NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- New filings for unemployment claims fell last week, according to a report released Thursday by the Labor Department.
According to the report, 366,000 people filed for unemployment for the first time in the week ended March 22, down 9,000 from a revised 375,000 reported in the previous week.
A consensus of economists polled by Briefing.com had expected to see initial jobless claims to fall to 371,000 from the originally reported 378,000.
Much of the prior report's new claims numbers were inflated by an ongoing strike in the automobile industry, according to Andrew Gledhill, an economist with Moody's Economy.com. The fact that claims only retreated 9,000 this week is "further evidence the labor market is having difficulty," he said.
The level of new jobless claims can be used to determine the health of the overall economy, but one economist doesn't see a lot of problems with the latest numbers.
"This measure is not turning on the recession signal," said Robert Brusca, economist with FAO Economics. "The job market continues to show resiliency."
Over the past four weeks, a running average of 358,000 people filed for unemployment for the first time per week, up 1,750 from the previous week's revised average of 356,250, and higher than the 312,000 average reported during the same period last year.
"So far it shows there is some slowdown in the economy," but "it isn't that dramatic," Brusca said.
Other economic signals have not shown as much strength.
A report from the Commerce Department released Thursday showed that the gross domestic product, a measure of all the goods and services produces within the country, rose a paltry annual rate of 0.6% between October and December of 2007. In the previous quarter, the GDP grew at 4.9%.
Continuing claims for those already receiving benefits fell just slightly to 2.845 million in the week ended March 15, the most recent week available, from a revised 2.85 million reported for the prior week.
Over the four weeks ended March 15, continuing jobless claims reached a running average of 2.82 million per week, up from the prior week's revised average of 2.8 million, and remains well above the 2.5 million average reported for the same period last year.
The number of claims for those who are already on unemployment reveals that slower hiring is more responsible for the troubled labor market than loss of jobs, according to Gledhill.
"Payrolls are a lot leaner," he said, "Businesses are really reigning in their hiring."
New jobless claims in Missouri, Michigan and Ohio increased the most in the week ended March 15, due to layoffs in the automobile industry, the report said. California saw the biggest drop in first-time claims, falling more than 5,000.
While the weekly jobless claims report offers an up-to-the week measure of the labor market, the Labor Department's monthly employment report, which next comes out April 4, will reveal a broader view of layoffs and hiring. Many economists use the measure to help determine the health of the overall economy.
Thursday, March 27, 2008
Thursday, March 20, 2008
I'm Not Interested
I'm Not Interested
By Wendy Weiss at EyesOnSales, a community for and by sales professionals (http://www.eyesonsales.com)
Created Mar 6 2008 - 11:42am
Whenever I conduct a workshop or teleclass, invariably someone asks the question: "What should I say when the prospect says, 'I'm not interested?'"
My response invariably is: "It's probably too late."
Certainly you can try to recover from that "I'm not interested" response. You can ask, "Why do you say that?" (Say this gently, as though you are confused and really, really want the answer.) You can repeat back: "Not interested?" (Again, say this gently, as though you are confused.) This sometimes gets people to start talking and explain themselves. Bottom line, however, if everyone that you speak with says, "I'm not interested," you're not saying anything interesting.
If you have a compelling script with stellar delivery, you will hardly ever hear the words, "I'm not interested." That's because you will actually be saying something interesting!
On the telephone, you have approximately 10-20 seconds to grab your prospect's attention - and if you do not do that, your call is probably over. 10-20 seconds is not a lot of time. You are not going to convey a lot of information in 10-20 seconds. Instead, what you'll convey is your energy, your confidence and your excitement. Your words must reach out and immediately grab and hook your prospect's attention.
From the moment your prospect says, "Hello," your goal is to gain your prospect's attention so that she is hungry to hear more. If you don't hook your prospects in the beginning of your conversation, they will not want to speak with you. They will say, "I'm not interested," and worse case, they may hang up on you.
In order to hook your prospect, ask yourself: Whom are you calling? Why should they be interested? You're looking for hot buttons, those issues that are so important to your prospect that when they come up, your prospect stops in her tracks to listen. The big point here is that when you are trying to hook someone, you have to have some sense of what's important to them.
Ask yourself: What is the value that I (the company/product/service) bring to customers. How do they benefit? How do I (the company/product/service) make customer's lives easy, stress-free, happy, profitable etc? You may have to do some market research and/or brainstorming here. Once you've determined that value, however, lead with it.
Here's an example:
Last year when I conducted the "Cold Calling College--Live" group coaching program (http://wendyweiss.com/coldcallingcollegelive.html), I received an e-mail from a participant. He said he was calling owners of mid-size companies and not having much success. His e-mail read:
"...I say my name and company and then say 'we specialize in business performance management solutions for budgeting, reporting and analysis.... I hear 'not interested' then they hang up before I can say anything else.
Another thing I have tried is, '...the reason I am calling is to introduce [company name]'s budgeting reporting analysis solutions and to invite you to an Excel seminar....' But after this I hear, 'not interested,' then they hang up before I can say anything else."
It's hardly surprising that these introductions didn't work. They weren't interesting. There was nothing in those first sentences to grab and hook a business owner's attention.
Later on, after going through the "Cold Calling College" process, the person who wrote this e-mail was able to pare his introduction down. His introduction ended up being something like: "We help companies keep the money they make." Short, sweet, to the point and focused on the value to business owners. Prospects stopped hanging up on him. Instead, he was able to start scheduling meetings with those business owners.
Lesson learned: Do your homework. Do what ever is necessary to truly understand your prospects. Before you ever pick up the phone, have the answer to the question: "Why should this prospect be interested?" If you have that answer, you will never again hear: "I'm not interested."
By Wendy Weiss at EyesOnSales, a community for and by sales professionals (http://www.eyesonsales.com)
Created Mar 6 2008 - 11:42am
Whenever I conduct a workshop or teleclass, invariably someone asks the question: "What should I say when the prospect says, 'I'm not interested?'"
My response invariably is: "It's probably too late."
Certainly you can try to recover from that "I'm not interested" response. You can ask, "Why do you say that?" (Say this gently, as though you are confused and really, really want the answer.) You can repeat back: "Not interested?" (Again, say this gently, as though you are confused.) This sometimes gets people to start talking and explain themselves. Bottom line, however, if everyone that you speak with says, "I'm not interested," you're not saying anything interesting.
If you have a compelling script with stellar delivery, you will hardly ever hear the words, "I'm not interested." That's because you will actually be saying something interesting!
On the telephone, you have approximately 10-20 seconds to grab your prospect's attention - and if you do not do that, your call is probably over. 10-20 seconds is not a lot of time. You are not going to convey a lot of information in 10-20 seconds. Instead, what you'll convey is your energy, your confidence and your excitement. Your words must reach out and immediately grab and hook your prospect's attention.
From the moment your prospect says, "Hello," your goal is to gain your prospect's attention so that she is hungry to hear more. If you don't hook your prospects in the beginning of your conversation, they will not want to speak with you. They will say, "I'm not interested," and worse case, they may hang up on you.
In order to hook your prospect, ask yourself: Whom are you calling? Why should they be interested? You're looking for hot buttons, those issues that are so important to your prospect that when they come up, your prospect stops in her tracks to listen. The big point here is that when you are trying to hook someone, you have to have some sense of what's important to them.
Ask yourself: What is the value that I (the company/product/service) bring to customers. How do they benefit? How do I (the company/product/service) make customer's lives easy, stress-free, happy, profitable etc? You may have to do some market research and/or brainstorming here. Once you've determined that value, however, lead with it.
Here's an example:
Last year when I conducted the "Cold Calling College--Live" group coaching program (http://wendyweiss.com/coldcallingcollegelive.html), I received an e-mail from a participant. He said he was calling owners of mid-size companies and not having much success. His e-mail read:
"...I say my name and company and then say 'we specialize in business performance management solutions for budgeting, reporting and analysis.... I hear 'not interested' then they hang up before I can say anything else.
Another thing I have tried is, '...the reason I am calling is to introduce [company name]'s budgeting reporting analysis solutions and to invite you to an Excel seminar....' But after this I hear, 'not interested,' then they hang up before I can say anything else."
It's hardly surprising that these introductions didn't work. They weren't interesting. There was nothing in those first sentences to grab and hook a business owner's attention.
Later on, after going through the "Cold Calling College" process, the person who wrote this e-mail was able to pare his introduction down. His introduction ended up being something like: "We help companies keep the money they make." Short, sweet, to the point and focused on the value to business owners. Prospects stopped hanging up on him. Instead, he was able to start scheduling meetings with those business owners.
Lesson learned: Do your homework. Do what ever is necessary to truly understand your prospects. Before you ever pick up the phone, have the answer to the question: "Why should this prospect be interested?" If you have that answer, you will never again hear: "I'm not interested."
Wednesday, March 19, 2008
A slice of pizza gets pricier
NEW YORK (CNN) -- Pizzeria owner Joe Vicari shakes his head as he prepares to rip open a 50-pound bag of flour for another batch of dough.
"That's 37-bucks. $37. I couldn't believe it!" says Vicari.
Since opening Mariella Pizza in mid-town Manhattan 30-years ago, Vicari, says he has never experienced such a jump in the cost of his ingredients.
"I can't even believe how much the flour [goes] up. When I see the bill I can't believe it, that's too much," says the veteran pizza maker, who emigrated from Sicily. Only four weeks ago, Vicari says, he was paying just $16-a-bag for Gold Medal brand flour, which at $37-a-bag now seems more golden than ever.
Executives at his supplier, Cremosa Food of Melville, New York, did not return CNN's repeated phone calls, though a source at the company confirms there are plans for a price hike to $40-a-bag in the next week. Cremosa, the source said, is allocating flour to restaurants, refusing to allow customers to buy more than they had purchased the prior week.
Vicari struggles with the thought of raising the price of a slice, which he lifted to $2.50 only a few months ago due to an increase in cheese costs.
"Over here people come to buy pizza, working people. How much [am] I going to raise the pizza now?" asks Vicari. "Somebody come in here for two slices, and I take $5. I feel very, very bad for the person."
But, he concedes, if flour rises a few dollars more, above $40-a-bag, he probably will pass along the higher expense to customers.
The cost of cereals and bakery products climbed at an annual rate of more than 9% last month, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, compared to a rise in the overall Consumer Price Index during the past 12 months of 4%.
Indeed, it's not only pizza that's becoming more costly. Baked goods of all kinds are heading higher as the price of flour rises due to the fact that wheat is trading near a record high.
At the Chicago Board of Trade a bushel, 60-pounds of wheat, now trades for more than $1100, more than two-and-1/2 times what it was just a year ago.
Why? You can lay part of the blame on ethanol. Huge demand for ethanol has farmers planting more corn to produce the fuel when they could be growing wheat.
"Ethanol was competing against wheat for acres in 2007," said Joe Victor, grain analyst with Allendale Inc.
Poor growing conditions last year also affected the global wheat crop, from a winter freeze in the U.S. to droughts in Australia and France.
And, the dollar sinking to a record low makes U.S. wheat relatively cheap for foreigners.
"Fifty-nine-percent of everything we raised in 2007 is leaving the U.S.," said Victor. "That's 9-10% greater than normal." As a result, Victor said, U.S. wheat supplies are at their lowest level since the end of World War II, another factor pushing prices skyward.
The good news for U.S. consumers is that high wheat prices have led farmers to plant a large crop of winter wheat, which could temper retail prices later this year.
But, for now, it appears likely the cost of baked goods is heading higher.
"It's killing us, it's killing us. It's forcing me to pass it on to the consumer," said Frank Karalis co-owner of Europan Bakery Café in Manhattan. Karalis was holding a menu on which he had just crossed out every price and written in new, higher prices he plans for next week: Bagel with butter $1.30, up 20-cents; Muffins $2.25, up 25-cents; Paninis $7.20 up 25-cents.
"Someone's gonna buy a croissant here for $2 and tomorrow they're going to pay $2.50. They're not going to like that," Karalis said.
"That's 37-bucks. $37. I couldn't believe it!" says Vicari.
Since opening Mariella Pizza in mid-town Manhattan 30-years ago, Vicari, says he has never experienced such a jump in the cost of his ingredients.
"I can't even believe how much the flour [goes] up. When I see the bill I can't believe it, that's too much," says the veteran pizza maker, who emigrated from Sicily. Only four weeks ago, Vicari says, he was paying just $16-a-bag for Gold Medal brand flour, which at $37-a-bag now seems more golden than ever.
Executives at his supplier, Cremosa Food of Melville, New York, did not return CNN's repeated phone calls, though a source at the company confirms there are plans for a price hike to $40-a-bag in the next week. Cremosa, the source said, is allocating flour to restaurants, refusing to allow customers to buy more than they had purchased the prior week.
Vicari struggles with the thought of raising the price of a slice, which he lifted to $2.50 only a few months ago due to an increase in cheese costs.
"Over here people come to buy pizza, working people. How much [am] I going to raise the pizza now?" asks Vicari. "Somebody come in here for two slices, and I take $5. I feel very, very bad for the person."
But, he concedes, if flour rises a few dollars more, above $40-a-bag, he probably will pass along the higher expense to customers.
The cost of cereals and bakery products climbed at an annual rate of more than 9% last month, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, compared to a rise in the overall Consumer Price Index during the past 12 months of 4%.
Indeed, it's not only pizza that's becoming more costly. Baked goods of all kinds are heading higher as the price of flour rises due to the fact that wheat is trading near a record high.
At the Chicago Board of Trade a bushel, 60-pounds of wheat, now trades for more than $1100, more than two-and-1/2 times what it was just a year ago.
Why? You can lay part of the blame on ethanol. Huge demand for ethanol has farmers planting more corn to produce the fuel when they could be growing wheat.
"Ethanol was competing against wheat for acres in 2007," said Joe Victor, grain analyst with Allendale Inc.
Poor growing conditions last year also affected the global wheat crop, from a winter freeze in the U.S. to droughts in Australia and France.
And, the dollar sinking to a record low makes U.S. wheat relatively cheap for foreigners.
"Fifty-nine-percent of everything we raised in 2007 is leaving the U.S.," said Victor. "That's 9-10% greater than normal." As a result, Victor said, U.S. wheat supplies are at their lowest level since the end of World War II, another factor pushing prices skyward.
The good news for U.S. consumers is that high wheat prices have led farmers to plant a large crop of winter wheat, which could temper retail prices later this year.
But, for now, it appears likely the cost of baked goods is heading higher.
"It's killing us, it's killing us. It's forcing me to pass it on to the consumer," said Frank Karalis co-owner of Europan Bakery Café in Manhattan. Karalis was holding a menu on which he had just crossed out every price and written in new, higher prices he plans for next week: Bagel with butter $1.30, up 20-cents; Muffins $2.25, up 25-cents; Paninis $7.20 up 25-cents.
"Someone's gonna buy a croissant here for $2 and tomorrow they're going to pay $2.50. They're not going to like that," Karalis said.
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Delta offers to buy out 30,000 workers
ATLANTA (AP) -- Delta Air Lines said Tuesday it will offer voluntary severance payouts to roughly 30,000 employees - more than half its work force - and cut domestic capacity by an extra 5 percent this year as part of an overhaul of its business plan to deal with soaring fuel prices.
Executives at Atlanta-based Delta said in a memo to employees that the airline's goal is to cut 2,000 frontline, administrative and management jobs through the voluntary program, attrition and other initiatives.
A spokeswoman says that if more than that amount agree to take the voluntary severance, it will be allowed. The severance program primarily affects mainline Delta employees. It will not affect Delta pilots, who have a union contract with the company, and employees at Delta regional carrier Comair, which is based in Erlanger, Ky.
Delta had 55,044 total full-time employees as of the end of last year.
Oil prices recently cracked $111 a barrel, nearly twice what prices were a year ago.
The memo from Chief Executive Richard Anderson and President Ed Bastian did not mention Delta's talks with Northwest Airlines Corp. about a combination that would create the world's largest airline. Bastian was updating investors Tuesday at a conference in New York.
On Monday, Delta's pilots union said it had told company executives it can't agree on seniority issues with its counterpart at Northwest, raising serious doubts about the prospect of a combination of the two companies.
The disclosure was made in a letter from the head of the pilots union at Delta, Lee Moak, to rank-and-file Delta pilots.
The letter does not mention Northwest, but describes the union that Delta's pilots had been negotiating with as the only one they were focused on talking with. Multiple officials close to the talks have said in recent months that the other company was Northwest (NWA, Fortune 500).
The letter talks about the discussions with the other carrier in the past tense, suggesting at least for now there won't be further talks.
The two carriers don't need a pilot seniority integration deal in advance to move forward with a combination, but Delta Air Lines Inc. (DAL, Fortune 500) executives have said they would not move forward with any combination unless the seniority of their employees was protected.
A Delta-Northwest combination deal could proceed without a pilot seniority agreement, but that would be up to the boards of the two companies.
At least one airline analyst, Calyon Securities' Ray Neidl, sounded doubtful that will happen, at least in the near term
Executives at Atlanta-based Delta said in a memo to employees that the airline's goal is to cut 2,000 frontline, administrative and management jobs through the voluntary program, attrition and other initiatives.
A spokeswoman says that if more than that amount agree to take the voluntary severance, it will be allowed. The severance program primarily affects mainline Delta employees. It will not affect Delta pilots, who have a union contract with the company, and employees at Delta regional carrier Comair, which is based in Erlanger, Ky.
Delta had 55,044 total full-time employees as of the end of last year.
Oil prices recently cracked $111 a barrel, nearly twice what prices were a year ago.
The memo from Chief Executive Richard Anderson and President Ed Bastian did not mention Delta's talks with Northwest Airlines Corp. about a combination that would create the world's largest airline. Bastian was updating investors Tuesday at a conference in New York.
On Monday, Delta's pilots union said it had told company executives it can't agree on seniority issues with its counterpart at Northwest, raising serious doubts about the prospect of a combination of the two companies.
The disclosure was made in a letter from the head of the pilots union at Delta, Lee Moak, to rank-and-file Delta pilots.
The letter does not mention Northwest, but describes the union that Delta's pilots had been negotiating with as the only one they were focused on talking with. Multiple officials close to the talks have said in recent months that the other company was Northwest (NWA, Fortune 500).
The letter talks about the discussions with the other carrier in the past tense, suggesting at least for now there won't be further talks.
The two carriers don't need a pilot seniority integration deal in advance to move forward with a combination, but Delta Air Lines Inc. (DAL, Fortune 500) executives have said they would not move forward with any combination unless the seniority of their employees was protected.
A Delta-Northwest combination deal could proceed without a pilot seniority agreement, but that would be up to the boards of the two companies.
At least one airline analyst, Calyon Securities' Ray Neidl, sounded doubtful that will happen, at least in the near term
Sunday, March 16, 2008
Three Mistakes Every Sales Rep Makes Every Day
Three Mistakes Every Sales Rep Makes Every Day March 13, 2008 by Christopher Rack
Whether you're a sales rookie straight out of college or a crafty veteran of 20-plus years, being a sales professional provides one absolute truth: you make mistakes and you make them every single day.
It was Jack King, in "Confessions of a Winning Poker Play" who said, "Few players recall big pots they have won, strange as it seems, but every player can remember with remarkable accuracy the outstanding tough beats of his career."
This holds remarkably true in the sales world. It becomes difficult to remember all of the large deals you've closed throughout your career, but you can always remember the one client that got away—and, more importantly, why they got away. There isn't a sales professional in the world that doesn't make at least one mistake every single day. But making mistakes doesn't have to be looked at in a completely negative light. Mistakes, especially in sales, are the foundation for growth and achievement.
Mistake No. 1: Pre-Judging Sales Prospects
Leads/prospects are the foundation of success in any sales job and every day sales professionals pine for the "hot leads" within their prospective industries. Have you ever seen the classic sales movie "Glengarry, Glen Ross" and viewed the vicious battle between sales reps for the Glengarry leads? The movie is a classic example of one of the biggest mistakes sales professionals make daily—pre-judging their leads. But don't confuse pre-judging sales leads with pre-qualifying them—the two are night and day. Sales basics teach us that we should do a bit of research on our clients to ensure they are a good match for our products and services (pre-qualifying), pre-judging leads is automatically eliminating a prospect because you feel they are not worth the time.
Below are a few common areas in which sales reps pre-judge their leads/prospects.
• Company Size. A small company size doesn't mean small spend.
• Buying Cycle. A prospect that is "just looking" is doing just that—looking at your product or solution.
• Project Budget. If your product/solution is good—and you pitch it well—budgets get created.
Mistake No. 2: Not Asking Questions
As markets become more and more competitive, sales professionals become too reliant on pitching their product. Sales is quickly becoming all about bells and whistles, product demonstrations and pricing. Prospects and clients share one commonality across all industries: they have a problem (or they wouldn't be talking to you) and they are looking for help (a solution to that problem). The key to identifying a prospect's "pain" is questions, questions and more questions. Going into a sales call/presentation, a customer/prospect expects the "pitch"—they expect that you will try and sell them on your product/service. What most don't expect—and what separates the No.1 rep from the No. 10—is that you have a vested interest in not only their company's success, but also their personal success. Prospects and clients love to talk about their company and its successes/struggles; you just have to open the door.
Here are a few tips:
• Ask questions based on research: "I noticed you are launching a new product next quarter, is this going to be a big initiative for you?" Or, "I see in your reports that your company has grown by 25% this past year, how has that affected your position?"
• Don't be afraid to get a bit personal: "So how long have you worked in this industry?" And, "Is there a product/solution you feel would make your job/workload easier?"
• Ask the tough questions: "What has held you back from working with my company in the past?"; "What do you like most about (your biggest competitor)?"; and "What is the biggest problem you face on a daily basis?"
Mistake No. 3: Ego
The first step to fixing a problem is admitting that you have a problem. Believe it or not, this is the hardest step in the process. Sales professionals, as a norm, tend suffer from over-inflated egos. And with those egos come habits that are often difficult to break. In the long run, the biggest mistake sales professionals make every single day is not recognizing that they make mistakes. It is impossible to fix problems that you don't know exist. Thus, you have a responsibility to identify problems and work on them.
Here are a few tips:
• Schedule regular self-evaluations. Schedule a regular time in your calendar to review your work, at least once a month. Review accounts you win and more importantly review the prospects and clients you lose. What did you do well? What went wrong?
• Create a standard checklist that you can use for every self evaluation. By using the same format to review yourself, you can track your growth across an extended period of time.
Start simple and think back over today—which one of the mistakes listed above did you make? It's okay to admit it, you are 100% not alone. You can safely assume that thousands of sales professionals are in the same boat. Believe it or not, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Mistakes can be good things, but only if you are dedicated to learn from them.
Christopher Rack is a sales professional with an undergraduate degreee in Comminications and a minor in Art and Design from Purdue University. At Careerbuilder.com, he held several positions including account manager, senior account manager and sales manager. Currently, Rack manages a sales team for emediaUSA concentrated on lead generation solutions for IT companies.
Whether you're a sales rookie straight out of college or a crafty veteran of 20-plus years, being a sales professional provides one absolute truth: you make mistakes and you make them every single day.
It was Jack King, in "Confessions of a Winning Poker Play" who said, "Few players recall big pots they have won, strange as it seems, but every player can remember with remarkable accuracy the outstanding tough beats of his career."
This holds remarkably true in the sales world. It becomes difficult to remember all of the large deals you've closed throughout your career, but you can always remember the one client that got away—and, more importantly, why they got away. There isn't a sales professional in the world that doesn't make at least one mistake every single day. But making mistakes doesn't have to be looked at in a completely negative light. Mistakes, especially in sales, are the foundation for growth and achievement.
Mistake No. 1: Pre-Judging Sales Prospects
Leads/prospects are the foundation of success in any sales job and every day sales professionals pine for the "hot leads" within their prospective industries. Have you ever seen the classic sales movie "Glengarry, Glen Ross" and viewed the vicious battle between sales reps for the Glengarry leads? The movie is a classic example of one of the biggest mistakes sales professionals make daily—pre-judging their leads. But don't confuse pre-judging sales leads with pre-qualifying them—the two are night and day. Sales basics teach us that we should do a bit of research on our clients to ensure they are a good match for our products and services (pre-qualifying), pre-judging leads is automatically eliminating a prospect because you feel they are not worth the time.
Below are a few common areas in which sales reps pre-judge their leads/prospects.
• Company Size. A small company size doesn't mean small spend.
• Buying Cycle. A prospect that is "just looking" is doing just that—looking at your product or solution.
• Project Budget. If your product/solution is good—and you pitch it well—budgets get created.
Mistake No. 2: Not Asking Questions
As markets become more and more competitive, sales professionals become too reliant on pitching their product. Sales is quickly becoming all about bells and whistles, product demonstrations and pricing. Prospects and clients share one commonality across all industries: they have a problem (or they wouldn't be talking to you) and they are looking for help (a solution to that problem). The key to identifying a prospect's "pain" is questions, questions and more questions. Going into a sales call/presentation, a customer/prospect expects the "pitch"—they expect that you will try and sell them on your product/service. What most don't expect—and what separates the No.1 rep from the No. 10—is that you have a vested interest in not only their company's success, but also their personal success. Prospects and clients love to talk about their company and its successes/struggles; you just have to open the door.
Here are a few tips:
• Ask questions based on research: "I noticed you are launching a new product next quarter, is this going to be a big initiative for you?" Or, "I see in your reports that your company has grown by 25% this past year, how has that affected your position?"
• Don't be afraid to get a bit personal: "So how long have you worked in this industry?" And, "Is there a product/solution you feel would make your job/workload easier?"
• Ask the tough questions: "What has held you back from working with my company in the past?"; "What do you like most about (your biggest competitor)?"; and "What is the biggest problem you face on a daily basis?"
Mistake No. 3: Ego
The first step to fixing a problem is admitting that you have a problem. Believe it or not, this is the hardest step in the process. Sales professionals, as a norm, tend suffer from over-inflated egos. And with those egos come habits that are often difficult to break. In the long run, the biggest mistake sales professionals make every single day is not recognizing that they make mistakes. It is impossible to fix problems that you don't know exist. Thus, you have a responsibility to identify problems and work on them.
Here are a few tips:
• Schedule regular self-evaluations. Schedule a regular time in your calendar to review your work, at least once a month. Review accounts you win and more importantly review the prospects and clients you lose. What did you do well? What went wrong?
• Create a standard checklist that you can use for every self evaluation. By using the same format to review yourself, you can track your growth across an extended period of time.
Start simple and think back over today—which one of the mistakes listed above did you make? It's okay to admit it, you are 100% not alone. You can safely assume that thousands of sales professionals are in the same boat. Believe it or not, there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Mistakes can be good things, but only if you are dedicated to learn from them.
Christopher Rack is a sales professional with an undergraduate degreee in Comminications and a minor in Art and Design from Purdue University. At Careerbuilder.com, he held several positions including account manager, senior account manager and sales manager. Currently, Rack manages a sales team for emediaUSA concentrated on lead generation solutions for IT companies.
Thursday, March 13, 2008
New jobless claims unchanged
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- New filings for unemployment claims were unchanged in the latest week while continuing claims rose, the government said Thursday.
Initial filings for state jobless benefits held steady at 353,000, a revised figure from the previous week, which was originally reported as 351,000.
The consensus estimate of economists surveyed by Briefing.com was for claims to rise 4,000 to 355,000.
Continuing unemployment insurance claims from workers already receiving benefits rose in the week ended March 8 to 2,835,000, up 7,000 from the previous week.
Initial filings for state jobless benefits held steady at 353,000, a revised figure from the previous week, which was originally reported as 351,000.
The consensus estimate of economists surveyed by Briefing.com was for claims to rise 4,000 to 355,000.
Continuing unemployment insurance claims from workers already receiving benefits rose in the week ended March 8 to 2,835,000, up 7,000 from the previous week.
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
IT Employment Surges in the US
Written by Robert Jaques
IT employment in the US surged in February despite the "dismal" overall job market, experts report.
The National Association of Computer Consultant Businesses (NACCB), which tracks IT employment on a monthly basis, said that IT jobs grew by more than 40,000 last month.
On a year-over-year basis, IT employment grew 9.1 per cent from February 2007 to stand at an all-time high of nearly 3.9 million in February 2008.
"Despite the steady stream of negative economic news, including a disappointing report on the broader job market, demand for IT professionals remains extraordinarily robust," said Mark Roberts, chief executive at the NACCB.
"While I fully expected a favourable IT employment picture based on the positive anecdotal reports from our member companies, the strength of February's IT employment numbers surprised even me."
The robust IT employment picture should be heartening to executives in all industries, according to the report.
"The figures reflect continuing corporate investment in IT as companies seek to maintain or improve their competitive position and reap the benefits of enhanced productivity," said Roberts.
IT employment in the US surged in February despite the "dismal" overall job market, experts report.
The National Association of Computer Consultant Businesses (NACCB), which tracks IT employment on a monthly basis, said that IT jobs grew by more than 40,000 last month.
On a year-over-year basis, IT employment grew 9.1 per cent from February 2007 to stand at an all-time high of nearly 3.9 million in February 2008.
"Despite the steady stream of negative economic news, including a disappointing report on the broader job market, demand for IT professionals remains extraordinarily robust," said Mark Roberts, chief executive at the NACCB.
"While I fully expected a favourable IT employment picture based on the positive anecdotal reports from our member companies, the strength of February's IT employment numbers surprised even me."
The robust IT employment picture should be heartening to executives in all industries, according to the report.
"The figures reflect continuing corporate investment in IT as companies seek to maintain or improve their competitive position and reap the benefits of enhanced productivity," said Roberts.
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Slower growth, but no recession forcast
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- The U.S. economy will suffer as the slumping housing market eats away at job creation and consumer spending, but the nation should avoid slipping into a recession this year, according to a new economic report.
A recession could still happen though, if the credit crisis that has stifled the housing market deepens, preventing consumers from buying big-ticket items like cars and businesses from spending on equipment, according to the quarterly Anderson Forecast by the University of California at Los Angeles.
"We don't see that happening," said Edward Leamer, director and co-author of the forecast released Tuesday. "This is a tough call, but I will be very surprised if this thing actually precipitates into recession."
The forecast anticipates job growth remaining sluggish in 2008, with the U.S. unemployment rate rising to 5.5% by the end of the year. The February rate was 4.8%.
The forecast expects the economy to post gross domestic product growth of about 1.5% this year, rising to about 3% growth in 2009. GDP grew 2.2% in 2007, the weakest showing in five years.
The no-recession forecast runs counter to the outlook among many economists and financial pundits, who contend the economy has already started to shrink amid rising unemployment, job losses, record oil prices, and the lingering effects of the housing and credit crises.
The U.S. lost 63,000 payroll jobs last month, the second consecutive month of job losses. The last time the U.S. posted a two-month drop in payroll jobs was in 2003, when employers were still struggling through the aftermath of the 2001 recession.
Leamer said the nation may be experiencing negative economic growth in the current quarter. Economists generally look for at least two consecutive quarters of negative growth before they make a recession determination.
The biggest risk of recession comes from the credit crisis that emerged last year as home values began to tumble and the number of mortgage defaults and foreclosures soared, the economists said.
Major financial institutions were racked by credit losses as the value of securities backed by mortgages sank, causing the traditional outlet through which banks borrow money to seize up.
The credit woes have deepened the housing slump, making it harder for would-be homeowners to borrow money and for homeowners to refinance. But consumer spending, while weakened, hasn't declined severely due to credit problems, Leamer notes.
"Americans are not as wealthy as they thought they were, and that's going to factor into consumer spending going forward, but it doesn't cause a recession because consumers all realize their lack of wealth at different points in time," he said.
Another potential factor in a recession would be widespread job losses. Leamer, who has maintained a no-recession forecast in recent quarters, said that's not likely.
"So far the labor markets are slowing but not collapsing," he said.
The forecast calls for the nation's housing doldrums to continue "for a long time," Leamer said.
He expects housing starts, which fell from a high of 2.3 million units in January 2006 to 1 million units this January, to bottom out in the summer.
A recession could still happen though, if the credit crisis that has stifled the housing market deepens, preventing consumers from buying big-ticket items like cars and businesses from spending on equipment, according to the quarterly Anderson Forecast by the University of California at Los Angeles.
"We don't see that happening," said Edward Leamer, director and co-author of the forecast released Tuesday. "This is a tough call, but I will be very surprised if this thing actually precipitates into recession."
The forecast anticipates job growth remaining sluggish in 2008, with the U.S. unemployment rate rising to 5.5% by the end of the year. The February rate was 4.8%.
The forecast expects the economy to post gross domestic product growth of about 1.5% this year, rising to about 3% growth in 2009. GDP grew 2.2% in 2007, the weakest showing in five years.
The no-recession forecast runs counter to the outlook among many economists and financial pundits, who contend the economy has already started to shrink amid rising unemployment, job losses, record oil prices, and the lingering effects of the housing and credit crises.
The U.S. lost 63,000 payroll jobs last month, the second consecutive month of job losses. The last time the U.S. posted a two-month drop in payroll jobs was in 2003, when employers were still struggling through the aftermath of the 2001 recession.
Leamer said the nation may be experiencing negative economic growth in the current quarter. Economists generally look for at least two consecutive quarters of negative growth before they make a recession determination.
The biggest risk of recession comes from the credit crisis that emerged last year as home values began to tumble and the number of mortgage defaults and foreclosures soared, the economists said.
Major financial institutions were racked by credit losses as the value of securities backed by mortgages sank, causing the traditional outlet through which banks borrow money to seize up.
The credit woes have deepened the housing slump, making it harder for would-be homeowners to borrow money and for homeowners to refinance. But consumer spending, while weakened, hasn't declined severely due to credit problems, Leamer notes.
"Americans are not as wealthy as they thought they were, and that's going to factor into consumer spending going forward, but it doesn't cause a recession because consumers all realize their lack of wealth at different points in time," he said.
Another potential factor in a recession would be widespread job losses. Leamer, who has maintained a no-recession forecast in recent quarters, said that's not likely.
"So far the labor markets are slowing but not collapsing," he said.
The forecast calls for the nation's housing doldrums to continue "for a long time," Leamer said.
He expects housing starts, which fell from a high of 2.3 million units in January 2006 to 1 million units this January, to bottom out in the summer.
Monday, March 10, 2008
Jobs get tossed out of stores
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- As U.S. job growth hits the skids, a shrinking labor market means one thing for the nervous retail workers who reside in Columbus, Ohio: Their job is on shaky ground.
The nation's labor market lost a much larger-than-expected 63,000 jobs last month.
Retailing was hit hard, accounting for 34,000 job cuts across department stores, building supplies and garden equipment sellers and auto dealers.
Indeed, big chain retailers including Macy's (M, Fortune 500), Home Depot (HD, Fortune 500), Sears (SHLD, Fortune 500) and J.C Penney (JCP, Fortune 500) recently announced they were consolidating their operations and cutting jobs to curb costs in order to offset weakening sales.
While this macro picture already looks disappointing, at a micro level, it gets even bleaker.
A retail hotbed no more?
Consider Columbus, Ohio's third-largest metropolitan area with 1.7 million residents.
According to the Columbus Chamber of Commerce's "Blue Chip Economic Forecast" released in January, total jobs in the greater Columbus area are expected to grow at an anemic 0.4% this year, or just 3,500 jobs, after a not much better 0.5% growth rate in 2007.
But retailing, manufacturing and financial services jobs are actually forecast to decline over the coming months.
This is bad news for a city where retailing ranks among the top five employers after financial services, distribution, healthcare and the state government.
Over the past 12 months, Macy's has cut 640 jobs in Columbus and Meijer Stores has eliminated 662 positions. Limited Brands (LTD, Fortune 500), which operates Victoria's Secret and Bath & Body Works chains, has trimmed 500 positions.
Retail-related jobs in Columbus are forecast to decline by 2.1%, or about 2,100 jobs, on top of about 2,000 industry jobs that were lost last year.
"We've already lost 17% of our retail jobs since the beginning of 2001," said Bill Lafayette, vice president, economic analysis with the Columbus Chamber of Commerce.
But two decades ago, it was a very different story.
"In the mid-80's, Columbus was ripe for the picking when retailers discovered that it was an underretailed market," Lafayette said. Big chains Limited Brands and Big Lots set up their home offices in Columbus.
By 1997, retailing jobs were at their peak and accounted for about 14% of total employment in the Columbus area. "We were just off the charts with the retail bubble," Lafayette said.
Then the bubble burst. "We just grew too fast," he said.
Between 2001 and 2006, the number of retail stores in Columbus metropolitan area shrunk by more than 400 stores and retailing jobs accounted to less than 11% of total employment in the area.
"We'll probably see a retail recovery in the next few years but it won't be robust because retailers nationwide don't anticipate robust growth anytime soon," Lafayette said.
For Gayle Pavlofsky, that's not comforting news.
Pavlofsky, a single mother who lives with her daughter in New Albany, a suburb to the northeast of Columbus, lost her job last month as a human resources manager with specialty chain Tween Brands (TWB).
Pavlofsky, who declined to give her age, had been working at the company's headquarters in New Albany for a little over a year. She lost her job due to downsizing and she's been looking for another job since early February.
Although Pavlofsky has extensive experience in the retailing industry - she previously worked with Federated Department Stores, now known as Macy's Inc., in a similar capacity for 12 years - she's not keen to jump back into the industry.
"Anybody in retailing today has to be fearful. You just don't know which way the market is going," she said. "As more [retail] companies spin off, merge or get acquired, I think the downsizing trend will continue."
Fortunately for her, she believes her skills are "transferable" to other industries.
Pavlofsky is currently a client of Karen Hughes, who is career adviser at the Jewish Family Services in Columbus. Part of the agency's mission is to assist individuals in finding new jobs.
"We work closely with professionals from 18 to 80 [years old] who have been laid off," Hughes said.
Hughes said the ground-level reality points to an increasingly challenging environment this year in terms of an uptick in unemployment across the board.
"Last year we has 92 clients who walked into our center who needed new jobs. We've already reached more than 92 clients at a much faster rate this year," she said.
One happy ending
But it's not all gloomy in Columbus.
Julie Sagtetter's tale has a happier ending - for now. Sagtetter, 58, who lives in Franklin County, worked for 10 months at a regional furniture chain called Sofa Express.
Then Sofa Express announced it was closing its doors and shuttering more than 40 stores.
"I came in not knowing their financial situation. Then the economy went bad and their business suffered more. They could not pay their bills," Sagtetter said.
She was unemployed for 6 weeks and just found another job a week ago, with another furniture retailer.
Even though she's aware that furniture retailing is a risky bet, especially when a housing downturn has depressed sales of home-related goods, Sagtetter said retailing is still a better option that her previous job in real estate.
"I was a realtor in the past. That industry is even more unstable," she said. "I did not even have health insurance for a few years."
With her new job, she'll get a base salary, sales commission and health insurance.
"For some of us in our 50's, it's not easy to find a new job," Sagtetter said. "There's age discrimination and we haven't grown up in the computer age."
"I'm happy to find this job," she added.
The nation's labor market lost a much larger-than-expected 63,000 jobs last month.
Retailing was hit hard, accounting for 34,000 job cuts across department stores, building supplies and garden equipment sellers and auto dealers.
Indeed, big chain retailers including Macy's (M, Fortune 500), Home Depot (HD, Fortune 500), Sears (SHLD, Fortune 500) and J.C Penney (JCP, Fortune 500) recently announced they were consolidating their operations and cutting jobs to curb costs in order to offset weakening sales.
While this macro picture already looks disappointing, at a micro level, it gets even bleaker.
A retail hotbed no more?
Consider Columbus, Ohio's third-largest metropolitan area with 1.7 million residents.
According to the Columbus Chamber of Commerce's "Blue Chip Economic Forecast" released in January, total jobs in the greater Columbus area are expected to grow at an anemic 0.4% this year, or just 3,500 jobs, after a not much better 0.5% growth rate in 2007.
But retailing, manufacturing and financial services jobs are actually forecast to decline over the coming months.
This is bad news for a city where retailing ranks among the top five employers after financial services, distribution, healthcare and the state government.
Over the past 12 months, Macy's has cut 640 jobs in Columbus and Meijer Stores has eliminated 662 positions. Limited Brands (LTD, Fortune 500), which operates Victoria's Secret and Bath & Body Works chains, has trimmed 500 positions.
Retail-related jobs in Columbus are forecast to decline by 2.1%, or about 2,100 jobs, on top of about 2,000 industry jobs that were lost last year.
"We've already lost 17% of our retail jobs since the beginning of 2001," said Bill Lafayette, vice president, economic analysis with the Columbus Chamber of Commerce.
But two decades ago, it was a very different story.
"In the mid-80's, Columbus was ripe for the picking when retailers discovered that it was an underretailed market," Lafayette said. Big chains Limited Brands and Big Lots set up their home offices in Columbus.
By 1997, retailing jobs were at their peak and accounted for about 14% of total employment in the Columbus area. "We were just off the charts with the retail bubble," Lafayette said.
Then the bubble burst. "We just grew too fast," he said.
Between 2001 and 2006, the number of retail stores in Columbus metropolitan area shrunk by more than 400 stores and retailing jobs accounted to less than 11% of total employment in the area.
"We'll probably see a retail recovery in the next few years but it won't be robust because retailers nationwide don't anticipate robust growth anytime soon," Lafayette said.
For Gayle Pavlofsky, that's not comforting news.
Pavlofsky, a single mother who lives with her daughter in New Albany, a suburb to the northeast of Columbus, lost her job last month as a human resources manager with specialty chain Tween Brands (TWB).
Pavlofsky, who declined to give her age, had been working at the company's headquarters in New Albany for a little over a year. She lost her job due to downsizing and she's been looking for another job since early February.
Although Pavlofsky has extensive experience in the retailing industry - she previously worked with Federated Department Stores, now known as Macy's Inc., in a similar capacity for 12 years - she's not keen to jump back into the industry.
"Anybody in retailing today has to be fearful. You just don't know which way the market is going," she said. "As more [retail] companies spin off, merge or get acquired, I think the downsizing trend will continue."
Fortunately for her, she believes her skills are "transferable" to other industries.
Pavlofsky is currently a client of Karen Hughes, who is career adviser at the Jewish Family Services in Columbus. Part of the agency's mission is to assist individuals in finding new jobs.
"We work closely with professionals from 18 to 80 [years old] who have been laid off," Hughes said.
Hughes said the ground-level reality points to an increasingly challenging environment this year in terms of an uptick in unemployment across the board.
"Last year we has 92 clients who walked into our center who needed new jobs. We've already reached more than 92 clients at a much faster rate this year," she said.
One happy ending
But it's not all gloomy in Columbus.
Julie Sagtetter's tale has a happier ending - for now. Sagtetter, 58, who lives in Franklin County, worked for 10 months at a regional furniture chain called Sofa Express.
Then Sofa Express announced it was closing its doors and shuttering more than 40 stores.
"I came in not knowing their financial situation. Then the economy went bad and their business suffered more. They could not pay their bills," Sagtetter said.
She was unemployed for 6 weeks and just found another job a week ago, with another furniture retailer.
Even though she's aware that furniture retailing is a risky bet, especially when a housing downturn has depressed sales of home-related goods, Sagtetter said retailing is still a better option that her previous job in real estate.
"I was a realtor in the past. That industry is even more unstable," she said. "I did not even have health insurance for a few years."
With her new job, she'll get a base salary, sales commission and health insurance.
"For some of us in our 50's, it's not easy to find a new job," Sagtetter said. "There's age discrimination and we haven't grown up in the computer age."
"I'm happy to find this job," she added.
Friday, March 7, 2008
Job Losses: Worst in 5 Years
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Employers made their deepest cut in staffing in almost five yearsin February, according to a closely watched government report that showed the labor market to be far weaker than expected.
The weak report fueled already mounting recession fears and is likely to influence the Federal Reserve's decision on interest rates later this month.
There was a net loss of 63,000 jobs, according to the Labor Department, which is the biggest decline since March 2003 and weaker than the revised 22,000 jobs lost in January. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com had forecast a gain of 25,000 jobs in the most recent reading.
"These poor jobs data are the strongest evidence yet that the economy has slipped into a recession of uncertain depth and duration," University of Maryland Professor Peter Morici said.
Job losses were widespread, reaching beyond the battered construction sector, which lost 39,000 and manufacturing, where job losses hit 52,000. Retailers cut 34,000 jobs, while business and professional services cut 20,000 jobs.
Temporary staffing firms cut nearly 28,000 from their payrolls, another warning sign of employers pulling back, and hotels cut about 4,000 jobs, a sign that discretionary consumer spending could be on the wane.
Overall the private sector cut 101,000 jobs, with only a gain in government employment limiting losses.
Despite the loss, the unemployment rate improved to 4.8% from the 4.9% reading in January. Economists had forecast the unemployment rate would rise to 5%. The rate fell because of a big jump in the number of people that the government counted as no longer in the labor force.
"Businesses have become too pessimistic about the outlook for the economy, and the capacity of the Bush Administration and Federal Reserve to manage it, to be adding new employees or replacing those that leave," Morici said.
The labor market has weakened significantly in recent months, fueling fears of recession and a series of interest rate cuts from the Federal Reserve.
The Fed is set to meet March 18 to decide what to do with interest rates. Friday's report would seem to suggest more rate cuts are on the way, despite the improved unemployment rate.
"Even the silver lining of a falling unemployment rate has a little rust," said Rich Yamarone, director of economic research at Argus Research. He predicted that the central bank will cut rates by a half percentage point at both its March meeting and again on April 30.
The weak report fueled already mounting recession fears and is likely to influence the Federal Reserve's decision on interest rates later this month.
There was a net loss of 63,000 jobs, according to the Labor Department, which is the biggest decline since March 2003 and weaker than the revised 22,000 jobs lost in January. Economists surveyed by Briefing.com had forecast a gain of 25,000 jobs in the most recent reading.
"These poor jobs data are the strongest evidence yet that the economy has slipped into a recession of uncertain depth and duration," University of Maryland Professor Peter Morici said.
Job losses were widespread, reaching beyond the battered construction sector, which lost 39,000 and manufacturing, where job losses hit 52,000. Retailers cut 34,000 jobs, while business and professional services cut 20,000 jobs.
Temporary staffing firms cut nearly 28,000 from their payrolls, another warning sign of employers pulling back, and hotels cut about 4,000 jobs, a sign that discretionary consumer spending could be on the wane.
Overall the private sector cut 101,000 jobs, with only a gain in government employment limiting losses.
Despite the loss, the unemployment rate improved to 4.8% from the 4.9% reading in January. Economists had forecast the unemployment rate would rise to 5%. The rate fell because of a big jump in the number of people that the government counted as no longer in the labor force.
"Businesses have become too pessimistic about the outlook for the economy, and the capacity of the Bush Administration and Federal Reserve to manage it, to be adding new employees or replacing those that leave," Morici said.
The labor market has weakened significantly in recent months, fueling fears of recession and a series of interest rate cuts from the Federal Reserve.
The Fed is set to meet March 18 to decide what to do with interest rates. Friday's report would seem to suggest more rate cuts are on the way, despite the improved unemployment rate.
"Even the silver lining of a falling unemployment rate has a little rust," said Rich Yamarone, director of economic research at Argus Research. He predicted that the central bank will cut rates by a half percentage point at both its March meeting and again on April 30.
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Jobless Claims Drop but Don't Change Overall Picture of Slower Employment Market
WASHINGTON (AP) -- The number of people signing up for unemployment benefits fell sharply last week, a spot of welcome news that nonetheless failed to change the overall picture of a softer employment climate.
The Labor Department reported Thursday that new applications filed for unemployment insurance fell by a seasonally adjusted 24,000 to 351,000 for the week ending March 1.
Although the drop left claims lower than the 360,000 showing economists were expecting, the longer-term picture shows a slowing in the jobs market. A year ago, new filings for unemployment benefits stood at 327,000.
The number of people continuing to collect unemployment benefits rose by a sharp 29,000 to 2.83 million for the week ending Feb. 23, the most recent period for which that information is available. That was the highest level since late September 2005.
Many fear that spreading fallout from the housing and credit crises are driving the country closer to a recession, or that it's in one already.
To help bolster activity, the Federal Reserve has been cutting interest rates since September. It turned much more aggressive in January, and Chairman Ben Bernanke has signaled rates will likely move even lower. Another rate reduction is expected on March 18, the Fed's next meeting.
All the economy's problems have sapped momentum from the labor market. For the first time in more than four years, the economy suffered a nationwide loss of jobs in January. Economists expect to find new jobs were created in February, but not enough to prevent the unemployment rate from rising to 5 percent from 4.9 percent. The government releases the February employment report on Friday.
The economy skidded to nearly a halt in the final three months of last year, growing at a pace of just 0.6 percent. Many economists believe growth in the current January-to-March period will be even weaker -- around a 0.4 percent pace. Some, however, believe the economy is shrinking now.
A severe housing slump and harder-to-get credit have turned businesses and individuals more cautious in their spending, thus weakening economic growth. Adding to the strains: lofty energy prices. Oil prices have soared to record highs
The Labor Department reported Thursday that new applications filed for unemployment insurance fell by a seasonally adjusted 24,000 to 351,000 for the week ending March 1.
Although the drop left claims lower than the 360,000 showing economists were expecting, the longer-term picture shows a slowing in the jobs market. A year ago, new filings for unemployment benefits stood at 327,000.
The number of people continuing to collect unemployment benefits rose by a sharp 29,000 to 2.83 million for the week ending Feb. 23, the most recent period for which that information is available. That was the highest level since late September 2005.
Many fear that spreading fallout from the housing and credit crises are driving the country closer to a recession, or that it's in one already.
To help bolster activity, the Federal Reserve has been cutting interest rates since September. It turned much more aggressive in January, and Chairman Ben Bernanke has signaled rates will likely move even lower. Another rate reduction is expected on March 18, the Fed's next meeting.
All the economy's problems have sapped momentum from the labor market. For the first time in more than four years, the economy suffered a nationwide loss of jobs in January. Economists expect to find new jobs were created in February, but not enough to prevent the unemployment rate from rising to 5 percent from 4.9 percent. The government releases the February employment report on Friday.
The economy skidded to nearly a halt in the final three months of last year, growing at a pace of just 0.6 percent. Many economists believe growth in the current January-to-March period will be even weaker -- around a 0.4 percent pace. Some, however, believe the economy is shrinking now.
A severe housing slump and harder-to-get credit have turned businesses and individuals more cautious in their spending, thus weakening economic growth. Adding to the strains: lofty energy prices. Oil prices have soared to record highs
First-Time Unemployment Claims Fall
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- New filings for unemployment claims dropped more than expected last week, but continuing claims remained high, according to a government report released Thursday.
Initial filings for state jobless benefits decreased by a seasonally-adjusted 24,000 to 351,000 in the last week of February, the Labor Department said. The consensus estimate of economists surveyed by Briefing.com was for claims to fall to 360,000.
The four-week moving average of new jobless claims fell by 1,500 from last week to 359,500.
Continuing unemployment insurance claims from those already receiving benefits rose in the week ending February 23 to 2.83 million, up 29,000 from the previous week. The four-week moving average for continued claims rose by 12,750 to 2.79 million.
Initial filings for state jobless benefits decreased by a seasonally-adjusted 24,000 to 351,000 in the last week of February, the Labor Department said. The consensus estimate of economists surveyed by Briefing.com was for claims to fall to 360,000.
The four-week moving average of new jobless claims fell by 1,500 from last week to 359,500.
Continuing unemployment insurance claims from those already receiving benefits rose in the week ending February 23 to 2.83 million, up 29,000 from the previous week. The four-week moving average for continued claims rose by 12,750 to 2.79 million.
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
More Signs of Job Weakness
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- February was another bad month for jobs as two key employment reports showed more signs of labor weakness Wednesday.
In the private sector, nonfarm employment declined by 23,000 jobs for the month, according to the ADP National Employment Report.
The drop marks the first-ever decline in the two-year history of the report. Though the report did not exist in 2003, ADP estimates that the last decline in nonfarm private employment would have occurred in that year.
Service provider jobs grew 47,000 while employment in the goods-producing sector fell by 70,000, marking the 15th straight monthly decline in that category. Manufacturing jobs fell for the 18th straight month, declining by 40,000.
Hit by mortgage market woes, employment in the construction sector fell by 30,000 jobs. The sector has shown a decline in every month since August 2006, and has lost a total of 236,000 jobs since then.
Employment in the struggling financial sector lost 5,000 jobs, ADP said.
"This report really isn't a surprise," said co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, Dean Baker, who believes that the slumping housing market has taken a toll on consumers whose homes have plummeted in value.
The decline in cash flow has significantly weakened the economy, which has increasingly been unable to support jobs across multiple sectors, Baker argued.
"When equity drops, people have to start saving; when consumption goes down, everyone gets hit," he said.
A second study also revealed a decline in employment last month. A Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc. report showed planned job cuts announced by U.S. employers fell 3.9% in February, but the month still showed a decline of 72,091 jobs.
Government and retail jobs were hit the hardest, according to the Challenger report, with 10,870 jobs lost in the government sector and 6,918 employees cut in retail. It marked only the second time in seven months that the financial sector did not top the list, suggesting that the credit crunch has spread to other sectors.
"The fact that these two sectors topped the job-cut list in February is clear evidence that the slowdown has moved beyond the housing and financial industries," said John A. Challenger, chief executive officer of the employment consulting firm, in a statement.
The report shows that job cuts in the first two months of 2008 are essentially even with the same period last year, and monthly cuts have not approached the 140,000 level recorded during the 2001 recession.
"Despite increased layoffs in several industries, job-cut activity is still well below levels we would expect in a recession," said Challenger. "With companies currently cutting at half that [2001] level, it appears that they do not expect this slowdown to be deep or prolonged."
In the private sector, nonfarm employment declined by 23,000 jobs for the month, according to the ADP National Employment Report.
The drop marks the first-ever decline in the two-year history of the report. Though the report did not exist in 2003, ADP estimates that the last decline in nonfarm private employment would have occurred in that year.
Service provider jobs grew 47,000 while employment in the goods-producing sector fell by 70,000, marking the 15th straight monthly decline in that category. Manufacturing jobs fell for the 18th straight month, declining by 40,000.
Hit by mortgage market woes, employment in the construction sector fell by 30,000 jobs. The sector has shown a decline in every month since August 2006, and has lost a total of 236,000 jobs since then.
Employment in the struggling financial sector lost 5,000 jobs, ADP said.
"This report really isn't a surprise," said co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research, Dean Baker, who believes that the slumping housing market has taken a toll on consumers whose homes have plummeted in value.
The decline in cash flow has significantly weakened the economy, which has increasingly been unable to support jobs across multiple sectors, Baker argued.
"When equity drops, people have to start saving; when consumption goes down, everyone gets hit," he said.
A second study also revealed a decline in employment last month. A Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc. report showed planned job cuts announced by U.S. employers fell 3.9% in February, but the month still showed a decline of 72,091 jobs.
Government and retail jobs were hit the hardest, according to the Challenger report, with 10,870 jobs lost in the government sector and 6,918 employees cut in retail. It marked only the second time in seven months that the financial sector did not top the list, suggesting that the credit crunch has spread to other sectors.
"The fact that these two sectors topped the job-cut list in February is clear evidence that the slowdown has moved beyond the housing and financial industries," said John A. Challenger, chief executive officer of the employment consulting firm, in a statement.
The report shows that job cuts in the first two months of 2008 are essentially even with the same period last year, and monthly cuts have not approached the 140,000 level recorded during the 2001 recession.
"Despite increased layoffs in several industries, job-cut activity is still well below levels we would expect in a recession," said Challenger. "With companies currently cutting at half that [2001] level, it appears that they do not expect this slowdown to be deep or prolonged."
Monday, March 3, 2008
Ford Offering 2,500 Employees Buyouts
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Ford Motor Co. announced Monday that it will lay off 2,500 autoworkers who do not accept retirement and buyout packages by the late summer in a cost-cutting move.
The automaker said it will focus its buyouts on three locations - Chicago, Louisville, and Cleveland. It said the buyouts and layoffs are consistent with the company's plan to reduce production capacity to meet customer demand and return its North American operations back to profitability by 2009.
"We remain focused on our plan to return the North American automotive business to profitability," Mark Fields, Ford's president of The Americas, said in a statement. "These actions are necessary as we align our capacity and product mix to meet real customer demand."
GM (GM, Fortune 500), Chrysler LLC and Ford (F, Fortune 500) have all announced buyout and early retirement packages for their UAW hourly workers. GM said in mid-February that as many as 20,000 employees, or 25% of its hourly workforce, could accept buyouts.
The three plants will begin to operate with one shift, starting in the summer. The company said the move will not affect production volume, but it will promote efficiency during "down weeks."
"By adjusting our operating patterns in this way, we can produce the right volume and avoid down weeks," said Joe Hinrichs, group vice president, Global Manufacturing.
Ford is currently offering the buyout packages to its entire U.S. hourly workforce. Workers may select from one of ten retirement packages, including an enhanced retirement offer to eligible workers.
The automaker said it will focus its buyouts on three locations - Chicago, Louisville, and Cleveland. It said the buyouts and layoffs are consistent with the company's plan to reduce production capacity to meet customer demand and return its North American operations back to profitability by 2009.
"We remain focused on our plan to return the North American automotive business to profitability," Mark Fields, Ford's president of The Americas, said in a statement. "These actions are necessary as we align our capacity and product mix to meet real customer demand."
GM (GM, Fortune 500), Chrysler LLC and Ford (F, Fortune 500) have all announced buyout and early retirement packages for their UAW hourly workers. GM said in mid-February that as many as 20,000 employees, or 25% of its hourly workforce, could accept buyouts.
The three plants will begin to operate with one shift, starting in the summer. The company said the move will not affect production volume, but it will promote efficiency during "down weeks."
"By adjusting our operating patterns in this way, we can produce the right volume and avoid down weeks," said Joe Hinrichs, group vice president, Global Manufacturing.
Ford is currently offering the buyout packages to its entire U.S. hourly workforce. Workers may select from one of ten retirement packages, including an enhanced retirement offer to eligible workers.
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