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☆ US weekly jobless claims rise slightly; labor market defies recession fears
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( Lucia Mutikani | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

"Labor market conditions are still tight," said Nancy Vanden Houten, lead U.S. economist at Oxford Economics in New York. "While we expect the Fed to leave rates steady at its upcoming meeting, a more sustained loosening of labor market conditions is needed to keep rate hikes permanently off the table." Unadjusted claims increased by 5,296 to 207,941 last week, with notable rises in New York, Ohio and Illinois. While the labor market continues to surprise with strength, manufacturing is in a downward spiral. The Fed's "Beige Book" report on Wednesday described the labor market as having "continued to be strong" in May, but noted that "many contacts" were "fully staffed."

Persons: Nancy Vanden Houten, Unadjusted, nonfarm payrolls, payrolls, Christopher Rupkey, Lucia Mutikani, Chizu Nomiyama, Paul Simao Organizations: PMI, Federal Reserve, Fed, Labor, Oxford Economics, Labor Department, Reuters, Institute for Supply Management, Treasury, U.S, Thomson Locations: May WASHINGTON, U.S, New York, New York , Ohio, Illinois, Massachusetts

☆ Job site ZipRecruiter cutting 20% of its staff
▼ + stars: | 2023-06-01 | by ( Chris Isidore | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

New York CNN —Fewer employers looking for workers means 270 employees at job search site ZipRecruiter will soon be out of a job. The company is cutting 20% of its staff by the end of this month, the company disclosed in a filing late Wednesday. Alphabet, Microsoft and Salesforce — and especially Twitter — have all announced large job cuts. Despite all the job cuts in technology and also in media, US employers overall are still hiring more people than they’re cutting. Economists are also forecasting a gain of 190,000 jobs for May when the Labor Department issues its monthly jobs report Friday.

Persons: “, Ian Siegel Organizations: New, New York CNN, ”, Facebook, Meta, Microsoft, Twitter, Labor Department, Labor Locations: New York

☆ Creator startup Jellysmack has laid off staffers in the US and France. Here's the email its president sent to employees detailing the reasons behind the cuts.
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-25 | by ( Amanda Perelli | Shriya Bhattacharya | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +9 min

Creator economy startup Jellysmack laid off staffers in the US and France on Thursday. The creator economy startup Jellysmack on Thursday laid off staffers in the US and France as part of a larger company restructuring, Insider has confirmed. This news comes shortly after the creator economy startup began hiring for a new M&A leader to help integrate companies that it buys. Jellysmack has had several rounds of layoffs in the last year, and laid of staffers in France in February, as The Information reported. Jellysmack go-to-market 2.0Jellysmack's mission has been to help creators go bigger, by bringing them products, services, and infrastructure that helps them grow.

☆ CEOs thought the return to office debate was over. It looks like they were wrong
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-13 | by ( Cheryl Winokur Munk | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +9 min

Other companies, too, could see reverberations if they enact similar policies, especially if the mandates feel arbitrary, human resources professionals say. That's why companies that want to bring workers back to the office need to focus on reconfiguring workspaces to foster additional collaboration. If your company hasn't yet, maybe don't 'mandate'Many companies are still ironing out their return-to-office policies. JustAnswer, an online source for professional information, has seen a 49% increase in questions related to return-to-office mandates and/or policies in its Employment Law category compared with May 2022. Companies should also evaluate whether across-the-board policies make sense, or whether in-office mandates should be implemented for certain functions only, Kogut said.

☆ Job Market Is Expected to Show More Cooling in April
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-05 | by ( Lydia Depillis | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

“We expect a more negative and profound effect of interest rates on the labor market in the second half of the year,” said Frank Steemers, a senior economist at the Conference Board. But job postings have been receding quickly, and the rate at which workers quit their jobs is almost back down to where it stood in 2019. The outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas reported Thursday that employers had announced job cuts totaling about 337,000 positions this year, concentrated in retail and the technology industry. If a wider economic downturn sets in, job reductions will probably look different than they have in previous recessions. Mr. Steemers recently constructed an index estimating the risk of job losses across various industries.

"My belief is that we don't get inflation down to 2% without a recession," said Greg McBride, chief financial analyst at Bankrate. As the economy fluctuates, experts say there are several key risk areas that consumers may want to keep an eye on. That still leaves about 1.6 open jobs to every available worker, which is "very good," according to Andy Challenger, senior vice president at outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas. Pricey car loan 'quickly becomes untenable'Auto loan delinquencies are already rising, particularly for borrowers with weaker credit profiles, McBride noted. In 2022, consumers paid $133.1 billion in credit card interest and fees, a 23.1% increase from the estimated $108.1 billion they paid in 2021.

☆ U.S. weekly jobless claims rise as higher borrowing costs cool demand
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

WASHINGTON, May 4 (Reuters) - The number of Americans filing new claims for jobless benefits increased last week as the labor market gradually softens amid higher interest rates, which are cooling demand in the economy. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits rose 13,000 to a seasonally adjusted 242,000 for the week ended April 29. Nevertheless, the labor market remains tight. Fed Chair Jerome Powell told a press conference that "the labor market remains very tight," but noted there were "some signs that supply and demand in the labor market are coming back into better balance." The claims report has no bearing on the government's closely watched employment report for April, which is scheduled to be released on Friday, as it falls outside the survey period.

☆ What to expect from the jobs report
▼ + stars: | 2023-05-04 | by ( Alicia Wallace | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +7 min

Minneapolis CNN —If the latest employment trends continue and economists’ forecasts prove true, Friday’s jobs report could bring back that pre-pandemic feeling. Economists expect the US economy to have added 180,000 jobs in April, according to consensus estimates on Refinitiv. It could also hammer home the fact that the US labor market has indeed cooled down from its red-hot recovery over the past two years. What a rising unemployment rate meansEconomists are expecting the unemployment rate to tick up to 3.6% from 3.5%, according to Refinitiv. Mixed signalsPayroll processor ADP’s monthly look at private-sector employment activity, released two days before the BLS’ employment report, is sometimes looked at as a preview of what to expect from the federal data.

☆ 2023 layoff tracker: The latest on which companies have announced job cuts
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-25 | by ( Jennifer Korn | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +20 min

New York CNN —BuzzFeed, Lyft, Whole Foods and Deloitte all recently announced layoffs affecting thousands of US workers. With 11,000 job cuts announced in November and the 10,000 announced in March, Meta’s headcount will fall to around 66,000 — a total reduction of about 25%. The company announced in January that it was eliminating some 18,000 positions as part of a major cost-cutting bid at the e-commerce giant. IndeedJob listing website Indeed.com announced cuts of approximately 2,200 employees, representing almost 15% of its total workforce, the company said in March. The cuts come after the company announced several rounds of job cuts throughout the pandemic due to falling demand, followed by rapid hiring last year.

☆ How new grads can better their odds of landing a job even as employers cut back on college hires
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-19 | by ( Jessica Dickler | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

The outlook for newly minted graduates doesn't look as good as it once did. Employers plan to hire about 4% more new college graduates from this year's class than they hired from the Class of 2022, according to a report from the National Association of Colleges and Employers. However, that's down significantly from earlier projections: In the fall, employers said they would boost hiring roughly 15% year over year. As those layoffs mount, job openings have also begun to fall. "We know companies are approaching 2023 with caution, though the economy is still creating jobs," said Andrew Challenger, senior vice president of Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

Amazon on Tuesday began laying off some employees in its advertising as part of CEO Andy Jassy's effort to rein in costs, the company confirmed. Jassy last month announced Amazon would lay off 9,000 employees, on top of the 18,000 cuts already announced last November and in January. In March, Jassy said the latest round would affect employees in Amazon's advertising, cloud computing, Twitch livestreaming and human resources divisions. Importantly, I want to acknowledge and thank our impacted colleagues for the work they have done on behalf of Amazon Ads customers. PaulWATCH: Watch CNBC's full interview with Amazon CEO Andy Jassy on message to investors, new AI tools and stock price

☆ Big Tech employees are getting culled. Their European colleagues get stronger labor laws and softer landings.
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-11 | by ( Riddhi Kanetkar | Jyoti Mann | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +11 min

European Big Tech employees have better labor protections"There are regulations in Europe that apply to collective situations, based on European law: the so-called Mass Dismissal Directive," said Dr. Jordan. But in January, Twitter employees were reported to have been paid just one month's severance, according to CNN. Twitter employees in other European hubs such as Germany, Spain, Ireland, and the UK are also pushing back, with the help of the countries' labor laws and unions. Twitter employees in Germany have also worked with the Verdi union to push Twitter into making a better severance offer, Fortune reported. The process could take months instead of weeks, Brittin added — another testament to Europe's stronger labor protections for its employees.

[1/2] A "now hiring" sign is displayed outside Taylor Party and Equipment Rentals in Somerville, Massachusetts, U.S., September 1, 2022. Economists polled by Reuters expect a gain of 239,000 jobs in March, with hourly wages rising at a 4.3% annual rate and the unemployment rate remaining at 3.6%, a level seen less than 20% of the time since World War Two. Unemployment is still at a very low level," Boston Fed President Susan Collins said in an interview with Reuters last week. How "slack" in the labor market links to lower inflation may depend on where job growth slows, and over what timeline. "The services sector, in particular, has contributed substantially to recent inflation, reflecting ongoing imbalances in labor markets where supply remains impaired and demand remains robust," they wrote.

☆ U.S. weekly jobless claims fall; layoffs jump in March
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

The government revised data for some prior years and introduced new seasonal factors for both initial and the so-called continuing claims. Surveys from the Institute for Supply Management this week suggested that the labor market was fraying at the edges. LABOR MARKET LOOSENINGThe Labor Department reported on Tuesday that job openings fell below 10 million at the end of February for first time in nearly two years. The claims data has no bearing on March's employment report, which is scheduled to be released on Friday. Cooling labor market conditions could allow the Fed to halt its fastest interest rate hiking cycle since the 1980s.

☆ Layoffs are up nearly fivefold so far this year with tech companies leading the way
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-06 | by ( Jeff Cox | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

"With rate hikes continuing and companies' reigning in costs, the large-scale layoffs we are seeing will likely continue." Year to date, job cuts have soared to 270,416, an increase of 396% from the same period a year ago. The main reason cited for job cuts has been market and economic conditions, with cost-cutting the next most-often mentioned factor. Along with the high level of layoffs, job openings have begun to fall. The Federal Reserve has been targeting the ultra-tight labor market as it battles inflation still running near 40-year highs.

☆ Amazon lays off more than 100 employees in its video games division: Read the memo here
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-04 | by ( Annie Palmer | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

Amazon is laying off roughly 100 employees across its video games division, an executive overseeing the unit wrote in a memo to staffers on Tuesday. Amazon's video games division has also experienced some turnover among its top ranks. Mike Frazzini, who helped launch Amazon's game studios, stepped down last March. And in January, John Smedley, who headed up Amazon Games' San Diego studio, exited the company. A spokesperson for Amazon confirmed the layoffs and the existence of the memo but declined further comment.

☆ Virgin Orbit, Richard Branson's rocket company, to lay off 85% of staff
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-30 | by ( Jackie Wattles | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

CNN —Virgin Orbit — the rocket company founded by British billionaire Richard Branson — is laying off the vast majority of its workforce as company leadership struggles to secure additional funding. Virgin Orbit spokespeople declined to comment beyond the filing. Virgin Orbit was founded in 2017 after spinning off from its sister company, Virgin Galactic, which is focused on using supersonic planes to vault high-paying tourists on joy rides to the edge of space. Virgin Orbit, on the other hand, has been developing an air-launched rocket, dubbed LauncherOne, for hauling small satellites to orbit. Virgin Orbit announced it was going public — via a reverse merger agreement called a SPAC — in the fall of 2021.

☆ As Big Tech employees get culled, their European colleagues get stronger labor laws and softer landings
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-15 | by ( Riddhi Kanetkar | Jyoti Mann | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +8 min

Big Tech layoffs at Meta, Twitter, Amazon and Snap have laid off thousands of workers globally. Until recently, tech employees haven't had to think too seriously about mass layoffs. European Big Tech employees have better labor protections"There are regulations in Europe that apply to collective situations, based on European law: the so-called Mass Dismissal Directive," said Dr. Jordan. But in January, Twitter employees were reported to have been paid just one month's severance, according to CNN. Twitter employees in Germany have also worked with the Verdi union to push Twitter into making a better severance offer, Fortune reported.

☆ What to expect from the February jobs report
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-10 | by ( Alicia Wallace | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Minneapolis CNN —January’s jobs report delivered a heck of a surprise when it showed the US economy had added more than half a million jobs and unemployment had dipped to a level not seen in more than five decades. But economists say they are not bracing for another blindside when the February jobs report comes out on Friday morning. “If we get a second strong jobs report [on Friday], it’s no longer an anomaly,” Terrazas added. Seasonality, benchmarking and the interplay of pandemic-era data don’t completely explain away January’s blockbuster jobs report, economists say, noting there are likely influences from the currently tight labor market. The Bureau of Labor Statistics’ February jobs report is set to be released at 8:30 a.m.

☆ GM offers buyouts to most salaried employees, in a bleak warning for white-collar workers
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Nora Naughton | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

GM employees have until March 24 to accept buyout offers. Salaried employees with at least five years of experience qualify for the buyouts. The buyout program is part of GM's plan to "accelerate attrition and achieve $2 billion in cost savings by the end of 2024," spokesperson Maria Raynal said in an emailed statement. Eligible employees have until March 24 to accept the buyout offer, and once approved will leave the company by June 30. GM last rationalized its workforce in 2019, slashing about 15% of its North American salaried employees at the same time the company initiated plans to close several factories.

☆ US weekly jobless claims rise more than expected
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

WASHINGTON, March 9 (Reuters) - The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits increased more than expected last week, but the underlying trend remained consistent with a tight labor market. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits rose 21,000 to a seasonally adjusted 211,000 for the week ended March 4, the Labor Department said on Thursday. Claims had remained below 200,000 for seven straight weeks, indicating that high-profile job cuts in the technology sector had not had a material impact on the labor market. The unemployment rate is forecast unchanged at a more than 53-1/2-year low of 3.4%. The labor market is, however, cooling on the margins.

☆ US weekly jobless claims post largest rise in 5 months; labor market still tight
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Lucia Mutikani | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +6 min

"Even after factoring in the latest increase, jobless claims are exceptionally low by historical standards, underscoring just how tight labor market conditions still are," said Michael Pearce, lead U.S. economist at Oxford Economics in New York. The four-week moving average for new claims, a better measure of labor market trends as it irons out weekly fluctuations, climbed 4,000 to 197,000 last week. Claims had stayed below 200,000 for seven straight weeks, indicating that high-profile job cuts in the technology sector had not had a material impact on the labor market. Goldman Sachs believed residual seasonality accounted for about half of last week's rise in claims. The labor market is, however, cooling on the margins.

☆ February jobs preview: What to expect after January’s blowout report
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-09 | by ( Alicia Wallace | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +8 min

Minneapolis CNN —January’s jobs report delivered a heck of a surprise when it showed the US economy had added more than half a million jobs and unemployment had dipped to a level not seen in more than five decades. But economists say they are not bracing for another blindside when the February jobs report comes out on Friday. “I think most economists were comfortable dismissing the January jobs data as an anomaly,” Aaron Terrazas, Glassdoor’s chief economist, told CNN. “If we get a second strong jobs report [on Friday], it’s no longer an anomaly,” Terrazas added. Seasonality, benchmarking and the interplay of pandemic-era data don’t completely explain away January’s blockbuster jobs report, economists say, noting there are likely influences from the currently tight labor market.

☆ SiriusXM cuts 8% of its workforce as part of a broader reorganization
▼ + stars: | 2023-03-06 | by ( Lillian Rizzo | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +6 min

"We are entering into a new phase for our Company," CEO Jennifer Witz said in an email to employees on Monday. In November, the CEO had told the company that as part of their 2023 plans there would be a review of the company. "However, today's decision to reduce our workforce was required in order for us to maintain a sustainably profitable company," Witz said. After a review of our business, we have made the decision to reduce the size of our workforce by 475 roles, or 8%. However, today's decision to reduce our workforce was required in order for us to maintain a sustainably profitable company.

☆ Covid's 'legacy of weirdness': Layoffs spread, but some employers can't hire fast enough
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-20 | by ( Leslie Josephs | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

A sign for hire is posted on the window of a Chipotle restaurant in New York, April 29, 2022. This points to a labor market that's still tight, particularly in service sectors that were hit hard earlier in the pandemic, such as restaurants and hotels. Consumer spending has remained robust and surprised some economists, despite headwinds such as higher interest rates and persistent inflation. "There's a difference between saying the labor market is tight and the labor market is strong," Kelly said. With interest rates rising and inflation staying elevated, consumers could pull back spending and spark job losses or reduce hiring needs in otherwise thriving sectors.

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