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There are no “minority” races in the public school systems of America’s Southern and Western states. Literally. A new study, released last week and reported in the New York Times, reveals that white students are no longer a demographic majority in the 15 states of Dixie. The same has been true in the West since 2003. And no majority means no “minorities,” either.

Read the article – http://www.theroot.com/views/glenn-becks-worst-nightmare-america-without-minorities

A recent survey shows that the majority of people that are currently employed are not satisfied.  This is no surprise to anyone out there…but in case you want to read the entire article…click the link below.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/34691428/ns/business-careers

Industries with the largest number of mass layoff initial claims in June 2009,
not seasonally adjusted

June peak

Industry                                                        Initial claims     Year                  Initial Claims                                          

Elementary and secondary schools …………..  28,751                 2009                 28,751
School and employee bus transportation ……     18,930              2007                 21,611
Food service contractors ………………….            12,113              2007                 14,527
Temporary help services (1) ……………….           8,567                2000                 13,815
Child day care services …………………..              7,911                2007                9,115
Construction machinery manufacturing ……        7,454                2009                7,454
Light truck and utility vehicle manufacturing      7,034                       1998                 7,608
Professional employer organizations (1) …..       5,303                2009                 5,303
Motion picture and video production ………..      3,578                2000                9,435
Aircraft manufacturing ……………………              3,365                2009                 3,365

Compensation costs for civilian workers increased 0.4 percent, seasonally adjusted, for the 3-month period ending
September 2009, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Both components of compensation–wages and salaries (which make up about 70 percent of compensation) and benefits (which make up the remaining 30 percent of compensation)–increased the same amount, 0.4 percent.

Civilian Worker Data
Compensation costs for civilian workers increased 1.5 percent for the 12-month period ending September 2009. This
was smaller than the 2.9 percent increase for the 12-month period ending in September 2008. Wages and salaries increased

1.5 percent for the current 12-month period, slowing from a 3.1 percent increase for the 12-month period ending in
September 2008. Benefit costs rose 1.6 percent, down from a 2.6 percent increase for the 12-month period ending September
2008.

Private Industry Worker Data
Compensation costs, wages and salaries, and benefit costs decelerated for private industry workers for the 12-month
period ending September 2009, registering the smallest increases since each series began, but the differences were not
statistically different from last quarter.  Compensation costs increased 1.2 percent, the smallest percent change published since the series began in 1980. The wage and salary series, which began in 1975, increased 1.4 percent for the current 12-month period.  The cost of benefits, which have been measured since 1980, increased 1.1 percent for the 12-month period ending September 2009. Employer costs for health benefits increased 4.7 percent for the 12-month period ending September 2009. In September 2008, the 12-month percent change was 3.9 percent.

Among occupational groups, compensation cost increases for private industry workers for the 12-month period ending
September 2009 ranged from 0.8 percent for sales and office workers to 2.1 percent for service occupations.

Among industries, compensation cost increases for private industry workers for the current 12-month period ranged
from 0.7 percent for information to 2.1 percent for education and health services.

The Employment Cost Index for December 2009 is scheduled to be released on Friday, January 29, 2010, at 8:30 a.m. (EST).

Transmission of material in this release is embargoed until                           USDL-09-1303
8:30 a.m. (EDT) Friday, October 30, 2009

Technical information:
(202) 691-6199 

NCSinfo@bls.gov  

http://www.bls.gov/ect

Media contact:
(202) 691-5902 

PressOffice@bls.gov

Still not convinced about Social Networking?  Wondering if there really could be any benefit to having a blog or is this just another media hype?  We have be wondering the same thing but our research showed that there are several key advantages to developing a blog and updating the world on your business.   Here are a few advantages I think you could find interesting….take a look.

• Creating a global business presence.  Thats correct…the Internet brings the world closer and closer to one another that you will find people in China reading about people in Mexico.   This intertwining connection gives small companies the same advantage that large companies have to market there products across the world.
• Collaboration.  Yes it’s true…through your blog, open forums, and discussions you can find experts in almost any subject matter.  (And just between us…we have been listening and asking and evolving through help from others)
• A Recruitment Tool.  Although this one is still relatively new…many HR professionals are using social blogs to discover and recruit unseen talent.  Thats right!  Tapping into new markets and talents to help create recruitment strategies.
• And the most important.  Cheap Marketing!  Yeah we said it.  Cheap marketing.  No longer do small and mid size companies have to empty bank accounts to afford marketing and advertising campaigns like the big boys.  In fact we are a prime example….we don’t have the heavy budgets like other social blogs…and guess what?  We are fine with that! 

Well we have given you 4 top reasons to change your method of doing business and to evolve with everyone else…but the final decision is yours. 

Here are 5 simple steps to making the most of your search engines.

1. Get a Domain name.
2. Take care with titles.
3. Use Keywords wisely.
4. Make your contact information obvious.
5. Link UP!  (We don’t think we can stress this one anymore)

This article can be found on Entrepreneur Magazine and written by:  Gwen Morgan – December 2008.

Gwen Morgan is co-author of The Complete Idiots Guide to Business Plans.  You can reach her at gwen@gwenmorgan.com

One of the biggest challenges that face companies today is implementation.  Correct…many companies have great employees with brilliant ideas but getting them to move forward from desktop to implementation is something else. 

Here are a few suggestions that could help you move faster…

1. Tracking – During one of those fabulous brainstorming sessions make sure that you are jotting the ideas down and then make sure you are tracking them.  Tracking them can help establish a flow and time frame of when an idea came from conception to implementation. 
2. Checkpoints – Make sure that when you track your innovative ideas and you begin to set a flow chart, that you begin to establish checkpoints.  This helps ensure that you stay true to your basic core concept and lets you identify key areas of improvement before they become overwhelmingly large. 
3. Deadlines – Try to establish a quick prototype date by creating effective and realistic deadlines.  This helps the concept move forward by continuously meeting on deadlines and checkpoints. 

We hope this tidbit of information was useful.  And as always we recommend that you research more on this material before embarking on large projects.

The state Department of Labor and Workforce Development said Wednesday that private-sector companies in New Jersey added 13,000 jobs in July, breaking 17 months of consecutive job cuts that stretch back to January 2008. While the private sector added employees, 7,100 public-sector jobs were cut in July as the state’s unemployment rate rose to 9.3 percent, up from 9.2 percent in June. Economists familiar with New Jersey employment numbers encouraged caution, indicating that the recession has employment numbers — considered a lagging indicator of a recovery — in flux. Pat O’Keefe, chief economist for J.H. Cohn, in Roseland, called July’s numbers “a pleasant surprise.” He closely tracks the state’s weekly unemployment claims, which he said show layoffs slowed over the past couple of months, “and today’s data suggests there may even be some hiring going on.” But O’Keefe warned “we have to be careful not to draw sweeping conclusions out of one month’s data.” He said until there are a couple of months of confirmation, he can’t say whether July’s numbers represent an upward trend. According to preliminary estimates by the state agency, industry sectors reporting job growth in July included leisure and hospitality, manufacturing, construction, and professional and business services. Leading the areas recording losses was the trade, transportation and utilities sector, which eliminated 4,500 jobs for the month. The financial activities and education and health services sectors lost 600 and 500 jobs, respectively. A detailed breakdown of the job gains and losses in the state for July can be found in a report posted on the agency’s Web site. Each month’s employment report is compiled through a telephone survey of Garden State companies, and provides only an estimate of employment numbers. The actual figures are adjusted annually following a more complete survey. Joel Naroff, founder and president of Naroff Economic Advisors, said he was surprised by the July employment jump, but said job numbers are volatile right now because the recession is ending; employment numbers could jump around over the next few months. “You can’t just take one month — I’d like to see a trend,” he said. “When the economy turns, the data are never consistent — you can be up big one month and down the next.” But Naroff said the national economy is turning up, and New Jersey appears to be following the national trend. “It would certainly be welcome news,” Rutgers University economist Jim Hughes said. “Let’s hope it’s not revised down in February.”

By Beth Fitzgerald and João-Pierre Ruth

E-mail to editorial@njbiz.com

Lou Dobbs, take note: immigrants are good for our economy. The most skilled create jobs in technology and engineering, says Duke professor Vivek Wadhwa, who estimates that in 2005 immigrant-founded engineering and tech companies employed 450,000 people and generated $52 billion in sales. But even the least skilled more than repay their costs in schools and health care. Two highly respected Australian economists, Maureen Rimmer and Peter Dixon, studied the issue for the libertarian Cato Institute. “The net impact on U.S. households from tighter border enforcement is unambiguously negative,” they found, because even low-skilled immigrants expand the economic pie and create jobs farther up the ladder. Cato’s Dan Griswold says the study shows a $250 billion difference between the most and least restrictive immigration policies.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Raymond LaHood announced Friday afternoon a $298.7 million transit capital grant to NJ Transit for 13 projects to improve aging infrastructure, ease traffic congestion and create jobs in the Garden State. The grant is part of the $423 million the public transit agency is receiving from the federal government under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, commonly called the federal stimulus, according to the Office of the Governor.
The stimulus funds “represent the largest transit grant issued to date by the Federal Transit Administration,” said Gov. Jon S. Corzine, in a statement. Based on estimates that 7.7 jobs are created for every $1 million invested, the nearly $300 million in funding will generate more than 2,000 jobs in New Jersey, according to the governor’s office.

The ARRA funds currently are being directed to the 13 projects, all of which are under way or scheduled to begin by the end of the year, the office said.

The projects with the largest funding amounts are the final design and construction of the trans-Hudson rail tunnel, which will be awarded $130 million; the rehabilitation of NJ Transit’s bus fleet, which will receive $35 million; and the second phase of the Lower Hack Bridge rehabilitation, which will be allocated $30 million. NJ Transit’s Morris & Essex and Montclair-Boonton Line trains travel over the three-track bridge to cross the Hackensack River between Kearny and Jersey City.

Other funded projects include the new Pennsauken Transit Center that will connect the River Line and Atlantic City line, a new Plauderville Station in Bergen County, and a new 500-space parking lot that will more than double the parking capacity at Edison Station.

E-mail Evelyn Lee @ elee@njbiz.com
By Evelyn Lee
8/14/2009