption claims, insurance fraud, document/data management engagements and bankruptcy matters.
ExxonMobil's refinery complex in north Baton Rouge grew from 700 employees a century ago to more than 2,200 employees and contractors as it entered the current century. But in the midst of the highest unemployment in decades and a sluggish recovery from the Great Recession, company executives faced a daunting challenge: where to find qualified, skilled workers such as welders, pipe fitters and electricians it required.
Louisiana's unemployment rate dropped to 5.5% in December, but a separate survey of payrolls showed significant job losses last month. Still, it capped a strong year for the state's labor market. Bureau of Labor Statistics numbers released today show Louisiana unemployment fell from 5.8% in November and 7% in December 2011. Louisiana's jobless rate decreased fifth-most among states in 2012, in percentage point terms, while Nevada saw the largest drop. Louisiana payrolls fell by 11,000 jobs, the third-largest decrease in the nation. But that reverse followed November's huge leap, which brought payrolls to an all-time high. The 1.95 million nonfarm employees in December remained near the historic peak. The number of unemployed Louisianans fell to 115,000 from 120,000 in November. In December 2011, 145,000 Louisianans were unemployed. In almost all U.S. states, jobless rates ended 2012 lower than where they began. As Reuters reports, 42 states and the District of Columbia registered...
Matt Lagarde, who manages a fleet of towboats in Convent, watched with dread last year as drought seared crops across the farm belt 1,000 miles upstream on the Mississippi River. Now the effects of the worst dry spell in 70 years are making their way to the river's delta, says Lagarde, 41, who has worked on the nation's busiest waterway for half his life. "Things just look fairly dismal over the next couple of months," Lagarde tells Bloomberg. "In the next couple of weeks, you're really going to see things start to tighten out." Though rain has been plentiful in Louisiana as of late, operators all along the Mississippi have lost work as diminished crops sap export tonnage and low water narrows the channel and jams up barges. Lagarde's employer, AEP River Operations, has had to shift workers around as it idled boats. It is working through January without the usual profit from the previous year to tide it over, Lagarde says. The company is not alone. Louisiana, a state sustained...
Daily Report has learned that Baton Rouge is a finalist with one other city in a state outside Louisiana to land a deal that would bring an IBM facility to downtown. Though officials are tight-lipped about the potential deal, sources confirm it would yield more than 500 jobs and would involve a partnership with LSU. Over the past few months, IBM officials have looked at several downtown sites, including the Manship property that formerly housed The Advocate and the Capital One Bank Building, which sources say would be torn down to make way for a new facility and parking garage. A source with connections to LSU, says there were discussions several months ago to potentially have the state build a facility on the university's south campus, with IBM and LSU sharing space. There is no confirmed word on when IBM will make a decision, though multiple sources indicated one was expected within the next month. Officials with LED declined to comment. —Stephanie...
U.S. employers advertised about the same number of jobs in November as they did in October, suggesting that hiring will stay modest over the next few months. In a report released this morning, the Labor Department says job openings ticked up 11,000 in November to 3.67 million. That's about 12% more than were advertised in the same month a year previous. The number of available jobs is slowly climbing back to the roughly 4 million that were advertised each month before the recession began in December 2007. More than 12 million people were unemployed in November. That means there were 3.3 unemployed people, on average, competing for each open job. That's the lowest ratio since November 2008. Still, in a healthy economy, the ratio is roughly 2 to 1. Meanwhile, a separate report released this morning by the Commerce Department says U.S. wholesalers boosted their stockpiles in November by 0.6% as sales rose at the fastest pace since the spring of 2011. With the November increase,...
After six and a half years at BRAC, Mike Odom left the chamber on Dec. 28 to take a new position as vice president of marketing at LABI. He started Jan. 2. "LABI is doing a lot of great things on the marketing front, and it's a new challenge," Odom, a former spokesman for BRAC, says of his current job. Besides rolling out a new website recently, Odom says, LABI is working to improve its technological innovations for members and help businesses navigate changes in public education and potential tax reform, which the state Legislature will work on in its next session. "We're going to continue working on that front and showing our members the value of LABI," Odom says. Lauren Hatcher, director of advertising and communications at BRAC, has taken on an interim role in Odom's former position as senior vice president of marketing until a new hire is made. —Adam Pearson
Investar Bank announced Holly Hidalgo-DeKeyzer, a career banker with experience serving southeast Louisiana clients and leading growing organizations, has been named regional president for Baton Rouge, the bank’s largest market. In her new role, Hidalgo-DeKeyzer leads the bank’s Baton Rouge-area branches, deposit functions, client service and growth strategy. In addition, she directs Investar’s community and nonprofit outreach for the region. Hidalgo-DeKeyzer joined Investar when the bank was founded in 2006.
U.S. manufacturing grew marginally last month and hiring increased after having shrunk in November. The modest gain suggests the economy entered the new year with some momentum. The Institute for Supply Management says that its index of manufacturing activity rose to 50.7 in December from 49.5 in the previous month. November's reading was the lowest reading since July 2009, one month after the recession ended. A reading above 50 signals expansion. A measure of employment rose to the highest level in three months, suggesting that factories are adding jobs. There have been some other positive signs for factory output. In November, companies substantially increased their orders for a category of large equipment that reflects their investment plans. That followed a big increase in the same category in October. At the same time, U.S. builders spent less on construction projects in November—the first decline in eight months—as activity was held back by a big drop in spending on...
President Rose Hudson announced Marvin Dossett has been named vice president of marketing for the Louisiana Lottery Corp. With more than seven years of experience in marketing in the industry, Dossett was most recently a district marketing manager for dining services and uniforms provider Aramark. Dossett will manage the Lottery's advertising and communications strategies and work with the vice president of sales to expand revenue sources.
Louisiana payrolls rose by 13,000 jobs in November, or 0.9%, the largest jump in percentage from October levels of any state in the nation. Payroll employment pushed to an all-time high of 1.96 million in the state, moving beyond the pre-Hurricane Katrina peak of 1.95 million for the first time, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics numbers released today. At the same time, the separate unemployment survey showed that the state's jobless rate fell to 5.8%. That's down from 6.6% in October and below the 7.1% unemployment rate of November 2011. The last time Louisiana had an unemployment rate below 6% was in January 2009. The number of unemployed Louisianans fell to 120,000 from 138,000 in October. In November 2011, 146,000 Louisianans were unemployed. Unemployment rates fell in 45 states and the District of Columbia in November, reflecting a sharp drop in the national jobless rate despite Superstorm Sandy and the budget standoff in Washington. Unemployment was unchanged in five...
The Bank of Zachary has promoted two of its banking officers, President Preston Kennedy announced. Melinda White has been promoted to senior vice president, and Mark Marionneaux has been promoted to vice president. White joined the Bank of Zachary in March 1981. She manages the Loan Support department, and has primary responsibility for loan compliance. Marionneaux has been with the Bank of Zachary since February 2011. His previous experience included mortgage and agriculture lending, and before joining Bank of Zachary he was an assistant vice president with Landmark Bank.
Deer Park, Texas-based UPS Midstream Services Inc. laid out plans today to spend $3.9 million developing and building a full-service machine facility in Jena. Gov. Bobby Jindal joined company officials in the central Louisiana town today to make the announcement. Construction is slated to begin in January, with completion expected in June. UPS Midstream says hiring is already under way, adding that it expects to employ 35 people throughout next year, then increasing the payroll to 95 workers by 2017. The jobs will pay an average of $73,000 per year, plus benefits. To secure the project, the state offered the company a performance-based grant of $272,000 via the Economic Development Award Program, as well as customized hiring and training services via the LED FastStart workforce development program. The company is also expected to utilize the Quality Jobs and Industrial Tax Exemption incentive programs. The state began working with UPS Midstream in June to secure the project and...
The U.S. economy added 146,000 jobs in November, and the unemployment rate fell to 7.7%—the lowest it has been since December 2008—according to a Labor Department report released this morning. The government says Superstorm Sandy had only a minimal effect on the figures in the report, which offers a mixed picture of the economy. Hiring remained steady during the storm's aftermath and in the face of looming tax increases. But the government says employers added 49,000 fewer jobs in October and September than it initially estimated and that the unemployment rate fell to a four-year low in November from 7.9% in October mostly because more people stopped looking for work and weren't counted as unemployed. The report "is something of a mixed bag but, on balance, it's a positive," says Paul Ashworth, an economist at Capital Economics. Sandy's effect on the figures was much smaller than many analysts had predicted. Still, there were signs that the storm disrupted economic...
A private survey on November hiring released today in advance of Friday's official report from the government shows that U.S. businesses added fewer jobs than the month previous, mostly because Superstorm Sandy shut down factories, retail stores, and other companies in a large section of the Northeast. Payroll processor ADP says that employers added 118,000 jobs last month. That's below October's total of 157,000, which was revised lower. Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics, says the storm cut payrolls by an estimated 86,000 jobs but that, excluding the effects of the storm, "the job market turned in a good performance during the month." ADP and Moody's Analytics are calculating job gains with a different methodology than the survey previously used. The new method covers more businesses. Previous ADP reports frequently produced figures much different from government data. The report only looks at hiring in the private sector and excludes government hiring. The Labor...
For the better part of a decade, Mary Vincent had worked as the office manager for a small, Capital Region contracting firm. Two years ago, with work slacking off and no relief in sight, the company decided it could no longer afford her services. The 36-year-old mother of two is now working part-time in a women's clothing store. She'd prefer to work full-time, but hasn't yet found anything suitable close to home. "I keep looking," she says. "I haven't given up hope." Full-time jobs are still the norm in south Louisiana. But thanks to slow recovery from the recession and widespread uncertainty about the cost of doing business, a growing number of employers are trading them in for part-time workers. The number of underutilized workers in Louisiana—those who are unemployed or working part-time for reasons beyond their control—has grown more than six percentage points in five years, to 13.4%. In the past year alone, part-time employment in the state has risen about 1%.
Louisiana's unemployment rate dropped to 6.6% in October, down from 7% in September and 7.1% in October a year ago. Today's report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows total employment of 1,940,995 in October. The September figure was 1,927,850. The number of those listed as unemployed fell to 137,785 in October from 144,216 in September. The labor force grew, according to the report, which says there were 2,078,780 people in the workforce in October, compared to 2,072,066 the month before. Louisiana was one of 37 states that saw its unemployment rate fall in October despite a slight uptick in the national jobless rate. The same was true of the District of Columbia last month, while unemployment increased slightly in seven states and was unchanged in six. The national unemployment rate edged up to 7.9% in October from 7.8% the month previous, despite solid job growth of 171,000, as discouraged workers resumed their job searches, the Labor Department reported earlier this month.
Louisiana's unemployment rate fell nearly half a percentage point to 7% in September, tying for the second-largest drop among all states, according to figures released today. That's down from 7.4% in August. The drop was behind only South Carolina's 0.5 percentage point improvement. Overall, jobless levels fell in 41 states, rose in six and were flat in three. Nevada retained the highest unemployment rate at 11.8 %, and North Dakota kept the lowest at 3%. September was the second month in a row the unemployment rate dropped in Louisiana, after no improvement since January, when joblessness hit a post-recession low of 6.9%. Louisiana had a 7.2% unemployment rate in September 2011. The number of unemployed Louisianans fell to 144,000 from 154,000 in August. In September 2011, the state had 148,000 unemployed people. Almost 6,000 more people said they had a job in September, while 4,000 left the labor force. It was the second-straight decline in the labor force after the number of...
The McKinley High School Alumni Association is partnering with BRAC to promote job opportunities in the Capital Region in an attempt to bring back to the area some of the school's alumni who have moved away. In August, BRAC inked similar agreements with alumni associations of Episcopal and Baton Rouge high schools, and LSU and Southern University's alumni associations are also on board. Under the agreement, McKinley will promote the region and employment opportunities at various events. In turn, BRAC will work to identify career opportunities for out-of-region McKinley graduates and provide the resumes of alumni members interested in returning to the Baton Rouge area to companies with open positions. BRAC's partnerships with area school alumni associations are part of a larger effort to create a diverse talent database and development program, a core aspect of its five-year strategic plan. You can check out the talent database
As we heard from economists Loren Scott and Jim Richardson in their local economic forecast released last week, the Baton Rouge metro area is expected to add about 9,000 jobs over the next two years. A lot of those new jobs will need to be filled by skilled laborers in the industrial and manufacturing sectors, Scott says. And according to a new study released by Boston Consulting Group, that poses a big problem for Baton Rouge. The study lists Baton Rouge as one of just five of the 50 largest manufacturing metros seeing "a major shortage" in skilled workers. The other four metros in the group are Miami; San Antonio; Charlotte, N.C.; and Wichita, Kan. "It doesn't surprise me," says Greater Baton Rouge Industry Alliance Executive Director Connie Fabre, who had not yet seen the study as of this morning. "It's a big concern of ours. We're going into what we believe to be a big growth spurt in investment, and we don't want it to pass Louisiana by." Fabre says GBRIA is working on a set of...
Matt Desrosiers has been hired as manager of pipe fabrication for Trade Construction Co. Desrosiers has more than 12 years of experience in maintenance and operations, most recently serving as a turnaround engineer at Shell Motiva. In his new role, he will be responsible for estimating and project management for Trade's pipe fabrication division.
Employers across America advertised slightly fewer jobs in August than July, while they filled the most positions in three months, offering a mixed signal on the job market. The Labor Department reports this morning that job openings dropped by 32,000 to 3.56 million in August. In addition, July's openings were revised downward. In a positive sign, however, employers hired 4.39 million people in August—the most since May. The number of available jobs has jumped about 63% since the recession ended three years ago. It remains well below the more than 4 million jobs per month advertised before the recession. The job market remains very competitive. With 12.5 million people unemployed in August, there were 3.5 unemployed people, on average, competing for each open job. In a healthy economy, that ratio is 2 to 1. On Friday, the government reported unemployment fell to 7.8% last month from 8.1% in August. However, hiring must be stronger to bring relief to the many who are unemployed...
The U.S. unemployment rate fell to 7.8% last month, dropping below 8% for the first time in nearly four years. The Labor Department reports this morning that employers added 114,000 jobs in September, and that the economy also created 86,000 more jobs in July and August than was initially estimated. Wages rose in September and more people started looking for work, according to the report. The revisions show employers added 146,000 jobs per month from July through September, up from 67,000 in the previous three months. The unemployment rate fell from 8.1% in August, matching its level in January 2009 when President Barack Obama took office. The job market has been improving, sluggishly but steadily. Jobs have been added for 24 straight months, and there are now 325,000 more than when Obama took office. The September gains were led by the health care industry, which added 44,000 jobs, the most since February. Transportation and warehousing also showed large gains. The revisions showed...
The most recent jobs report from the Louisiana Workforce Commission shows Baton Rouge gained 5,400 jobs over the past year, with the biggest increases coming in construction, retail, education and health care. In his latest column, Business Report Publisher Rolfe McCollister says there are more on the way. "This month, Ameritas Technologies opens in the Chase Building in downtown Baton Rouge and will create 300 new jobs—part of a much larger vision to counter the offshore outsourcing of American technology jobs. These new direct jobs, with an average salary of $63,000, plus benefits, will result in an additional 306 new indirect jobs," he cites as just one example of local job creation in the pipeline. "So let's have the Capital Region lead the way and finish the year strong—and make 2013 a great year for growth." In his column, McCollister also touches on the growing trend of American universities expanding their online course options and finding ways to generate...
The new numbers are in from the Louisiana Workforce Commission, and Baton Rouge has gained 5,400 jobs from one year ago, with increases coming in construction, retail, education and health care.
In its never-ending search for tax scofflaws, it appears the IRS needs to take a closer look at the federal government. In a report released today, a Treasury Department watchdog office says that 70 federal agencies owed about $14 million in unpaid taxes as of the end of last year. Federal agencies are exempt from paying federal income taxes, but they are responsible for turning over employment taxes, mainly Social Security and Medicare taxes, that their employees must pay. The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration says 40 of these delinquent tax accounts totaling about $2.6 million were still open three years after being identified, and in 80% of those cases, the investigations had been suspended. The offending agencies were not identified. The $14 million isn't a lot compared to the $768 billion in employment taxes the IRS collected in 2011. But Inspector General J. Russell George says emphatically, "Federal agencies must comply with the same filing and paying standards...
With 3,815 tech sector businesses employing 40,930 people across the state, Louisiana ranks 32nd in the nation for tech employment and No. 40 for average annual income among tech sector workers. That's according to the TechAmerica 2011 CyberStates Report, which looks at tech sector employment across the country by state. According to the report, the average tech job pays about 54% better in Louisiana than all other jobs—$61,852 annual versus $40,123. Total tech payroll in the state totals $2.7 billion. Not surprisingly, California leads the nation when it comes to both total tech jobs and highest average pay. The telecom industry in Texas has that state ranked second in the country for total tech jobs. Check out an interactive map with detailed info on tech jobs in each state here.
The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits jumped to the highest weekly level in two months, although the figures were skewed in part by Hurricane Isaac. Applications increased by 15,000 to a seasonally adjusted 382,000, the Labor Department reports this morning. That's up from 367,000 the previous week. The four-week average—a less volatile measure of claims—increased for the fourth straight week to 375,000. Isaac made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane on Aug. 28 in Louisiana and was later downgraded to a tropical storm. It disrupted work in nine states and boosted applications by roughly 9,000, Labor officials report. Applications for unemployment benefits reflect the pace of layoffs. Jim O'Sullivan, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics, says that if one excludes the impact of the hurricane, applications are likely closer to 370,000.
Staples, the world's largest office supply company, will be closing its $2 million call center on Highlandia Drive when its lease expires at the end of this year, if not before. Property owner Randy Poche, whose Baton Rouge-based Superior Office Products owns the building in which Staples has been leasing 20,000 square feet of space since 2007, tells Daily Report he was notified earlier this year of Staples' plans and expects the company to be out before December. "They had a five-year lease with an option to renew for five years, and they chose not to renew," Poche says. "So Louisiana will lose those jobs, at least for now." When the company announced its plans to open the so-called virtual contact center and training facility in mid-2007, it promised to bring 400 jobs to the area. A local Staples office manager says the facility was employing 200 workers until earlier this year. It currently employs 91. BRAC spokesman Mike Odom confirms BRAC has been notified of the closure...
Payroll provider ADP has released its monthly survey of U.S. job creation, as usual, one day before the federal government is slated to report August job numbers. In its report, ADP says U.S businesses stepped up hiring in August and added 201,000 jobs—the most reported by ADP since March. ADP also says July job growth was stronger than first thought: Employers created 173,000 jobs—10,000 more jobs than the group reported last month. The report only covers hiring in the private sector and excludes government job growth. The Labor Department will offer a more complete picture of August hiring Friday morning. The two surveys reported roughly the same private-sector job creation in July. But they have diverged sharply in previous months. In the federal government's July jobs report, the national unemployment rate ticked up to 8.3%. Typically, it takes monthly job gains of at least 200,000 to see any lowering of the unemployment rate. On a related note, the Labor Department...
U.S. factory activity shrank for the third straight month in August as new orders, production and employment all fell. The Institute for Supply Management, a trade group of purchasing managers, reports this morning that its index of manufacturing activity ticked down to 49.6. That's down from 49.8 in July and the lowest reading in three years. A reading below 50 indicates contraction. Weak consumer spending and steady declines in business orders for large machinery and other capital goods are slowing factory output. The report follows other data showing manufacturing has slowed overseas. A measure of factory activity in China fell to its lowest level in more than three years last month. And manufacturing in Europe has also stagnated in the face of the region's financial crisis. Paul Dales, senior U.S. economist at Capital Economics, says continued uncertainty caused by the recession in Europe, the slowdown in Asia and impending tax increases and spending cuts in the United States "is...
The U.S. economic recovery hasn't felt much like one, even for people who managed to find new jobs after being laid off. Most of them have had to settle for less pay, according to a new report released by the Labor Department today. Only 56% of Americans laid off from January 2009 through December 2011 had found jobs by the start of this year. More than half of them took jobs with lower pay. One-third took pay cuts of 20% or more. The figures would be even lower if people who could find only part-time jobs were included in the total. The report provides an illustration of the job market's persistent weakness well after the Great Recession officially ended in June 2009. It also documents that while the economy has added nearly 3 million jobs since the recovery began, many pay less than those that were lost. Laid-off workers always have a harder time finding new jobs than do people who quit. But according to government data going back to 1984, people who lost jobs in the current...
Responding to a Daily Reportarticle from Tuesday that highlighted a report that ranks Louisiana as having the nation's eighth-highest unemployment rate among teens aged 16 to 19, Louisiana Workforce Commission Executive Director Curt Eysink says the long-term jobs picture is brightening for the state's teens. Eysink says the state's teen unemployment rate—which stood at 27.5% at the end of July, compared to the 23.8% U.S. average—is following a larger national trend due primarily to the recession. "Naturally, people who are the least educated in the workforce—which includes most teens—suffer a disproportionate effect," he notes, adding, "The long-term employment outlook is much brighter today for Louisiana's teens." Looking ahead, Eysink says, Louisiana teens will benefit from "our improving high school dropout rate, higher rates...
At 27.5%, Louisiana's unemployment rate among 16- to 19-year-olds is the eighth highest in the United States, according to a new analysis of summer employment data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and Census Bureau. Nationwide, 19 states have a teen unemployment rate above 25%. The U.S. teen unemployment rate was 23.8% at the end of July and has been above 20% for 45 months now. California teens are apparently finding it the most difficult to find work; that state's nation-leading teen unemployment rate ended July at 35.4%, followed by South Carolina, Oregon, Georgia, Hawaii, Arizona, Washington and Louisiana. North Carolina and Rhode Island round out the top 10 states with the highest teen unemployment. Economists at both Miami and Trinity universities say proposals before Congress to increase the minimum wage from $7.25 to $9.80 per hour would likely cause a rise in teen unemployment if approved. See a breakdown of all states' teen unemployment rates
Phil Elzer has been named assistant vice chancellor of the LSU AgCenter and assistant director of the Louisiana Agricultural Experiment Station. Elzer will assist in oversight of animal-related programs and personnel. This encompasses research activities for aquaculture, animal science, wildlife, food science and nutrition, and areas of veterinary science. He has a special interest in incorporating new biotechnological methods, equipment and facilities. Elzer has been employed with the AgCenter since 1995, when he became an assistant professor with a joint appointment in the Department of Pathobiological Sciences in the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine and the Department of Veterinary Science in the LSU AgCenter.
Louisiana's unemployment rate ticked up for the third straight month in July, amid signs of a stalling economy. The state's jobless rate rose to 7.6%, from 7.5% in June, as the number of people with jobs fell. The figures were released today by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In July 2011, Louisiana's unemployment rate was 7.3%. While the state's jobless rate never rose as high as the nation's and fell to a post-recession low of 6.9% in January, it has been in ascent ever since. The number of unemployed Louisianans rose to almost 158,000 from 155,000 in June. In July 2011, the state had 150,000 unemployed people. A separate survey of employer payrolls shows the number of nonfarm employees fell during July but remained above July 2011 levels.
First-time claims for unemployment insurance in Louisiana for the week ending Aug. 4 increased from the previous week's total. The state labor department figures released today show the initial claims increased to 3,216 from the previous week's total of 2,988. For the comparable week a year earlier, there were 4,033 initial claims. The four-week moving average, which is a less volatile measure of claims, decreased to 3,240 from the previous week's total of 3,426. Continued unemployment claims filed for the week ending Aug. 4 totaled 36,452, compared to 36,639 the previous week. The four-week moving average for such claims increased to 36,512 from 36,264.
The Labor Department reports this morning that job openings rose to a seasonally adjusted 3.8 million in June, up from 3.7 million in May. That's the largest number of opening gains since May 2008, a positive sign that hiring increases may also follow in the coming months. Layoffs also fell in June. Today's data comes on the heels of a report Friday that said employers in July added the most jobs in five months. An increase in openings could signal better hiring in the coming months. It typically takes one to three months to fill a job. Even with the increase, hiring is competitive. There were 12.7 million unemployed people in June, or an average of 3.4 unemployed people for each job. In a healthy job market, the ratio is usually around 2 to 1.
Kesha J. Moore has been named corporate trust officer for Regions Bank in Baton Rouge. Her responsibilities include serving as a trustee/paying agent for municipal and corporate bond issues. She has more than 15 years of banking industry experience. She most recently served as a corporate trust assistant with Regions. A native of Baton Rouge, Moore earned her bachelor’s degree in marketing from Southern University.
After signing agreements with alumni associations at LSU and Southern University in May to promote job opportunities in the Capital Region that could lure native talent back to the area, BRAC this morning announced it is also working with Episcopal High School to promote its emerging talent development program. Under the agreement, BRAC and Episcopal will promote employment opportunities within the Capital Region at various events throughout the community. BRAC will also identify career opportunities for Episcopal graduates who have since left the Baton Rouge area, and provide résumés of alumni members interested in returning home to local employers with openings. "My hope is that this program will bring home a 'passel' of folks who can join us in accelerating the Baton Rouge area's natural emergence as a great and advancing city in the South and in the U.S.," says Episcopal Head of School Hugh McIntosh in a prepared statement. BRAC President and CEO Adam Knapp is commending the...
To increase job training and educational opportunities for north Baton Rouge residents, business and community leaders are hosting today the first-ever 70805 Education for Careers Fair, named after the ZIP code that has become synonymous with violent crime in the city. Beginning at 11 a.m., the careers fair will take place at the Capital Area Technical College on North Acadian Thruway. A group of leaders will also lay out plans for the launch of the North Baton Rouge Industrial Training Initiative, a program designed to provide a new craft skills training program to eligible north Baton Rouge residents. Representatives from Capital Area Technical College, Baton Rouge Community College, nonprofit organizations and industry, including GBRIA ExxonMobil, Turner Industries, Associated Builders and Contractors, and HOPE Ministries, will be at the careers fair to discuss training and educational opportunities.
The deep federal spending cuts scheduled to take effect at the start of next year may trigger dismissal notices for tens of thousands of employees of government contractors, analysts say, and the notices may start going out mere days before the presidential election, says The Washington Post. By law, all but the smallest companies must notify their workforce at least 60 days in advance when they know of specific job cuts that are likely to happen. Obama administration officials say that the threat of layoffs is overblown and that Republicans are playing up the possibility rather than trying to head it off. The Labor Department said Monday that it would be "inappropriate" for contractors to send out large-scale dismissal notices, because it is unclear whether the federal cuts will occur and how they would be carried out. Republicans reacted with fury, saying it is the White House that is playing politics. "The president is focused on preventing advance notice to American...
As a new legislative commission begins to evaluate the state's tax credits, rebates, and exemptions, LED Secretary Stephen Moret says some of the programs his department manages perhaps should be tweaked. "We definitely think there are changes that can be considered with some of our existing programs," Moret says. He says the state's Enterprise Zone program could be better targeted to ensure it is spurring net new permanent job growth. For example, neighboring states typically don't provide Enterprise Zone benefits to retailers, restaurants and other businesses that primarily serve local demand, but Louisiana does. A new retailer that uses the program might only cannibalize from existing businesses rather than creating new net jobs or wealth. "Some of [the program's usage] has certainly helped create jobs," Moret says. "Some of it has not." In a report from March 2010, LED estimated that between 30% and 35% of the incentives provided through the EZ program, worth about $18 million to...
A new report out today from the Pelican Institute for Public Policy, a New Orleans-based research organization, says increased labor costs in Louisiana are resulting in fewer on-the-job training opportunities for the state's teens. According to the report, the teenage unemployment rate in Louisiana more than doubled between 2006 and 2011, from 13.2% to 26.5%. "While the jobs situation in Louisiana is somewhat better than the national average, the unemployment rate for working-age teens (16-19) is astronomical and bodes ill for the future of Louisiana's youth," says the Pelican Institute. The unemployment rate has particularly skyrocketed among Louisiana teens with less than a high school education, going from 13.6% in 2006 to 34.4% in 2011—an increase of 153%. The average hours worked per week for Louisiana teens fell from 9.7 to 5.7 hours over that same time frame—a decrease of 41.2% The percentage of employed Louisiana teenagers declined from 35.4% in 2006 to 22.8% in...
Nicole Achee has been named vice president and commercial lending officer at United Community Bank. She has more than 10 years of banking experience. She most recently served at Regions Bank. In her new role, she will oversee managing commercial relationships and will be responsible for new business development in the Baton Rouge market.
The average worker in the Baton Rouge area was making $19.14 per hour as of May last year, about $2.60 less than the average U.S. worker—or about 12% less. That's according to a new report out today from the Bureau of Labor Statistics that contains employment and wage data for 22 major occupations groups in the Baton Rouge area as well as nearly 500 detailed jobs. Local wages for the major groups ranged from $9.45 per hour in food preparation and serving-related jobs to $43.84 in management occupations. The report says local wages were measurably lower than their respective national averages in 18 of the 22 occupational groups. Two local groups, however, had measurably higher wages: first line supervisors of construction trades; extraction workers and plumbers; and pipefitters and steamfitters. Check out the complete report on Baton Rouge wages here; and see all metro area reports
Despite posting the second-best year-over-year nonfarm employment percentage gain in the nation in June, Louisiana saw its unemployment rate rise to 7.5% on the month, up from 7.3% in June 2011, according to figures released today by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That's also up from Louisiana's unemployment rate in May, which was 7.2%. Louisiana trailed only North Dakota in job growth between June 2011 and last month, with 52,700 more residents employed—an increase of 2.8%. But ultimately, the labor force grew faster than the rate at which people could find jobs, and the number of unemployed Louisianans in June also rose to 155,400, from 149,700 in May. A year ago, 146,800 people were jobless. Louisiana's jobless rate fell as low as 6.9% in January but has been slowly drifting upward since. The unemployment rate is calculated by a survey that asks how many people are looking for a job. A second survey each month asks employers how many people are on their payrolls, a measure...
Unemployment rates rose in 27 U.S. states in June compared to the month previous, the most in almost a year and a reflection of weaker hiring nationwide, according to a preliminary June jobs report out this morning from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. However, there's a bit of good news for Louisiana in the report, which says the Bayou State had the second-largest employment percentage increase in the nation. North Dakota had the largest increase, with 6.5% more of its residents with a job this June than were last June. Louisiana followed at 2.8%, with the addition of about 52,700 jobs. According to the report, 11 states and the District of Columbia posted unemployed rate decreases, and 12 states had no change. Forty-seven states and the District of Columbia registered unemployment rate decreases from a year earlier, while three states experienced increases. The national jobless rate, at 8.2%, was unchanged from May but 0.9 percentage points lower than in June 2011.
The restaurant industry continues to serve as a leading job creator across the country, with the pace of employment growth in the industry over the past year more than doubling that of all industries combined. That's according to a new analysis of job figures from the National Restaurant Association, which shows jobs in the restaurant industry were expanded by 2.7% on the year, through June. Total job growth across the United States for the same time period was 1.3%. The NRA says restaurants have added a net 116,000 positions in the first half of this year and more than 575,000 jobs since March 2010. It's also one of the few industries in which current staffing levels are ahead of its pre-recession peak—about 193,000 jobs above it, NRA says. "Restaurant industry sales are gaining for the third consecutive year, spurring the nation's nearly one million restaurants to staff up to meet the increasing demand for away-from-home meals," says NRA President and CEO Dawn Sweeney in a...
American employers advertised more jobs in May than April, a hopeful sign after three months of weak hiring. Job openings rose to a seasonally adjusted 3.6 million, the Labor Department reports this morning. That's up from 3.4 million in April. It's also the second-highest level in nearly four years, just behind March's 3.7 million. Still, layoffs also increased, an indication that the job market is still struggling. A rise in openings could mean hiring will pick up in the coming months. It typically takes one to three months to fill a job. Even with the increase, the competition for jobs remains fierce. There were 12.7 million unemployed people in May, or an average of 3.5 unemployed people for each open job. In a healthy job market, the ratio is usually about 2 to 1. And hiring has slowed sharply this spring. Employers added only 80,000 jobs in June, the third straight month of weak hiring. For the second quarter, the economy added an average of only 75,000 jobs a month. That's...
Jenny Harbourt has been named principal at Reich Associates. She will oversee design development and construction implementation. The Baton Rouge native has been with Reich Associates since 2005.
Baton Rouge-based The Shaw Group announced a number of changes in its corporate management structure this morning. Shaw says those affected by the changes include:
A day before the Labor Department is slated to release its official employment figures for June, a private survey out this morning says U.S. businesses increased hiring last month. Payroll provider ADP says American businesses added 176,000 jobs in June. That's better than the revised total of 136,000 jobs it reported for May. The report only covers hiring in the private sector and excludes government job growth. The Labor Department's figures will offer a more complete picture of June hiring. The ADP survey indicates hiring is picking up some, but it has often deviated sharply from government reports. In May, the Labor Department reported employers added just 69,000 jobs—the fewest in a year and nearly half of ADP's estimate. Meanwhile, the Labor Department says jobless aid applications fell to a six-week low last week. Weekly unemployment benefit applications dropped by 14,000 on the week to a seasonally adjusted 374,000, the Labor Department reports this morning; that's the...
BP and its contractors have agreed to pay up to $5.4 million to resolve complaints that some women weren't considered for temporary jobs responding to the 2010 Gulf oil spill because of their gender. The agreement ends an investigation by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission without the federal agency filing a lawsuit over the allegations. The EEOC says it hasn't determined that London-based BP PLC violated any anti-discrimination laws. BP denies it engaged in any wrongdoing. The EEOC says its probe was based on complaints by several women in Louisiana and Alabama. An undetermined number of women from Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida who applied for BP spill response jobs will be eligible for shares of the money. Also under the settlement, BP will require its contractors to abide by equal opportunity laws and designate an employee to monitor the terms of the agreement with the government. It also will partner with other companies in the industry to make sure...
• Freddie “Joey” McClendon has been named a partner at Faulk & Winkler. He oversees the firm's Client Accounting Services Department, where he is responsible for managing all out-sourced accounting and payroll service initiatives. He also provides consulting services to many of the firm's governmental organizations. McClendon graduated from Southeastern Louisiana University in 1999 with a bachelor's degree in accounting and a minor in management. He is a member of the Society of Louisiana Certified Public Accountants.
When it comes to the economy, half of Americans included in a new poll say it won't matter much whether Barack Obama or Mitt Romney wins the presidency this fall, even though the candidates have staked their chances on which would be better at fixing the economic mess. People are especially pessimistic about the future president's influence over jobs, according to the Associated Press-GfK poll. Asked how much impact the November winner will have on unemployment, six in 10 gave answers ranging from slim to none. A majority of those surveyed—55%—say the winner will have either "just some impact" or "no impact" on the nation's huge budget deficits. Those with little confidence that the winner can fix things are also more pessimistic overall; just 32% of them think the economy will improve in the coming year. In contrast, among those who expect a substantial impact from the winner, almost half think the economy will get better. Republicans are more likely than Democrats to...
Baton Rouge remains Louisiana's top city for industrial employment, accounting for 15,664 manufacturing jobs, but there's been no significant change in employment figures reported over the past 12 months. That's according to the 2012 Louisiana Manufacturers Register, a new industrial directory out today by Manufacturer's News Inc. The register says industrial employment statewide posted a slight gain over the past 12 months: an increase of 533 jobs, or less than 1% growth between April 2011 and April 2012. As of April, 5,205 Louisiana manufacturers were employing some 189,535 workers. "Following several years of job losses, Louisiana is finally seeing its manufacturing sector improve," says Tom Dubin, president of the Evanston, Ill.-based publishing company, which has been surveying industry since 1912. "The state's business-friendly environment as well as its stronghold in the oil and gas industry, shipbuilding and chemicals has been a draw for a variety of enterprises." MNI reports...
Slightly fewer than 1,000 more Louisianans filed first-time claims for unemployment insurance for the week ending June 9 than did the previous week. The state labor department reports today that initial claims increased to 4,272 from the previous week's total of 4,177. However, the figure was below the one for the comparable week a year earlier, when there were 4,445 initial claims. The four-week moving average, which is considered a less volatile measure of claims, increased to 4,070 from the previous week's total of 3,851. Continued unemployment claims filed for the week ending June 9 totaled 33,841, an increase from 32,533 for the previous week. The four-week moving average for such claims increased to 32,573 from 32,035.
Mark Staley has been named a director in the consulting division of Postlethwaite & Netterville. Since joining the firm in 2008, he has expanded the firm's technology consulting services, court-appointed disbursement services, project management services, and other specialized areas.
Between the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base and Cuba-controlled territory is a perilous patch of earth called the Cactus Curtain. Spiked with a needle bed of Optunia cacti planted in 1961 to keep Cubans from defecting into U.S. custody, it is even deadlier as the second-largest minefield on the planet.
A killer interview. A great connection. An outstanding resume. For many aiming to thrive in the current job market, this would appear to be the combination needed to swing the hinges off the doors to professional success. But for four young women living and working in Baton Rouge—recently named the “Worst Paying City in America for Women” by Daily Finance—there is much more.
The Baton Rouge Area Chamber and the Southern University Alumni Federation today announced that they've agreed to a memorandum of understanding to promote BRAC's talent development program among SU alumni. Under the agreement, BRAC will partner with the alumni federation at chapter events to promote the region and employment activities within it. In turn, BRAC will work to identify career opportunities for out-of-region SU graduates and provide the résumés of alumni members interested in returning to the Baton Rouge area to work at companies with open positions. The goal of the partnership is to grow the number of résumés included in BRAC's talent database. BRAC signed a similar agreement with the LSU Alumni Association earlier this month. BRAC is currently building an online talent database that can be accessed when regional companies are searching for candidates for hard-to-fill positions. Those interested in being included in the database can find more information at BRAC's...
Female entrepreneurs still face significant challenges when it comes to accessing capital to launch new businesses, and men still outnumber women as business owners and high-level managers. But women have made significant progress in balancing their home and professional lives, and their earning potential continues to increase.
Brigg Baechle has been promoted to senior credit officer for Regions Bank in Baton Rouge. His responsibilities include commercial credit approval and managing the bank's credit risk function for the South Louisiana market. Baechle joined Regions in 1981 and most recently served as area credit officer after years as a senior commercial lender and manager. Tom Fereday has joined Whitney Bank as senior vice president for private banking. He will lead the private banking professionals. He is a veteran in financial services, with experience in bank operations, retail branch management and private wealth management.
Income-forecasting panel boosts its estimates
Louisiana's income forecast has brightened, giving lawmakers more money to spend in the budget. The Revenue Estimating Conference this morning adjusted next year's forecast by $155 million—$65 million more than what was assumed in the House-passed version of the 2013-14 budget. Economists say the state's individual income tax collections are higher than expected, a sign of a strong labor market. The four-member income-forecasting panel also bumped up projections for this year by $129 million, which could help fill gaps in the current year's budget or be used for other items. The changes will give the Senate Finance Committee more wiggle room in crafting the Senate's version of spending plans for the coming fiscal year and the one to follow. The committee starts combing through the House-approved budget later this week.
Moving Up
Nick Pentas has been promoted to general manager of Mercedes-Benz of Baton Rouge. He joined the company in 2000 while attending LSU. He rose through the ranks at the dealership, working as roadside technician, cashier, service adviser, service manager, pre-owned vehicle manager, and general sales manager.
In Texas, Obama presses middle-class jobs agenda
Offering a more upbeat view of the economy, President Barack Obama resurrected his jobs proposals today, advancing modest initiatives as he pushed for action on more ambitious efforts that face resistance from congressional Republicans. "We're poised for progress," he declared to an audience in Austin, Texas. The president chose the bustling state capital as a backdrop to refocus on higher wages, education and a manufacturing-driven agenda that has been eclipsed by his struggles over gun control and spending cuts and his ongoing push for an overhaul of immigration laws. "You might not know this, because if you listen to all the doom and gloom in Washington and politics, and watching cable TV, sometimes you might get kind of thinking nothing is going right," Obama told students at a technology high school. "The truth is, there's a lot of reasons for us to feel optimistic about where we're headed as a country." Nevertheless, Obama said that while housing markets are improving,...
Jobless applications fall to 5-year low
The number of Americans who applied for unemployment benefits fell by 4,000 last week to a seasonally adjusted 323,000, a five-year low. Layoffs have returned to pre-recession levels, a trend that could lead to more hiring. The Labor Department reports that the less volatile four-week average dropped 6,250 to 336,750. That's the fewest since November 2007, one month before the Great Recession began. Applications are a proxy for layoffs. Weekly applications have fallen about 9% since November and are now at a level consistent with a healthy economy. The last time weekly applications were lower was in January 2008, when they were 321,000. Economists were largely encouraged by the decline. "This is a very positive trend and we should embrace it," says Jennifer Lee, an economist at BMO Capital Markets, in an email to clients. The job market has also improved over the past six months. Net job gains have averaged 208,000 a month from November through April. That's up from an average of...
American job postings fell in March; hiring slowed
U.S. employers posted fewer job openings in March compared with February and slowed overall hiring, underscoring a weak month of job growth. The Labor Department reports today that job openings fell 1.4% on the month to a seasonally adjusted total of 3.8 million. Total hiring, meanwhile, declined 4.3% to 4.3 million. The separate jobs report for March showed U.S. employers added just 138,000 net jobs during the month, well below February's 332,000. Today's report shows that the slowdown occurred because gross hiring fell and layoffs increased. The unemployed faced heavy competition in March. There were 3.1 unemployed people, on average, for each job opening. That's above the ratio of 2-to-1 that is typical in a healthy economy. The Labor Department reports the economy performed better in April, when employers added 165,000 jobs and the unemployment rate dropped from 7.6% in March to a four-year low of 7.5%
Unemployment rate falls to 7.5% in April as U.S. adds 165K jobs
U.S. employers added 165,000 jobs in April, and hiring was much stronger in the previous two months than the government first estimated. The job increases helped reduce the unemployment rate from 7.6% in March to a four-year low of 7.5% in April, the Labor Department reports this morning. The government revised up its estimate of job gains in February and March by a combined 114,000. It now says 332,000 jobs were added in February and 138,000 in March. The economy has created an average of 208,000 jobs a month from November through April—above the 138,000 added in the previous six months. An additional 210,000 people started looking for work in April, and many of them found jobs. The hiring last month was broad-based. The only sectors of the economy that cut jobs in April were construction and government. Professional and business services, which include high-paying fields such as accounting, engineering and architecture, added 73,000 jobs. Retailers added 29,000 employees, and...
Private employers add 119,000 jobs in April, survey says
A private survey released today in advance of the U.S. government's official April jobs report Friday shows U.S. companies added 119,000 jobs during the month, the fewest in seven months. The report from payroll processor ADP suggests that government spending cuts and higher taxes could be starting to weigh on the job market. And new requirements under President Barack Obama's health care law may be prompting some small and midsize companies to hold back on hiring. ADP also says job growth in March was slower than first thought: showing 131,000 added, down from an initial estimate of 158,000. "This is a bit disappointing; it shows the economy is growing more slowly as we go into the spring and summer," Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics—which compiles the report from ADP's data—tells The Associated Press. The slowdown in April was broad-based, the survey shows. Manufacturers cut 10,000 jobs, while firms in the service sector added the fewest in seven...
Americans feeling more secure about their jobs, survey says
Confidence in the U.S. job market has rebounded to roughly a normal level from its record low after the Great Recession, and Americans increasingly feel they could find a new job if necessary. That's according to results of the 2012 General Social Survey, a long-standing poll of public opinion. The poll results indicate that fear of being laid off dropped last year from its 2010 peak to roughly its average for the past 35 years. Meanwhile, the percentage of Americans who said it would be somewhat or very easy to find a job if they lost theirs rose to 54% last year from 46% in 2010. The 2010 figure was the lowest since 1983, when the United States was also emerging from a deep recession. On average, in the survey's history, about 58% of respondents have said it would be very or somewhat easy to find a job. As layoffs have declined, fewer Americans fear losing their job. Last year, 11% of adults thought it was somewhat or very likely that they'd lose their job. That was down from a...
Actuary said to be best job to have; reporter the worst
The 25th annual ranking of the best jobs to have in America by CareerCast.com has been released, with actuary topping the list and news reporter taking the bottom slot. Behind actuary, the top 10 best jobs on the list are biomedical engineer, software engineer, audiologist, financial planner, dental hygienist, occupational therapist, optometrist, physical therapist and computer systems analyst. The list is compiled using a composite scoring system that weighs work environment, income, stress and projected job growth for the profession. Just ahead of reporter at the bottom of the list is lumberjack, enlisted military personnel, actor, oil rig worker, dairy farmer, meter reader, mail carrier, roofer and flight attendant. You can check out the complete list here.
La. unemployment rate rises in March to 6.2%
The jobless rate in Louisiana rose to 6.2% in March from 6% in February, though it remained below the 6.8% rate recorded last March. Louisiana's unemployment rate rose in March for the third straight month, as fewer people reported having work. The increase, reported today by the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, contrasts with a separate survey showing employer payrolls rose in Louisiana. The separate BLS survey of payrolls shows nonfarm employees rose by about 3,000 in March, climbing nearly 25,000 above year-ago levels. The number of people in the labor force fell, but was outstripped by a larger decrease in the number of people who reported being without a job. The number of unemployed Louisianans rose by almost 3,000 from February to above 129,000 in March. However, that was also below the nearly 143,000 in March 2012. Louisiana was one of 26 states that posted a year-over-year unemployment rate decrease in March, while seven states had rate increases and 17 posted flat...
Private employers add 158K jobs in March, survey finds
A private survey of U.S. job growth released this morning in advance of Friday's official March jobs report from the government says companies added fewer jobs last month than they did in March a year ago. Private employers added 158,000 jobs last month, payroll processor ADP reports. That's down from February's gain of 237,000 and January's 177,000. Construction companies didn't post any gain in March, after average monthly increases of 29,000 in the previous three months. Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics, says the hiring surge during the previous months likely reflected a jump in rebuilding in the northeast portion of the U.S. after Superstorm Sandy. Moody's helps compile the monthly report with ADP. The ADP report is derived from actual payroll data and tracks total nonfarm private employment each month. The report suggests that the government's March payroll figures may come in below economists' forecast of 195,000 net jobs. Zandi says the drop job growth last...
IBM announces job fair to begin filling Baton Rouge positions
Just one day after announcing plans to open a $55 million technology center on the downtown riverfront—a project that local and state officials are calling a game changer for Baton Rouge—IBM today announced a forthcoming job fair to begin filling some of the 800 jobs that will eventually be created by the project. "We have immediate opportunities for forward-thinking Application Development Specialists with technical degrees," reads an announcement for the job fair, to be held Tuesday, April 23, at the Baton Rouge Marriott. IBM says initial job offerings will be available for "all levels of experience." As a prelude to the job fair on April 23, IBM says it will hold a "campus blitz" between April 8 and April 19 at LSU, Southern University, Southeastern Louisiana University, UL Lafayette, UNO and other schools to target senior students and recent grads. In addition to the 800 jobs that will be created at the IBM center over the next four years, LSU estimates the project...
Moving Up
Diane Allen & Associates, an advertising and public relations firm, announced that Nancy Steiner has been named vice president of media services and Donny Charbonnet has been named director of media services. Steiner had served as the agency's media director, and Charbonnet as its senior media buyer. In addition to assuming their respective expanded responsibilities in the media department, both individuals will join the executive management team, led by co-owners Diane Allen and Al McDuff.
Employers post more jobs, cut fewer workers at start of 2013
U.S. employers advertised more job openings in January, suggesting that hiring will remain healthy in the coming months. Job opening figures rose 2.2% in January from December to 3.69 million, the Labor Department says in a report released this morning. Openings had fallen nearly 5% in December; they were still below November's level of nearly 3.8 million. There were other positive signs in today's report: Employers laid off the fewest workers in January than in any month since records were first created in 2001. And the number of Americans quitting their jobs rose to the highest in more than four years: People usually quit when they have another job, so more quitting suggests it is easier to find work. There is still a lot of competition for open positions. About 12.3 million people were unemployed in January. That means there were 3.3 unemployed people, on average, competing for each job. In a healthy economy, that ratio is roughly 2 to 1. Rising openings and quits add to recent...
World economic index hits 19-month high, boosted by U.S. and Japan
The economic outlook for the world's major economies improved in January, bolstered by signs of firmer recoveries in the United States and Japan, the Organization for Economic Development and Cooperation reports this morning. The international group's composite index of leading indicators rose to 100.4 in January, up slightly from the previous month and the highest level since June 2011. As the Los Angeles Times reports, the group's index is another sign that the U.S. economic recovery is strengthening, following Friday's report that the February unemployment rate dropped to a four-year low of 7.7% after the nation added 236,000 new jobs. The monthly index projects economic growth trends over the next six to nine months using a variety of data, including orders, inventories, business confidence and financial market indicators. The index has been on the...
Baton Rouge ranked 4th-worst U.S. city for gender pay inequality
The median income for a woman working full-time in Baton Rouge was nearly $16,000 less than the median income for a man as of 2011, which places the city at No. 4 on a newly released ranking of the U.S. metro areas with the greatest gender pay inequality. According to Delaware-based financial news and opinion website 24/7 Wall Street, which compiled and released the rankings, women in Baton Rouge make just 69.3% of what men do on average. The website notes women fare even worse than their male counterparts in a few industries in particular. "In the construction and extraction industry, women earned just 52.4% of what men earned in 2011," the report says. "Other fields where the pay gap between men and women in Baton Rouge was large include production, where the median income of women in 2011 was just 40.6% of the median income of men, and transportation, where women's earnings were just 42.8% that of men's." The median income in Louisiana's capital city is $51,037 for men, whereas...
Private survey shows steady job gains in February
A private survey released this morning ahead of Friday's official jobs report from the government shows U.S. businesses added a solid number of jobs in February, indicating higher taxes and looming government spending cuts have yet to slow hiring. Employers added 198,000 jobs in February, according to the survey from ADP. The payroll processor also revised its January hiring figures to show companies added 215,000 jobs, 23,000 more than what had initially been reported. The ADP report is derived from actual payroll data and tracks total nonfarm private employment each month. It suggests that the government's February jobs report may come in above economists' forecasts. Analysts expect it will show the economy added 152,000 jobs and that the unemployment rate dipped to 7.8% from 7.9% in January. "Despite the ongoing fiscal uncertainty and the payroll tax hike, the recovery is picking up momentum," says Paul Ashworth, an economist at Capital Economics. Mark Zandi, chief economist at...
Talent gap anticipated in oil and gas industry workforce
The oil and gas industry is facing a talent gap just as a large number of older and more experienced employees are nearing retirement, a troubling trend that is especially acute in the United States and Canada, demographics experts say. Companies in the industry need to do a better job of recruiting engineers and other professionals and training them, if necessary. "At this juncture, it appears this is a very precarious stage for the industry," says Surya Rajan, director of upstream research and global gas for IHS. James Tastard, vice president of human resources for Norwegian oil and gas firm Statoil, says the problem is especially noticeable in Canada and the U.S. For example, in the U.S., he says, the sector is forecasting an outflow of 22,000 petrochemical workers by 2015, just two years from now. "It's not a people shortage" that's anticipated, he says. Talent and training are key, Tastard notes, adding that people who are having difficulty moving because of underwater mortgages...
Moving Up
Linda Gibson has been named a partner at TWRU CPAs & Financial Advisors. Gibson has been with the firm since 1997. She practices primarily in the firm's audit service area, but she also provides tax and general business consulting to both individuals and businesses.
B.R. posts slight decline in real GDP growth in 2011
The Baton Rouge metro area's real gross domestic product—that is, the total value of all goods sold, factoring in inflation—dipped 0.1% to $37.6 billion in 2011, compared to 2010. That's according to a new report out today from the Commerce Department's Bureau of Economic Analysis, which ranks Baton Rouge No. 251 among the nation's 366 largest metro areas for real GDP growth in 2011. Real GDP increased in 242 of the metro areas included in the report in 2011—or about two-thirds of all U.S. cities—with a 1.6% average increase. While Baton Rouge's real GDP was relatively stagnant between 2010 and 2011, the report shows it has increased nearly 10% since 2008, when it was $34.3 billion. The state posted a better than 10% increase in real GDP growth between 2008 ($184 billion) and 2011 ($205.9 billion). LSU economist Jim Richardson says Louisiana weathered the national recession relatively well and did not see considerable declines in unemployment, housing and...
State jobless claims down
The state's jobless rate continues to decline. First-time unemployment claims for the week ending Feb. 9 decreased to 2,829 from the previous week's total of 3,126, or about 9.5%. That's also about 10% fewer first-time jobless claims than the comparable week one year ago. Meanwhile, the four-week moving average of initial jobless claims decreased to 3,177 from the previous week's average of 3,591; and continued unemployment claims fell to 29,781, which is 25% fewer than in the same period one year ago. "We are one of only two states in the South that have more people employed than in 2008," says economist Loren Scott, who attributes the positive trend to the low price of natural gas. "It's fueling an industrial expansion unlike anything I have ever seen here before, and it's one I expect to continue." —Stephanie Riegel
Local employers disagree with president's call for $9 minimum wage
In his State of the Union address Tuesday night, President Barack Obama called for raising the federal minimum wage to $9 an hour. While Obama says the pay increase would increase customer spending for businesses, business owners in the Capital Region say it would cause them to hire fewer workers. "It either will cause pay loss in hours, or it will create the problem whereby small business will not hire," says Pat Felder, owner of Felder's Collision Parts. Although Felder says she doesn't hire for less than $10 an hour, raising the minimum wage in Louisiana to $9 from $7.25 would affect the earning power of workers who earned raises: "Well, I've got to bump everybody else up," she says. Felder is also chairwoman of BRAC's board of directors, but she declined to state BRAC's position on raising the minimum wage. A BRAC spokeswoman says the area chamber has not done any research on the subject and has no statement. Associated Grocers CEO J.H. "Jay" Campbell Jr., for his part, says the...
U.S. gains 157K jobs; jobless rate rises to 7.9%
Employers across the country added 157,000 jobs in January and hiring was stronger over the past two years than previously thought, providing reassurance that the job market held steady while economic growth sputtered. However, the mostly upbeat Labor Department report released this morning included a negative sign: The unemployment rate rose to 7.9% from 7.8% in December. The unemployment rate is calculated from a survey of households, while job gains come from a survey of employers. The hiring picture over the past two years looked better after the department's annual revisions. Those showed employers added an average of roughly 180,000 jobs per month in 2012 and 2011, up from previous estimates of about 150,000. And hiring was stronger at the end of last year, averaging 200,000 new jobs in the final three months. One notable change in the job market is the stronger contribution from construction firms. They added 28,000 jobs in January and nearly 100,000 in the past four months.
Private survey shows U.S. employers added 192,000 jobs in January
A private survey by payroll processor ADP, released this morning in advance of Friday's official January jobs report from the federal government, shows private-sector employers in the U.S. added 192,000 jobs in January. The Los Angeles Times reports that's more than economists had expected, and indicates the forthcoming jobs report from the government may be a good one. "It feels to me that the job market is improving," says Mark Zandi, chief economist for Moody's Analytics. "Job growth has accelerated." However, the government also reports this morning that the nation's GDP unexpectedly contracted in the fourth quarter—a first since 2009. Job growth is now hovering at about 175,000 jobs per month, Zandi says, which should be enough to bring the unemployment rate down every month. Zandi predicts the unemployment rate, currently at 7.8%,...
Moving Up
Horne, an accounting and business advisory firm, announced Jeff Aucoin has been named partner within the firm. Aucoin works from the firm's Baton Rouge office, where he specializes in fraud, forensic and litigation services. Aucoin's experience includes numerous fraud investigations, including embezzlement schemes, employee theft and misappropriation of assets. He also provides litigation support services relating to economic damage claims, business interruption claims, insurance fraud, document/data management engagements and bankruptcy matters.
Reaching out
ExxonMobil's refinery complex in north Baton Rouge grew from 700 employees a century ago to more than 2,200 employees and contractors as it entered the current century. But in the midst of the highest unemployment in decades and a sluggish recovery from the Great Recession, company executives faced a daunting challenge: where to find qualified, skilled workers such as welders, pipe fitters and electricians it required.
La. jobless rate drops to 5.5%
Louisiana's unemployment rate dropped to 5.5% in December, but a separate survey of payrolls showed significant job losses last month. Still, it capped a strong year for the state's labor market. Bureau of Labor Statistics numbers released today show Louisiana unemployment fell from 5.8% in November and 7% in December 2011. Louisiana's jobless rate decreased fifth-most among states in 2012, in percentage point terms, while Nevada saw the largest drop. Louisiana payrolls fell by 11,000 jobs, the third-largest decrease in the nation. But that reverse followed November's huge leap, which brought payrolls to an all-time high. The 1.95 million nonfarm employees in December remained near the historic peak. The number of unemployed Louisianans fell to 115,000 from 120,000 in November. In December 2011, 145,000 Louisianans were unemployed. In almost all U.S. states, jobless rates ended 2012 lower than where they began. As Reuters reports, 42 states and the District of Columbia registered...
Upstream Mississippi River drought threatens 7,000 La. jobs
Matt Lagarde, who manages a fleet of towboats in Convent, watched with dread last year as drought seared crops across the farm belt 1,000 miles upstream on the Mississippi River. Now the effects of the worst dry spell in 70 years are making their way to the river's delta, says Lagarde, 41, who has worked on the nation's busiest waterway for half his life. "Things just look fairly dismal over the next couple of months," Lagarde tells Bloomberg. "In the next couple of weeks, you're really going to see things start to tighten out." Though rain has been plentiful in Louisiana as of late, operators all along the Mississippi have lost work as diminished crops sap export tonnage and low water narrows the channel and jams up barges. Lagarde's employer, AEP River Operations, has had to shift workers around as it idled boats. It is working through January without the usual profit from the previous year to tide it over, Lagarde says. The company is not alone. Louisiana, a state sustained...
News alert: B.R. a finalist to land IBM deal
Daily Report has learned that Baton Rouge is a finalist with one other city in a state outside Louisiana to land a deal that would bring an IBM facility to downtown. Though officials are tight-lipped about the potential deal, sources confirm it would yield more than 500 jobs and would involve a partnership with LSU. Over the past few months, IBM officials have looked at several downtown sites, including the Manship property that formerly housed The Advocate and the Capital One Bank Building, which sources say would be torn down to make way for a new facility and parking garage. A source with connections to LSU, says there were discussions several months ago to potentially have the state build a facility on the university's south campus, with IBM and LSU sharing space. There is no confirmed word on when IBM will make a decision, though multiple sources indicated one was expected within the next month. Officials with LED declined to comment. —Stephanie...
American job openings barely budge in November
U.S. employers advertised about the same number of jobs in November as they did in October, suggesting that hiring will stay modest over the next few months. In a report released this morning, the Labor Department says job openings ticked up 11,000 in November to 3.67 million. That's about 12% more than were advertised in the same month a year previous. The number of available jobs is slowly climbing back to the roughly 4 million that were advertised each month before the recession began in December 2007. More than 12 million people were unemployed in November. That means there were 3.3 unemployed people, on average, competing for each open job. That's the lowest ratio since November 2008. Still, in a healthy economy, the ratio is roughly 2 to 1. Meanwhile, a separate report released this morning by the Commerce Department says U.S. wholesalers boosted their stockpiles in November by 0.6% as sales rose at the fastest pace since the spring of 2011. With the November increase,...
Odom joins LABI after more than six years at BRAC
After six and a half years at BRAC, Mike Odom left the chamber on Dec. 28 to take a new position as vice president of marketing at LABI. He started Jan. 2. "LABI is doing a lot of great things on the marketing front, and it's a new challenge," Odom, a former spokesman for BRAC, says of his current job. Besides rolling out a new website recently, Odom says, LABI is working to improve its technological innovations for members and help businesses navigate changes in public education and potential tax reform, which the state Legislature will work on in its next session. "We're going to continue working on that front and showing our members the value of LABI," Odom says. Lauren Hatcher, director of advertising and communications at BRAC, has taken on an interim role in Odom's former position as senior vice president of marketing until a new hire is made. —Adam Pearson
Moving Up
Investar Bank announced Holly Hidalgo-DeKeyzer, a career banker with experience serving southeast Louisiana clients and leading growing organizations, has been named regional president for Baton Rouge, the bank’s largest market. In her new role, Hidalgo-DeKeyzer leads the bank’s Baton Rouge-area branches, deposit functions, client service and growth strategy. In addition, she directs Investar’s community and nonprofit outreach for the region. Hidalgo-DeKeyzer joined Investar when the bank was founded in 2006.
American manufacturing expanded slightly in November; construction spending dipped
U.S. manufacturing grew marginally last month and hiring increased after having shrunk in November. The modest gain suggests the economy entered the new year with some momentum. The Institute for Supply Management says that its index of manufacturing activity rose to 50.7 in December from 49.5 in the previous month. November's reading was the lowest reading since July 2009, one month after the recession ended. A reading above 50 signals expansion. A measure of employment rose to the highest level in three months, suggesting that factories are adding jobs. There have been some other positive signs for factory output. In November, companies substantially increased their orders for a category of large equipment that reflects their investment plans. That followed a big increase in the same category in October. At the same time, U.S. builders spent less on construction projects in November—the first decline in eight months—as activity was held back by a big drop in spending on...
Moving Up
President Rose Hudson announced Marvin Dossett has been named vice president of marketing for the Louisiana Lottery Corp. With more than seven years of experience in marketing in the industry, Dossett was most recently a district marketing manager for dining services and uniforms provider Aramark. Dossett will manage the Lottery's advertising and communications strategies and work with the vice president of sales to expand revenue sources.
Louisiana payrolls jump most in nation in November
Louisiana payrolls rose by 13,000 jobs in November, or 0.9%, the largest jump in percentage from October levels of any state in the nation. Payroll employment pushed to an all-time high of 1.96 million in the state, moving beyond the pre-Hurricane Katrina peak of 1.95 million for the first time, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics numbers released today. At the same time, the separate unemployment survey showed that the state's jobless rate fell to 5.8%. That's down from 6.6% in October and below the 7.1% unemployment rate of November 2011. The last time Louisiana had an unemployment rate below 6% was in January 2009. The number of unemployed Louisianans fell to 120,000 from 138,000 in October. In November 2011, 146,000 Louisianans were unemployed. Unemployment rates fell in 45 states and the District of Columbia in November, reflecting a sharp drop in the national jobless rate despite Superstorm Sandy and the budget standoff in Washington. Unemployment was unchanged in five...
Moving up
The Bank of Zachary has promoted two of its banking officers, President Preston Kennedy announced. Melinda White has been promoted to senior vice president, and Mark Marionneaux has been promoted to vice president. White joined the Bank of Zachary in March 1981. She manages the Loan Support department, and has primary responsibility for loan compliance. Marionneaux has been with the Bank of Zachary since February 2011. His previous experience included mortgage and agriculture lending, and before joining Bank of Zachary he was an assistant vice president with Landmark Bank.
UPS Midstream Services to build $3.9M facility in central La.
Deer Park, Texas-based UPS Midstream Services Inc. laid out plans today to spend $3.9 million developing and building a full-service machine facility in Jena. Gov. Bobby Jindal joined company officials in the central Louisiana town today to make the announcement. Construction is slated to begin in January, with completion expected in June. UPS Midstream says hiring is already under way, adding that it expects to employ 35 people throughout next year, then increasing the payroll to 95 workers by 2017. The jobs will pay an average of $73,000 per year, plus benefits. To secure the project, the state offered the company a performance-based grant of $272,000 via the Economic Development Award Program, as well as customized hiring and training services via the LED FastStart workforce development program. The company is also expected to utilize the Quality Jobs and Industrial Tax Exemption incentive programs. The state began working with UPS Midstream in June to secure the project and...
U.S. economy adds 146K jobs; jobless rate falls to 7.7%
The U.S. economy added 146,000 jobs in November, and the unemployment rate fell to 7.7%—the lowest it has been since December 2008—according to a Labor Department report released this morning. The government says Superstorm Sandy had only a minimal effect on the figures in the report, which offers a mixed picture of the economy. Hiring remained steady during the storm's aftermath and in the face of looming tax increases. But the government says employers added 49,000 fewer jobs in October and September than it initially estimated and that the unemployment rate fell to a four-year low in November from 7.9% in October mostly because more people stopped looking for work and weren't counted as unemployed. The report "is something of a mixed bag but, on balance, it's a positive," says Paul Ashworth, an economist at Capital Economics. Sandy's effect on the figures was much smaller than many analysts had predicted. Still, there were signs that the storm disrupted economic...
Survey: U.S. added 118K jobs in November
A private survey on November hiring released today in advance of Friday's official report from the government shows that U.S. businesses added fewer jobs than the month previous, mostly because Superstorm Sandy shut down factories, retail stores, and other companies in a large section of the Northeast. Payroll processor ADP says that employers added 118,000 jobs last month. That's below October's total of 157,000, which was revised lower. Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Analytics, says the storm cut payrolls by an estimated 86,000 jobs but that, excluding the effects of the storm, "the job market turned in a good performance during the month." ADP and Moody's Analytics are calculating job gains with a different methodology than the survey previously used. The new method covers more businesses. Previous ADP reports frequently produced figures much different from government data. The report only looks at hiring in the private sector and excludes government hiring. The Labor...
Part-time jobs on the rise in Louisiana
For the better part of a decade, Mary Vincent had worked as the office manager for a small, Capital Region contracting firm. Two years ago, with work slacking off and no relief in sight, the company decided it could no longer afford her services. The 36-year-old mother of two is now working part-time in a women's clothing store. She'd prefer to work full-time, but hasn't yet found anything suitable close to home. "I keep looking," she says. "I haven't given up hope." Full-time jobs are still the norm in south Louisiana. But thanks to slow recovery from the recession and widespread uncertainty about the cost of doing business, a growing number of employers are trading them in for part-time workers. The number of underutilized workers in Louisiana—those who are unemployed or working part-time for reasons beyond their control—has grown more than six percentage points in five years, to 13.4%. In the past year alone, part-time employment in the state has risen about 1%.
By the hour
For the better part of a decade, Mary Vincent had worked as the office manager for a small, Capital Region contracting firm.
Unemployment in La. falls to 6.6% in October
Louisiana's unemployment rate dropped to 6.6% in October, down from 7% in September and 7.1% in October a year ago. Today's report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows total employment of 1,940,995 in October. The September figure was 1,927,850. The number of those listed as unemployed fell to 137,785 in October from 144,216 in September. The labor force grew, according to the report, which says there were 2,078,780 people in the workforce in October, compared to 2,072,066 the month before. Louisiana was one of 37 states that saw its unemployment rate fall in October despite a slight uptick in the national jobless rate. The same was true of the District of Columbia last month, while unemployment increased slightly in seven states and was unchanged in six. The national unemployment rate edged up to 7.9% in October from 7.8% the month previous, despite solid job growth of 171,000, as discouraged workers resumed their job searches, the Labor Department reported earlier this month.
Louisiana jobless rate drops to 7% in September
Louisiana's unemployment rate fell nearly half a percentage point to 7% in September, tying for the second-largest drop among all states, according to figures released today. That's down from 7.4% in August. The drop was behind only South Carolina's 0.5 percentage point improvement. Overall, jobless levels fell in 41 states, rose in six and were flat in three. Nevada retained the highest unemployment rate at 11.8 %, and North Dakota kept the lowest at 3%. September was the second month in a row the unemployment rate dropped in Louisiana, after no improvement since January, when joblessness hit a post-recession low of 6.9%. Louisiana had a 7.2% unemployment rate in September 2011. The number of unemployed Louisianans fell to 144,000 from 154,000 in August. In September 2011, the state had 148,000 unemployed people. Almost 6,000 more people said they had a job in September, while 4,000 left the labor force. It was the second-straight decline in the labor force after the number of...
BRAC and McKinley High team up on alumni initiative
The McKinley High School Alumni Association is partnering with BRAC to promote job opportunities in the Capital Region in an attempt to bring back to the area some of the school's alumni who have moved away. In August, BRAC inked similar agreements with alumni associations of Episcopal and Baton Rouge high schools, and LSU and Southern University's alumni associations are also on board. Under the agreement, McKinley will promote the region and employment opportunities at various events. In turn, BRAC will work to identify career opportunities for out-of-region McKinley graduates and provide the resumes of alumni members interested in returning to the Baton Rouge area to companies with open positions. BRAC's partnerships with area school alumni associations are part of a larger effort to create a diverse talent database and development program, a core aspect of its five-year strategic plan. You can check out the talent database
B.R. named among 5 metros with 'major shortage' in skilled workers
As we heard from economists Loren Scott and Jim Richardson in their local economic forecast released last week, the Baton Rouge metro area is expected to add about 9,000 jobs over the next two years. A lot of those new jobs will need to be filled by skilled laborers in the industrial and manufacturing sectors, Scott says. And according to a new study released by Boston Consulting Group, that poses a big problem for Baton Rouge. The study lists Baton Rouge as one of just five of the 50 largest manufacturing metros seeing "a major shortage" in skilled workers. The other four metros in the group are Miami; San Antonio; Charlotte, N.C.; and Wichita, Kan. "It doesn't surprise me," says Greater Baton Rouge Industry Alliance Executive Director Connie Fabre, who had not yet seen the study as of this morning. "It's a big concern of ours. We're going into what we believe to be a big growth spurt in investment, and we don't want it to pass Louisiana by." Fabre says GBRIA is working on a set of...
Moving Up
Matt Desrosiers has been hired as manager of pipe fabrication for Trade Construction Co. Desrosiers has more than 12 years of experience in maintenance and operations, most recently serving as a turnaround engineer at Shell Motiva. In his new role, he will be responsible for estimating and project management for Trade's pipe fabrication division.
U.S. job openings dipped in August from July
Employers across America advertised slightly fewer jobs in August than July, while they filled the most positions in three months, offering a mixed signal on the job market. The Labor Department reports this morning that job openings dropped by 32,000 to 3.56 million in August. In addition, July's openings were revised downward. In a positive sign, however, employers hired 4.39 million people in August—the most since May. The number of available jobs has jumped about 63% since the recession ended three years ago. It remains well below the more than 4 million jobs per month advertised before the recession. The job market remains very competitive. With 12.5 million people unemployed in August, there were 3.5 unemployed people, on average, competing for each open job. In a healthy economy, that ratio is 2 to 1. On Friday, the government reported unemployment fell to 7.8% last month from 8.1% in August. However, hiring must be stronger to bring relief to the many who are unemployed...
Unemployment hits 44-month low in America, 7.8%
The U.S. unemployment rate fell to 7.8% last month, dropping below 8% for the first time in nearly four years. The Labor Department reports this morning that employers added 114,000 jobs in September, and that the economy also created 86,000 more jobs in July and August than was initially estimated. Wages rose in September and more people started looking for work, according to the report. The revisions show employers added 146,000 jobs per month from July through September, up from 67,000 in the previous three months. The unemployment rate fell from 8.1% in August, matching its level in January 2009 when President Barack Obama took office. The job market has been improving, sluggishly but steadily. Jobs have been added for 24 straight months, and there are now 325,000 more than when Obama took office. The September gains were led by the health care industry, which added 44,000 jobs, the most since February. Transportation and warehousing also showed large gains. The revisions showed...
Publisher: Baton Rouge continues to post job gains
The most recent jobs report from the Louisiana Workforce Commission shows Baton Rouge gained 5,400 jobs over the past year, with the biggest increases coming in construction, retail, education and health care. In his latest column, Business Report Publisher Rolfe McCollister says there are more on the way. "This month, Ameritas Technologies opens in the Chase Building in downtown Baton Rouge and will create 300 new jobs—part of a much larger vision to counter the offshore outsourcing of American technology jobs. These new direct jobs, with an average salary of $63,000, plus benefits, will result in an additional 306 new indirect jobs," he cites as just one example of local job creation in the pipeline. "So let's have the Capital Region lead the way and finish the year strong—and make 2013 a great year for growth." In his column, McCollister also touches on the growing trend of American universities expanding their online course options and finding ways to generate...
B.R. jobs growing; more ahead
The new numbers are in from the Louisiana Workforce Commission, and Baton Rouge has gained 5,400 jobs from one year ago, with increases coming in construction, retail, education and health care.
Calling their bluffs
Author: Lynn Povich
Year: 2012
Publisher: PublicAffairs
Pages: 251
Report: Like many Americans, federal agencies behind on taxes
In its never-ending search for tax scofflaws, it appears the IRS needs to take a closer look at the federal government. In a report released today, a Treasury Department watchdog office says that 70 federal agencies owed about $14 million in unpaid taxes as of the end of last year. Federal agencies are exempt from paying federal income taxes, but they are responsible for turning over employment taxes, mainly Social Security and Medicare taxes, that their employees must pay. The Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration says 40 of these delinquent tax accounts totaling about $2.6 million were still open three years after being identified, and in 80% of those cases, the investigations had been suspended. The offending agencies were not identified. The $14 million isn't a lot compared to the $768 billion in employment taxes the IRS collected in 2011. But Inspector General J. Russell George says emphatically, "Federal agencies must comply with the same filing and paying standards...
Louisiana ranked No. 32 for tech employment in U.S.
With 3,815 tech sector businesses employing 40,930 people across the state, Louisiana ranks 32nd in the nation for tech employment and No. 40 for average annual income among tech sector workers. That's according to the TechAmerica 2011 CyberStates Report, which looks at tech sector employment across the country by state. According to the report, the average tech job pays about 54% better in Louisiana than all other jobs—$61,852 annual versus $40,123. Total tech payroll in the state totals $2.7 billion. Not surprisingly, California leads the nation when it comes to both total tech jobs and highest average pay. The telecom industry in Texas has that state ranked second in the country for total tech jobs. Check out an interactive map with detailed info on tech jobs in each state here.
Isaac boosts U.S. claims for jobless benefits
The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits jumped to the highest weekly level in two months, although the figures were skewed in part by Hurricane Isaac. Applications increased by 15,000 to a seasonally adjusted 382,000, the Labor Department reports this morning. That's up from 367,000 the previous week. The four-week average—a less volatile measure of claims—increased for the fourth straight week to 375,000. Isaac made landfall as a Category 1 hurricane on Aug. 28 in Louisiana and was later downgraded to a tropical storm. It disrupted work in nine states and boosted applications by roughly 9,000, Labor officials report. Applications for unemployment benefits reflect the pace of layoffs. Jim O'Sullivan, chief U.S. economist at High Frequency Economics, says that if one excludes the impact of the hurricane, applications are likely closer to 370,000.
Staples closing B.R. call center by end of year, taking 91 jobs
Staples, the world's largest office supply company, will be closing its $2 million call center on Highlandia Drive when its lease expires at the end of this year, if not before. Property owner Randy Poche, whose Baton Rouge-based Superior Office Products owns the building in which Staples has been leasing 20,000 square feet of space since 2007, tells Daily Report he was notified earlier this year of Staples' plans and expects the company to be out before December. "They had a five-year lease with an option to renew for five years, and they chose not to renew," Poche says. "So Louisiana will lose those jobs, at least for now." When the company announced its plans to open the so-called virtual contact center and training facility in mid-2007, it promised to bring 400 jobs to the area. A local Staples office manager says the facility was employing 200 workers until earlier this year. It currently employs 91. BRAC spokesman Mike Odom confirms BRAC has been notified of the closure...
Private survey: U.S. added 201K jobs in August
Payroll provider ADP has released its monthly survey of U.S. job creation, as usual, one day before the federal government is slated to report August job numbers. In its report, ADP says U.S businesses stepped up hiring in August and added 201,000 jobs—the most reported by ADP since March. ADP also says July job growth was stronger than first thought: Employers created 173,000 jobs—10,000 more jobs than the group reported last month. The report only covers hiring in the private sector and excludes government job growth. The Labor Department will offer a more complete picture of August hiring Friday morning. The two surveys reported roughly the same private-sector job creation in July. But they have diverged sharply in previous months. In the federal government's July jobs report, the national unemployment rate ticked up to 8.3%. Typically, it takes monthly job gains of at least 200,000 to see any lowering of the unemployment rate. On a related note, the Labor Department...
Survey: U.S. manufacturing shrinks for third month
U.S. factory activity shrank for the third straight month in August as new orders, production and employment all fell. The Institute for Supply Management, a trade group of purchasing managers, reports this morning that its index of manufacturing activity ticked down to 49.6. That's down from 49.8 in July and the lowest reading in three years. A reading below 50 indicates contraction. Weak consumer spending and steady declines in business orders for large machinery and other capital goods are slowing factory output. The report follows other data showing manufacturing has slowed overseas. A measure of factory activity in China fell to its lowest level in more than three years last month. And manufacturing in Europe has also stagnated in the face of the region's financial crisis. Paul Dales, senior U.S. economist at Capital Economics, says continued uncertainty caused by the recession in Europe, the slowdown in Asia and impending tax increases and spending cuts in the United States "is...
Most laid-off U.S. workers take pay cuts in new jobs
The U.S. economic recovery hasn't felt much like one, even for people who managed to find new jobs after being laid off. Most of them have had to settle for less pay, according to a new report released by the Labor Department today. Only 56% of Americans laid off from January 2009 through December 2011 had found jobs by the start of this year. More than half of them took jobs with lower pay. One-third took pay cuts of 20% or more. The figures would be even lower if people who could find only part-time jobs were included in the total. The report provides an illustration of the job market's persistent weakness well after the Great Recession officially ended in June 2009. It also documents that while the economy has added nearly 3 million jobs since the recovery began, many pay less than those that were lost. Laid-off workers always have a harder time finding new jobs than do people who quit. But according to government data going back to 1984, people who lost jobs in the current...
LWC director: State's long-term teen employment outlook 'much brighter'
Responding to a Daily Report article from Tuesday that highlighted a report that ranks Louisiana as having the nation's eighth-highest unemployment rate among teens aged 16 to 19, Louisiana Workforce Commission Executive Director Curt Eysink says the long-term jobs picture is brightening for the state's teens. Eysink says the state's teen unemployment rate—which stood at 27.5% at the end of July, compared to the 23.8% U.S. average—is following a larger national trend due primarily to the recession. "Naturally, people who are the least educated in the workforce—which includes most teens—suffer a disproportionate effect," he notes, adding, "The long-term employment outlook is much brighter today for Louisiana's teens." Looking ahead, Eysink says, Louisiana teens will benefit from "our improving high school dropout rate, higher rates...
La. among top 10 states for teen unemployment
At 27.5%, Louisiana's unemployment rate among 16- to 19-year-olds is the eighth highest in the United States, according to a new analysis of summer employment data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and Census Bureau. Nationwide, 19 states have a teen unemployment rate above 25%. The U.S. teen unemployment rate was 23.8% at the end of July and has been above 20% for 45 months now. California teens are apparently finding it the most difficult to find work; that state's nation-leading teen unemployment rate ended July at 35.4%, followed by South Carolina, Oregon, Georgia, Hawaii, Arizona, Washington and Louisiana. North Carolina and Rhode Island round out the top 10 states with the highest teen unemployment. Economists at both Miami and Trinity universities say proposals before Congress to increase the minimum wage from $7.25 to $9.80 per hour would likely cause a rise in teen unemployment if approved. See a breakdown of all states' teen unemployment rates
Moving Up
Phil Elzer has been named assistant vice chancellor of the LSU AgCenter and assistant director of the Louisiana Agricultural Experiment Station. Elzer will assist in oversight of animal-related programs and personnel. This encompasses research activities for aquaculture, animal science, wildlife, food science and nutrition, and areas of veterinary science. He has a special interest in incorporating new biotechnological methods, equipment and facilities. Elzer has been employed with the AgCenter since 1995, when he became an assistant professor with a joint appointment in the Department of Pathobiological Sciences in the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine and the Department of Veterinary Science in the LSU AgCenter.
State jobless rate rises in July to 7.6%
Louisiana's unemployment rate ticked up for the third straight month in July, amid signs of a stalling economy. The state's jobless rate rose to 7.6%, from 7.5% in June, as the number of people with jobs fell. The figures were released today by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In July 2011, Louisiana's unemployment rate was 7.3%. While the state's jobless rate never rose as high as the nation's and fell to a post-recession low of 6.9% in January, it has been in ascent ever since. The number of unemployed Louisianans rose to almost 158,000 from 155,000 in June. In July 2011, the state had 150,000 unemployed people. A separate survey of employer payrolls shows the number of nonfarm employees fell during July but remained above July 2011 levels.
Louisiana 1st-time jobless claims increase
First-time claims for unemployment insurance in Louisiana for the week ending Aug. 4 increased from the previous week's total. The state labor department figures released today show the initial claims increased to 3,216 from the previous week's total of 2,988. For the comparable week a year earlier, there were 4,033 initial claims. The four-week moving average, which is a less volatile measure of claims, decreased to 3,240 from the previous week's total of 3,426. Continued unemployment claims filed for the week ending Aug. 4 totaled 36,452, compared to 36,639 the previous week. The four-week moving average for such claims increased to 36,512 from 36,264.
American employers post most job openings in June since 2008
The Labor Department reports this morning that job openings rose to a seasonally adjusted 3.8 million in June, up from 3.7 million in May. That's the largest number of opening gains since May 2008, a positive sign that hiring increases may also follow in the coming months. Layoffs also fell in June. Today's data comes on the heels of a report Friday that said employers in July added the most jobs in five months. An increase in openings could signal better hiring in the coming months. It typically takes one to three months to fill a job. Even with the increase, hiring is competitive. There were 12.7 million unemployed people in June, or an average of 3.4 unemployed people for each job. In a healthy job market, the ratio is usually around 2 to 1.
Moving Up
Kesha J. Moore has been named corporate trust officer for Regions Bank in Baton Rouge. Her responsibilities include serving as a trustee/paying agent for municipal and corporate bond issues. She has more than 15 years of banking industry experience. She most recently served as a corporate trust assistant with Regions. A native of Baton Rouge, Moore earned her bachelor’s degree in marketing from Southern University.
BRAC, Episcopal High partner to bring B.R. grads back home
After signing agreements with alumni associations at LSU and Southern University in May to promote job opportunities in the Capital Region that could lure native talent back to the area, BRAC this morning announced it is also working with Episcopal High School to promote its emerging talent development program. Under the agreement, BRAC and Episcopal will promote employment opportunities within the Capital Region at various events throughout the community. BRAC will also identify career opportunities for Episcopal graduates who have since left the Baton Rouge area, and provide résumés of alumni members interested in returning home to local employers with openings. "My hope is that this program will bring home a 'passel' of folks who can join us in accelerating the Baton Rouge area's natural emergence as a great and advancing city in the South and in the U.S.," says Episcopal Head of School Hugh McIntosh in a prepared statement. BRAC President and CEO Adam Knapp is commending the...
Careers fair for north Baton Rouge residents premieres today
To increase job training and educational opportunities for north Baton Rouge residents, business and community leaders are hosting today the first-ever 70805 Education for Careers Fair, named after the ZIP code that has become synonymous with violent crime in the city. Beginning at 11 a.m., the careers fair will take place at the Capital Area Technical College on North Acadian Thruway. A group of leaders will also lay out plans for the launch of the North Baton Rouge Industrial Training Initiative, a program designed to provide a new craft skills training program to eligible north Baton Rouge residents. Representatives from Capital Area Technical College, Baton Rouge Community College, nonprofit organizations and industry, including GBRIA ExxonMobil, Turner Industries, Associated Builders and Contractors, and HOPE Ministries, will be at the careers fair to discuss training and educational opportunities.
'Fiscal cliff' looms as debate over pre-Election Day layoff notices heats up
The deep federal spending cuts scheduled to take effect at the start of next year may trigger dismissal notices for tens of thousands of employees of government contractors, analysts say, and the notices may start going out mere days before the presidential election, says The Washington Post. By law, all but the smallest companies must notify their workforce at least 60 days in advance when they know of specific job cuts that are likely to happen. Obama administration officials say that the threat of layoffs is overblown and that Republicans are playing up the possibility rather than trying to head it off. The Labor Department said Monday that it would be "inappropriate" for contractors to send out large-scale dismissal notices, because it is unclear whether the federal cuts will occur and how they would be carried out. Republicans reacted with fury, saying it is the White House that is playing politics. "The president is focused on preventing advance notice to American...
Moret: Enterprise Zone program may need adjusting
As a new legislative commission begins to evaluate the state's tax credits, rebates, and exemptions, LED Secretary Stephen Moret says some of the programs his department manages perhaps should be tweaked. "We definitely think there are changes that can be considered with some of our existing programs," Moret says. He says the state's Enterprise Zone program could be better targeted to ensure it is spurring net new permanent job growth. For example, neighboring states typically don't provide Enterprise Zone benefits to retailers, restaurants and other businesses that primarily serve local demand, but Louisiana does. A new retailer that uses the program might only cannibalize from existing businesses rather than creating new net jobs or wealth. "Some of [the program's usage] has certainly helped create jobs," Moret says. "Some of it has not." In a report from March 2010, LED estimated that between 30% and 35% of the incentives provided through the EZ program, worth about $18 million to...
Unemployment rate among La. teens 'astronomical'
A new report out today from the Pelican Institute for Public Policy, a New Orleans-based research organization, says increased labor costs in Louisiana are resulting in fewer on-the-job training opportunities for the state's teens. According to the report, the teenage unemployment rate in Louisiana more than doubled between 2006 and 2011, from 13.2% to 26.5%. "While the jobs situation in Louisiana is somewhat better than the national average, the unemployment rate for working-age teens (16-19) is astronomical and bodes ill for the future of Louisiana's youth," says the Pelican Institute. The unemployment rate has particularly skyrocketed among Louisiana teens with less than a high school education, going from 13.6% in 2006 to 34.4% in 2011—an increase of 153%. The average hours worked per week for Louisiana teens fell from 9.7 to 5.7 hours over that same time frame—a decrease of 41.2% The percentage of employed Louisiana teenagers declined from 35.4% in 2006 to 22.8% in...
Moving Up
Nicole Achee has been named vice president and commercial lending officer at United Community Bank. She has more than 10 years of banking experience. She most recently served at Regions Bank. In her new role, she will oversee managing commercial relationships and will be responsible for new business development in the Baton Rouge market.
Capital Region wages 12% below national average, report says
The average worker in the Baton Rouge area was making $19.14 per hour as of May last year, about $2.60 less than the average U.S. worker—or about 12% less. That's according to a new report out today from the Bureau of Labor Statistics that contains employment and wage data for 22 major occupations groups in the Baton Rouge area as well as nearly 500 detailed jobs. Local wages for the major groups ranged from $9.45 per hour in food preparation and serving-related jobs to $43.84 in management occupations. The report says local wages were measurably lower than their respective national averages in 18 of the 22 occupational groups. Two local groups, however, had measurably higher wages: first line supervisors of construction trades; extraction workers and plumbers; and pipefitters and steamfitters. Check out the complete report on Baton Rouge wages here; and see all metro area reports
La. unemployment rises to 7.5% in June
Despite posting the second-best year-over-year nonfarm employment percentage gain in the nation in June, Louisiana saw its unemployment rate rise to 7.5% on the month, up from 7.3% in June 2011, according to figures released today by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That's also up from Louisiana's unemployment rate in May, which was 7.2%. Louisiana trailed only North Dakota in job growth between June 2011 and last month, with 52,700 more residents employed—an increase of 2.8%. But ultimately, the labor force grew faster than the rate at which people could find jobs, and the number of unemployed Louisianans in June also rose to 155,400, from 149,700 in May. A year ago, 146,800 people were jobless. Louisiana's jobless rate fell as low as 6.9% in January but has been slowly drifting upward since. The unemployment rate is calculated by a survey that asks how many people are looking for a job. A second survey each month asks employers how many people are on their payrolls, a measure...
Louisiana sees 2nd-best nonfarm employment gains on the year
Unemployment rates rose in 27 U.S. states in June compared to the month previous, the most in almost a year and a reflection of weaker hiring nationwide, according to a preliminary June jobs report out this morning from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. However, there's a bit of good news for Louisiana in the report, which says the Bayou State had the second-largest employment percentage increase in the nation. North Dakota had the largest increase, with 6.5% more of its residents with a job this June than were last June. Louisiana followed at 2.8%, with the addition of about 52,700 jobs. According to the report, 11 states and the District of Columbia posted unemployed rate decreases, and 12 states had no change. Forty-seven states and the District of Columbia registered unemployment rate decreases from a year earlier, while three states experienced increases. The national jobless rate, at 8.2%, was unchanged from May but 0.9 percentage points lower than in June 2011.
Restaurants outpace other U.S. industries in job growth
The restaurant industry continues to serve as a leading job creator across the country, with the pace of employment growth in the industry over the past year more than doubling that of all industries combined. That's according to a new analysis of job figures from the National Restaurant Association, which shows jobs in the restaurant industry were expanded by 2.7% on the year, through June. Total job growth across the United States for the same time period was 1.3%. The NRA says restaurants have added a net 116,000 positions in the first half of this year and more than 575,000 jobs since March 2010. It's also one of the few industries in which current staffing levels are ahead of its pre-recession peak—about 193,000 jobs above it, NRA says. "Restaurant industry sales are gaining for the third consecutive year, spurring the nation's nearly one million restaurants to staff up to meet the increasing demand for away-from-home meals," says NRA President and CEO Dawn Sweeney in a...
U.S. job openings rose in May
American employers advertised more jobs in May than April, a hopeful sign after three months of weak hiring. Job openings rose to a seasonally adjusted 3.6 million, the Labor Department reports this morning. That's up from 3.4 million in April. It's also the second-highest level in nearly four years, just behind March's 3.7 million. Still, layoffs also increased, an indication that the job market is still struggling. A rise in openings could mean hiring will pick up in the coming months. It typically takes one to three months to fill a job. Even with the increase, the competition for jobs remains fierce. There were 12.7 million unemployed people in May, or an average of 3.5 unemployed people for each open job. In a healthy job market, the ratio is usually about 2 to 1. And hiring has slowed sharply this spring. Employers added only 80,000 jobs in June, the third straight month of weak hiring. For the second quarter, the economy added an average of only 75,000 jobs a month. That's...
Moving Up
Jenny Harbourt has been named principal at Reich Associates. She will oversee design development and construction implementation. The Baton Rouge native has been with Reich Associates since 2005.
Organizational changes announced at Shaw
Baton Rouge-based The Shaw Group announced a number of changes in its corporate management structure this morning. Shaw says those affected by the changes include:
Private survey: U.S. economy added 176K jobs in June
A day before the Labor Department is slated to release its official employment figures for June, a private survey out this morning says U.S. businesses increased hiring last month. Payroll provider ADP says American businesses added 176,000 jobs in June. That's better than the revised total of 136,000 jobs it reported for May. The report only covers hiring in the private sector and excludes government job growth. The Labor Department's figures will offer a more complete picture of June hiring. The ADP survey indicates hiring is picking up some, but it has often deviated sharply from government reports. In May, the Labor Department reported employers added just 69,000 jobs—the fewest in a year and nearly half of ADP's estimate. Meanwhile, the Labor Department says jobless aid applications fell to a six-week low last week. Weekly unemployment benefit applications dropped by 14,000 on the week to a seasonally adjusted 374,000, the Labor Department reports this morning; that's the...
BP, EEOC reach deal over gender bias claims
BP and its contractors have agreed to pay up to $5.4 million to resolve complaints that some women weren't considered for temporary jobs responding to the 2010 Gulf oil spill because of their gender. The agreement ends an investigation by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission without the federal agency filing a lawsuit over the allegations. The EEOC says it hasn't determined that London-based BP PLC violated any anti-discrimination laws. BP denies it engaged in any wrongdoing. The EEOC says its probe was based on complaints by several women in Louisiana and Alabama. An undetermined number of women from Louisiana, Texas, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida who applied for BP spill response jobs will be eligible for shares of the money. Also under the settlement, BP will require its contractors to abide by equal opportunity laws and designate an employee to monitor the terms of the agreement with the government. It also will partner with other companies in the industry to make sure...
Moving Up
• Freddie “Joey” McClendon has been named a partner at Faulk & Winkler. He oversees the firm's Client Accounting Services Department, where he is responsible for managing all out-sourced accounting and payroll service initiatives. He also provides consulting services to many of the firm's governmental organizations. McClendon graduated from Southeastern Louisiana University in 1999 with a bachelor's degree in accounting and a minor in management. He is a member of the Society of Louisiana Certified Public Accountants.
Poll: Election winner won't impact economy much
When it comes to the economy, half of Americans included in a new poll say it won't matter much whether Barack Obama or Mitt Romney wins the presidency this fall, even though the candidates have staked their chances on which would be better at fixing the economic mess. People are especially pessimistic about the future president's influence over jobs, according to the Associated Press-GfK poll. Asked how much impact the November winner will have on unemployment, six in 10 gave answers ranging from slim to none. A majority of those surveyed—55%—say the winner will have either "just some impact" or "no impact" on the nation's huge budget deficits. Those with little confidence that the winner can fix things are also more pessimistic overall; just 32% of them think the economy will improve in the coming year. In contrast, among those who expect a substantial impact from the winner, almost half think the economy will get better. Republicans are more likely than Democrats to...
B.R. industrial employment flat on the year
Baton Rouge remains Louisiana's top city for industrial employment, accounting for 15,664 manufacturing jobs, but there's been no significant change in employment figures reported over the past 12 months. That's according to the 2012 Louisiana Manufacturers Register, a new industrial directory out today by Manufacturer's News Inc. The register says industrial employment statewide posted a slight gain over the past 12 months: an increase of 533 jobs, or less than 1% growth between April 2011 and April 2012. As of April, 5,205 Louisiana manufacturers were employing some 189,535 workers. "Following several years of job losses, Louisiana is finally seeing its manufacturing sector improve," says Tom Dubin, president of the Evanston, Ill.-based publishing company, which has been surveying industry since 1912. "The state's business-friendly environment as well as its stronghold in the oil and gas industry, shipbuilding and chemicals has been a draw for a variety of enterprises." MNI reports...
La. first-time jobless claims increase
Slightly fewer than 1,000 more Louisianans filed first-time claims for unemployment insurance for the week ending June 9 than did the previous week. The state labor department reports today that initial claims increased to 4,272 from the previous week's total of 4,177. However, the figure was below the one for the comparable week a year earlier, when there were 4,445 initial claims. The four-week moving average, which is considered a less volatile measure of claims, increased to 4,070 from the previous week's total of 3,851. Continued unemployment claims filed for the week ending June 9 totaled 33,841, an increase from 32,533 for the previous week. The four-week moving average for such claims increased to 32,573 from 32,035.
Moving Up
Mark Staley has been named a director in the consulting division of Postlethwaite & Netterville. Since joining the firm in 2008, he has expanded the firm's technology consulting services, court-appointed disbursement services, project management services, and other specialized areas.
Staff sergeant
Between the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base and Cuba-controlled territory is a perilous patch of earth called the Cactus Curtain. Spiked with a needle bed of Optunia cacti planted in 1961 to keep Cubans from defecting into U.S. custody, it is even deadlier as the second-largest minefield on the planet.
What does it take to get ahead around here?
A killer interview. A great connection. An outstanding resume. For many aiming to thrive in the current job market, this would appear to be the combination needed to swing the hinges off the doors to professional success. But for four young women living and working in Baton Rouge—recently named the “Worst Paying City in America for Women” by Daily Finance—there is much more.
BRAC, Southern alumni partner on talent development program
The Baton Rouge Area Chamber and the Southern University Alumni Federation today announced that they've agreed to a memorandum of understanding to promote BRAC's talent development program among SU alumni. Under the agreement, BRAC will partner with the alumni federation at chapter events to promote the region and employment activities within it. In turn, BRAC will work to identify career opportunities for out-of-region SU graduates and provide the résumés of alumni members interested in returning to the Baton Rouge area to work at companies with open positions. The goal of the partnership is to grow the number of résumés included in BRAC's talent database. BRAC signed a similar agreement with the LSU Alumni Association earlier this month. BRAC is currently building an online talent database that can be accessed when regional companies are searching for candidates for hard-to-fill positions. Those interested in being included in the database can find more information at BRAC's...
Making progress
Female entrepreneurs still face significant challenges when it comes to accessing capital to launch new businesses, and men still outnumber women as business owners and high-level managers. But women have made significant progress in balancing their home and professional lives, and their earning potential continues to increase.
Moving Up
Brigg Baechle has been promoted to senior credit officer for Regions Bank in Baton Rouge. His responsibilities include commercial credit approval and managing the bank's credit risk function for the South Louisiana market. Baechle joined Regions in 1981 and most recently served as area credit officer after years as a senior commercial lender and manager.
Tom Fereday has joined Whitney Bank as senior vice president for private banking. He will lead the private banking professionals. He is a veteran in financial services, with experience in bank operations, retail branch management and private wealth management.