New York SBDC Research Network

Obtained From:   Fortune  The U.S. expansion has put millions of people back to work and economists agree that the economy is now at or close to full employment. But what does that mean exactly? When economists talk about full employment, they don’t mean everybody has a job. And they don’t mean that even the rosiest economic health can cut unemployment to zero. If unemployment falls too much, inflation will rise as employers compete to hire workers and push up wages too fast. To economists, full employment means that unemployment has fallen to the lowest possible level that won’t cause inflation. In the U.S., that was thought to be a jobless rate of about 5 percent — above the February rate of 4.1 percent. Is higher inflation therefore on the way? Or is full employment a smaller number than economists supposed?

The Federal Trade Commission has created new guidance for businesses aimed at giving employment background screening companies information on how to comply with the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA). The guidance helps companies understand when their work defines them as a consumer reporting agency under the FCRA. Consumer reporting agencies must meet a number of obligations outlined in the FCRA, including investigating consumer disputes and correcting inaccurate information. The FTC’s guidance outlines the requirements that employment background screening companies face under FCRA, including their requirements in dealing with their clients and how they interact with consumers. The guidance can be found on the FTC’s website.

Among employed veterans age 18 or older, the most common occupations for men are professional and related; management, business, and financial operations; and service occupations. In 2014, these three groups accounted for 50 percent of all employed men who had previously served on active duty in the U.S. Armed Forces. These were also the largest occupational groups among male nonveterans. Male veterans were more likely than nonveterans to work in transportation and material moving and installation, maintenance, and repair occupations. Male veterans were less likely to work in construction occupations. Female veterans were most likely to work in professional and related; office and administrative support; and management, business, and financial operations occupations. Seventy percent of women who were veterans worked in these occupations. Nonveteran women were less likely to work in these occupations. Female veterans were more likely than nonveterans to work in professional and relate...

From the Census Bureau : A new report presents industry and geography highlights from the Statistics of U.S. Businesses program. These data allow comparisons between business establishments that do similar work but are part of different-sized enterprises.

The number of persons employed part time for economic reasons (sometimes referred to as involuntary part-time workers), at 6.9 million, changed little in November. These individuals, who would have preferred full-time employment, were working part time because their hours had been cut back or because they were unable to find a full-time job. In November, 2.1 million persons were marginally attached to the labor force, essentially unchanged from a year earlier. (The data are not seasonally adjusted.) These individuals were not in the labor force, wanted and were available for work, and had looked for a job sometime in the prior 12 months. They were not counted as unemployed because they had not searched for work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey. Among the marginally attached, there were 698,000 discouraged workers in November, little different from a year earlier. (The data are not seasonally adjusted.) Discouraged workers are persons not currently looking for work because they ...

From the Bureau of Labor Statistics In the latest recession, employment supported by U.S. consumer spending declined by an estimated 3.2 million jobs between 2007 and 2010, over a third of total job declines during that time frame. Compared with the overall economy, consumer-related employment demonstrated relative resilience, recovering in 2012. Through 2022, consumer spending is projected to support stable job growth with increasing expenditures on labor-intensive services like health care. However, consumer spending and its related employment are projected to grow slower than in the past and at rates similar to the overall economy.

Business Employment Dynamics is a set of statistics generated from the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages program. These quarterly data series consist of gross job gains and gross job losses statistics from 1992 forward. These data help to provide a picture of the dynamic state of the labor market. New data from the Business Employment Dynamics program: Entrepreneurship and the U.S. Economy

The Fourth Quarter Employment Bulletin shows the labor market is showing signs of improvement but still has areas of concern.  Small business-dominated industries are starting to turn around as interest rates remain at historical lows.  Find the full report here: http://www.sba.gov/sites/default/files/Quarterly_Employment_Bulletin_4q2013%20.pdf

In 2011, total employment from all U.S. business sectors was 113.4 million, an increase of 1.5 million employees from 2010, according to new statistics released by the U.S. Census Bureau. The mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction sector led the way with a 12.0 percent increase in employment from 2010 to 2011. This year is the first since 2008 in which U.S. businesses reported an increase in employment over the prior year. There were 7.4 million U.S. businesses with paid employees for 2011, a loss of 42,585 establishments from 2010. This is the fourth consecutive year of decline for the number of U.S. businesses. These new findings released today are from County Business Patterns: 2011 , which provides the only detailed annual information on the number of establishments, employees, and quarterly and annual payroll for nearly 1,200 industries covered at the national, state and county levels. The statistics are broken down according to employment-size classes (for example, num...

Electronically verifies the employment eligibility of *Newly hired employees *Existing employees assigned to work on a qualifying federal contract Free web-based service Fast and easy to use Partnership between the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Social Security Administration (SSA) E-Verify is not… …a system that provides immigration status …used for prescreening …a safe harbor from worksite enforcement Who Uses E-Verify? More than 401,00 employers are enrolled to use E-Verify at more than 1.2 million hiring sites More than 2,000 new enrollments per week More than 20 million cases created to date in FY 2012 More than 17 million cases created in FY 2011 Employers in every industry, state and U.S. territory 98.3% Work Authorized instantly or within 24 hours How to enroll: www.dhs.gov/E-Verify under Start Here, click Enroll in E-Verify Required Posters – Must Be Visible to Prospective Employees What is a Tentative Nonconfirmation (TNC)? A TN...

Everyone's reacting to the jobs figures released this morning. I thought I would have a look at the Conference Board to see what they had to say: Press Release / News Job Growth Still Slow, But Not Slowing 05 October, 2012 Comment on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Situation Report Kathy Bostjancic, Director of Macroeconomic Analysis, The Conference Board With a gain of 114,000 jobs in September and an upward revision for August, this economy remains on a slow but not slowing growth path. More demand would help, as would fewer ill winds blowing in from a contracting Europe and slower emerging markets. More certainty on taxes post-election would also help. However, right now, slow job and income growth is about all the economy is capable of generating as businesses remain focused on cutting costs. That is the signal from The Conference Board Leading Economic Index® for the U.S. and is consistent with recent readings on consumer sentiment. Lack of demand plus concern ...

This bulletin presents 2011 annual averages from the Current Population Survey for census regions and divisions; the 50 states and the District of Columbia; and 54 large metropolitan areas, 22 metropolitan divisions, and 41 principal cities. Data from the CPS differ from the official estimates produced by the individual states through the LAUS program. CPS estimates are provided herein because they are a current source of information on the demographic and economic characteristics of the labor force in subnational areas, from the same source as the official labor force data for the United States as a whole.

The Small Business Authority, announced today the next live radio broadcast focusing on job outlook, economic trends related to hiring and employment trends with recent graduates. The show will broadcast from "The Small Business Authority Studio" at 77WABC Radio in New York. National listeners can also tune in at www.wabcradio.com and click listen live. The program, The Small Business Authority Hour, will be broadcast on Saturday, May 5, 2012 at 4:00 p.m. EDT. The show, dedicated to independent business owners across the United States, will feature guest Maury Harris, Managing Director and Chief Economist for the Americas for the UBS investment bank. Maury has been named numerous times to the Institutional Investor (II) All-America Research Team over the past two decades. In the January 2012 edition of Bloomberg Markets magazine, Dr. Harris and his team were cited as having the most accurate week ahead forecasts of U.S. economic data among 78 US forecasters over the two yea...

U.S. Census Bureau annual employment size of firm data (partially funded by the SBA Office of Advocacy) on firm births, deaths and job creation has been updated for 2008. Nonemployer data for 2009 was also updated and saw a decline from 2008 levels. See HERE for data . Should you need further information, please feel free to contact the Office of Advocacy at (202) 205-6533 or advocacy@sba.gov.

by Alicia H. Munnell Since working longer is the key to a secure retirement for the vast majority of older Americans, it is useful to take a look at labor force trends for those under and over age 65 for the last century.

The Small Business Quarterly Bulletin [PDF] from Advocacy's Office of Economic Research is a brochure-style publication that contains commentary and analysis on the current employment and financing trends of small businesses.

Recently, the U.S. Department of Labor released an updated version of its " Employment Law Guide ". Here's a description of it, from a DOL press release: "The Guide helps the public - workers and employers - understand many of the laws affecting the workplace. For instance, it helps small businesses develop wage, benefit, safety and health, and nondiscrimination policies . . . The updated version addresses recent and important changes in employment laws, including the increase in the federal minimum wage and an expansion of the Family and Medical Leave Act . . ." They also stress how helpful this guide can be to those businesses that do not have a dedicated human resources person on staff. Keep this in mind for clients who fit that description, as they (obviously) are still beholden to labor law.

We get lots of requests that try & show the growth, or decline, of certain industries (or of small business in general) over a given time period, or in a given place. Our responses have always required getting a bit of data here, and a bit of data there, and involving way too much formatting of spreadsheets. I've just learned of the Census Bureau's new "Business Dynamics Statistics" website. (A lot of people just learned of the site - it just rolled out on December 1st.) However, after reading what it's all about , I'm tempted to say that we'll now be able to answer these questions a whole lot more easily. Here's a press release from Census, telling us just what to expect: "The U.S. Census Bureau announces the release of the Business Dynamics Statistics (BDS), a data series that allows users to track annual changes in employment for growing and shrinking businesses at the establishment level. There are more than 6 million establishments with p...

Here's a website called BeyondMotherhood.com , a matchmaking site where employers and stay-at-home mothers can find one another. Founded by Shannon Davis, a stay-at-hom mother herself. The site was created originally to service northern Ohio, but is growing in appeal. Its existence is predicated on the fact that there is a wealth of employable talent that companies can tap into. It offers a venue where mothers can still utilize their business skills, while finding a schedule that's flexible enough to give them the time they need with their children. The site appeals to employers by reminding them that stay-at-home mothers are ideal candidates to fill a need on a quarterly, seasonal, or project basis, or who have expertise that is only needed a few times a year. Such women possess the necessary skills, education and experience to do the job, but don't necessarily want to be brought on as full-time staff. For $75, a company can post a single listing on the site for 30 days. I...

The Urban Institute has just released a new report addressing the job market for the baby boomer generation. Will Employers Want Aging Boomers? discusses the fastest-growing occupations for those over 55 and the types of skills employers will be looking for in this working population. From the report's abstract: "Boomers will probably want to work longer than earlier cohorts, but their continued work requires that employers hire and retain them. Employers value older workers for their maturity, experience and work ethic, but worry about out of date skills and high costs. Slower overall labor supply growth will increase demand for older workers and occupations with higher shares of older workers will increase modestly as a share of all jobs. Future jobs will require less physical demands and more cognitive and interpersonal skills, trends that favor educated older workers, but job opportunities for less educated older workers may remain limited."