When the Labor Department released the job data for the month of September, many experts were shocked at the unexpectedly poor numbers. As a result, the stock market took a hit on Friday.
Most experts believed that around 175,000 jobs were lost in September. However, the Labor Department said that job losses for September were actually more than 260,000. Compared to the 200,000 jobs lost in August, the unemployment probably appears to be getting worse instead of better.
Overall, the Labor Department says that the unemployment rate in the United States is 9.8%. That number was also higher than expected.
On the day, …read more

Earlier in 2009, Faro Technologies announced that they were cutting more than 20% of its work force. On Monday, the company says that they will laying off 8% of its workers, which goes on top of the previous announcement.
While the exact number of Faro Technologies workers that will be laid off in this latest round of job cuts isn’t known, it is estimated to be between 60 and 70 employees. The company says that all told, the job cuts will save the company more than $15 million per year.
Said Jay Freeland, the CEO of Faro Technologies: “Though the long-term opportunity …read more

On Friday, Barnes & Noble says that they will be cutting more jobs. The lost jobs will be as a result of a consolidation of their publishing operations.
Based in New York, Barnes & Noble had a division of the company that published cheap books. However, the company now instead will publish those books with Sterling Publishing. Barnes & Noble purchased Sterling Publishing approximately six years ago.
The number of Barnes & Noble jobs lost due to this news isn’t immediately known, however it’s expected to be less than 20. Earlier in 2009, the company eliminated more than 90 jobs. Those lost …read more

Earlier this week, it was announced that 539,000 Americans were laid off in April. And though the unemployment rate is at the highest it has been in more than 25 years in the United States (at nearly 9%), the April layoffs weren’t as bad as were anticipated. Some are seeing signs of a turnaround, while other pundits believe the worst is yet to come.
The government can paint a picture of a pending turnaround, but what do the workers around America actually think about what’s going on right now? New York commuters sounded off about the unemployment rates with many of …read more

This has been a good week for the stock market. On Friday, stocks rose once again to put an exclamation point on the week.
The Dow Jones industrial average was up approximately 2% to 8,675.7. The S&P’s 500 index was up nearly 2.5% to 929.2, while NASDAQ was up more than 1% to 22.8. For the week, the Dow Jones rose nearly 4.5%, the S&P rose nearly 6% and NASDAQ rose more than 1%.
The two biggest reasons most stock market experts give for the jump on Friday were the results of the stress test on the banking industry and the …read more

Due to slumping sales, Cytec Industries recently said they will have to cut costs. Part of their cost-cutting measures include additional job cuts. Earlier in 2009, the company said that it was eliminating 600 jobs. Now Cytec Industries says that they will have to cut a total of 12% of their workforce.
Cytec Industries is a specialty materials and chemicals company that is based in New Jersey. The products they sell are in various industries including mining, aerospace, plastics, coatings and water treatment. However, with the global financial woes, the company is seeing a drastic cut in their sales.
In the …read more

Boeing, a multi-billion dollar company in the aerospace and defense industry, notified 900 more workers that their jobs will be terminated. These layoffs are a portion of the 10,000 layoffs announced by Boeing at the beginning of 2009.
The notice gives the employee a warning that their job will cease to exist in two months. Therefore, any notices given out today will result in layoffs in May.
In total, approximately 2,000 Boeing employees have be notified since the beginning of the year. Most of those notified recently were working in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States.
In total, Boeing employs more …read more

Caterpillar, the largest construction equipment company in the world, has unveiled a plan that will cut jobs in three states to help the company survive the worldwide financial mess. The total number of workers to be out of a job is reportedly between 2,400 and 2,500.
The reason Caterpillar is struggling is directly related to the poor economy. With less money floating around, construction has dried up throughout the globe.
In total, Caterpillar is expected to eliminate nearly 20,000 of their more than 110,000 employees. Pay cuts are also planned, with some executives losing up to 50% of their wages. Earlier in …read more