More than a few articles reached my news desk this week reminding me that Americans need not declare, “There’s no one is hiring!”
Here are some examples:
Toys R Us to hire 45,000 workers for holidays
Toys R Us will double its US workforce over the coming months, hiring 45,000 workers for the holiday season — more seasonal workers than in the past three holidays. (USA Today)
There’s some good news out there about small businesses
Many small businesses are thriving during these tough times: Sales are up, managers are hiring and territories expanding, according to a recent survey of 1,100 businesses.
In New Jersey, for instance, revenue grew 39 percent between January and August this year over the same time last year for a staffing agency after it updated its technology; a pest control company hired five workers and increased sales with an aggressive marketing campaign; a hair salon boosted revenues and capacity by adding value for the consumer and hiring a public relations firm last year.
The key is to be proactive, creative and flexible. (North Jersey News)
Unemployment rate drops in two-thirds of metro areas in August
Unemployment fell in nearly two-thirds of the nation’s largest metro areas in August, the broadest improvement since May. The jobless rate dropped in 230 cities, an improvement from the previous month, when rates fell in only 152 areas. (USA Today)
Green Job Training in Oakland
The Oakland Green Jobs Corps is whipping people into shape so they will be fit enough for the physical rigors of a job in the construction trade. Besides the daily regimen of exercise, the trainees study everything from carpentry to blueprint reading, from advanced mathematics to how to install solar panels on a roof.
The program, funded by federal stimulus dollars, provides 16 weeks of training for free and graduates about 130 people a year who go on to get jobs. People who were previously just scraping by with five kids, or even homeless, are now making $700 per week, productive members of society. (READ more in an ABC News story on Oakland struggling overall – scroll down to “Going Green”)