Where California’s Jobs Are Being Created and Sustained
Last Thursday, Ross DeVol, chief research officer at the Milken Institute (MI), came to San Francisco to unveil the findings of the MI annual Best Performing Cities study. The presentation not only set out the rankings of metropolitan areas for 2014, but also addressed the current and projected key drivers and dynamics of job growth. […]
This Morning’s High-Speed Rail Groundbreaking in Fresno: One Backstory
Groundbreakings of major California infrastructure projects (transit, water, roadways) are usually Potemkin village affairs, populated by politicians who have had little to do with the project that was in development for many years by their (usually absent) predecessors. This morning’s groundbreaking in Fresno for the California High Speed Rail system should at least feature current […]
Faster, Faster, Smarter, Smarter: The Internet Job Placement Sites Speed Into 2015
The world of the internet job placement sites continues to grow rapidly in 2014. With so many job placement sites, which is the right one for a job seeker in California to use? To get perspective we might turn to Matt Hendrickson, CEO of Ascendify (www.ascendify.com), and one of California’s leading internet entrepreneurs in job […]
Our Appointment in Samarra
The phrase “Appointment in Samarra” is usually associated with the 1934 novel of that name by John O’Hara. But its origin is the 1933 play, Sheppey, by Somerset Maugham. Near the end of the play, Maugham recounts the Arabian fable of Death and the Servant. The speaker is Death: There was a merchant in Bagdad […]
President Obama’s Immigration Order and California Employment
It’s not too early to start considering how President Obama’s Immigration Order will impact California job markets. In fact, this past weekend has seen several commentators weigh in already, including Chapman University faculty member (and occasional Fox & Hounds contributor) Joel Kotkin, and USC faculty member Manual Pastor. Like nearly all employment issues in California, […]
Why Our Economic Dissatisfaction Will Not End Soon
The economic dissatisfaction expressed in exit polls throughout the nation last Tuesday is not likely to end soon, despite happy-face federal government reports. As we look ahead to 2015 and beyond here in California, we should take note of some of the reasons, especially two lesser-discussed reasons. Last Friday, the Labor Department announced that the […]
How Recruiters Can Help Your Current (or Future) Job Search in California
(This is one of an occasional Fox & Hounds series on employment counselors, coaches, and recruiters in California, and their advice for job seekers). Employment recruiters in California, like staffing company professionals, offer us valuable insights into the state’s labor markets. They are on top of who is hiring and what jobs they’re hiring for […]
Which Job Boards Are Used by California’s Employment Professionals?
Which job boards are used by California’s employment professionals today? Earlier this month, Transmosis, the tech group dedicated to fuller employment in California, undertook a survey of 21 job counselors associated with two Workforce Investment Boards, NOVA in Silicon Valley and Contra Costa County. Job counselors were asked, “Which internet job placement sites have you […]
Darkness at Noon
Earlier this week, the death of David Greenglass at age 92 was announced in the New York Times. Few Californians today have heard of him or even of the espionage trial of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg in 1951, in which he was a key witness. Yet, both the trial and the subsequent revelations have important […]
What Are the Best Placement Strategies for California’s Long Term Unemployed?
What are the best placement strategies for California’s long term unemployed? This week a consortium of four California Workforce Investment Boards (WIBs) is launching a project to address this question. The project in its first months will take a critical look at existing long term unemployed (LTU) projects throughout the nation. Starting in early 2015, […]