Dakota Meyer also stopped by our booth,
was great to see him again
See you next year
Veronica Bouchon
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
Hiring our Heroes event at 69th Regiment/Lexington Ave. Armory
It was a great day once again at the US Chamber of Commerce Foundation's Hiring our Heroes event held today at the 69th Regiment/Lexington Avenue Armory. The event was sponsored by Capital One and Toyota. After the opening ceremony at 9 am it really got busy. It was great to meet many new veterans and their spouses seeking employment this year. This year we were able to meet General Patrick Murphy.
Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Jobs Report: Unemployment Rate For Returning Veterans Fell 6 Percentage Points
*Clarifies the stats for veterans
By Adam Peck on Feb 3, 2012 at 1:16 pm
By Adam Peck on Feb 3, 2012 at 1:16 pm
*Today’s stronger-than-expected jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics also contained good news for veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. The unemployment rate for veterans of the two wars fell from 15.2 percent a year ago to 9.1 percent last month, while the national unemployment rate fell from 9.1 percent to 8.3 percent during the same period.
The report also showed a big drop for the entire veteran population, as the unemployment rate fell from 9.9 percent to 7.5 percent, lower than the national average.
The news is surely a welcome relief to the veteran community that has been hit especially hard by the weak economy. Unemployment rates for post-9/11 veterans have consistently remained above the national average, and a recent report issued by the U.S Army shows that the impact on returning soldiers has been devastating.
With the backing of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, an emphasis on hiring veterans was a key component of President Obama’s proposed American Jobs Act, which was blocked at every turn by congressional Republicans. After voting down the full jobs bill in the Senate and House, Congress passed the Vow to Hire Heroes Act as a standalone bill nearly unanimously in November. The law provides tax credits to employers who hire veterans.
Today, President Obama spoke in Arlington, Virginia to unveil further efforts to place an increasing number of returning veterans in jobs. He called for an additional $6 billion in spending to place as many as 20,000 veterans in jobs, and is asking Congress to increase funding in the next budget for programs that will place veterans in local police and fire departments.
http://thinkprogress.org/security/2012/02/03/418108/jobs-report-promising-for-veterans/?mobile=nc
The report also showed a big drop for the entire veteran population, as the unemployment rate fell from 9.9 percent to 7.5 percent, lower than the national average.
The news is surely a welcome relief to the veteran community that has been hit especially hard by the weak economy. Unemployment rates for post-9/11 veterans have consistently remained above the national average, and a recent report issued by the U.S Army shows that the impact on returning soldiers has been devastating.
With the backing of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, an emphasis on hiring veterans was a key component of President Obama’s proposed American Jobs Act, which was blocked at every turn by congressional Republicans. After voting down the full jobs bill in the Senate and House, Congress passed the Vow to Hire Heroes Act as a standalone bill nearly unanimously in November. The law provides tax credits to employers who hire veterans.
Today, President Obama spoke in Arlington, Virginia to unveil further efforts to place an increasing number of returning veterans in jobs. He called for an additional $6 billion in spending to place as many as 20,000 veterans in jobs, and is asking Congress to increase funding in the next budget for programs that will place veterans in local police and fire departments.
http://thinkprogress.org/security/2012/02/03/418108/jobs-report-promising-for-veterans/?mobile=nc
Saturday, March 9, 2013
JOBLESS RATE FALLS TO 7.7%
Employers added 236,000 jobs in February, far more than analysts had expected, offering some much-needed momentum to the long-sluggish U.S. labor market.
The headline unemployment rate dropped to four-year low of 7.7% last month, down from 7.9% in January.
Construction jobs led the way, as they have for several months, adding 48,000 jobs in February, according to figures released by the U.S. Labor Department. Recovery efforts from Superstorm Sandy in the fall have provided a lot of work in that sector.
Economists had forecast a gain of 160,000 with the unemployment rate predicted to hold steady at 7.9%.
The report could have gone either way, as some economists had suggested measures taken in Washington, D.C., in recent months could have impacted the report negatively. Sequestration, or $43 billion in mandated budget cuts in fiscal year 2013, kicked in last week, and a 2% payroll tax increase has taken a few hundred dollars a month out of most Americans’ paychecks.
Neither seems to have had much impact, however.
With the positive gains in employment, combined with record highs in stock markets, many analysts are going to start calling for the Federal Reserve to pull back on its loose fiscal policies.
But that’s not likely to happen any time soon.
“Overall, we think there is a long way to go before the Fed begins considering removing its super accommodative monetary policy,” said Aichi Amemiya, an economist at Nomura Securities International.
Fed Vice Chair Janet Yellen said in a speech earlier this week that economic conditions still require an “accommodative” strategy and Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke took a similar position last week in testimony before Congress.
"The surprising improvement in the health of the labour market does not necessarily mean the Fed will start to look at an exit from its asset buying programme any time soon,” said Chris Williamson, chief economist at research firm Markit. “A sustained run of stronger job creation than even the nice surprise seen in February is needed to generate a significant further reduction in the unemployment level.”
The Fed has all but vowed not to raise interest rates until unemployment falls below 6.5% or inflation rises above 2.5%.
"What these numbers do tell us, however, is that the economy is moving in the right direction and is weathering the storm of various fiscal headwinds it is currently facing with considerable resilience,” Williamson added.
In fact, this is the sort of momentum the Fed has been looking for for months, ever since pinning their policies to the struggling housing and labor sectors. The Fed’s bond buying purchases, known as quantitative easing, plus historically low interest rates, are designed to stimulate mortgage lending in an effort to kick start the important housing sector.
Once that sector awakens, the impact will be felt across the economy, from the financial services to retail and construction.
The Fed would seem to be in a position to take some credit today for the positive jobs report.
Williamson noted, “These improving trends will reassure policymakers, but caution about the sustainability and robustness of the recovery will no doubt remain the key theme of the Fed's rhetoric."
Analysts say the economy needs to add about 250,000 per month over several months if the U.S. hopes to see that threshold 6.5% unemployment sought by the Fed.
One area of employment that has been consistently scaling back in recent months is government jobs, which fell by 10,000 in February after dropping by 21,000 in January.
http://www.foxbusiness.com/economy/2013/03/08/employers-add-236k-jobs-in-february-jobless-rate-drops-to-77/
Employers added 236,000 jobs in February, far more than analysts had expected, offering some much-needed momentum to the long-sluggish U.S. labor market.
The headline unemployment rate dropped to four-year low of 7.7% last month, down from 7.9% in January.
Construction jobs led the way, as they have for several months, adding 48,000 jobs in February, according to figures released by the U.S. Labor Department. Recovery efforts from Superstorm Sandy in the fall have provided a lot of work in that sector.
Economists had forecast a gain of 160,000 with the unemployment rate predicted to hold steady at 7.9%.
The report could have gone either way, as some economists had suggested measures taken in Washington, D.C., in recent months could have impacted the report negatively. Sequestration, or $43 billion in mandated budget cuts in fiscal year 2013, kicked in last week, and a 2% payroll tax increase has taken a few hundred dollars a month out of most Americans’ paychecks.
Neither seems to have had much impact, however.
With the positive gains in employment, combined with record highs in stock markets, many analysts are going to start calling for the Federal Reserve to pull back on its loose fiscal policies.
But that’s not likely to happen any time soon.
“Overall, we think there is a long way to go before the Fed begins considering removing its super accommodative monetary policy,” said Aichi Amemiya, an economist at Nomura Securities International.
Fed Vice Chair Janet Yellen said in a speech earlier this week that economic conditions still require an “accommodative” strategy and Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke took a similar position last week in testimony before Congress.
"The surprising improvement in the health of the labour market does not necessarily mean the Fed will start to look at an exit from its asset buying programme any time soon,” said Chris Williamson, chief economist at research firm Markit. “A sustained run of stronger job creation than even the nice surprise seen in February is needed to generate a significant further reduction in the unemployment level.”
The Fed has all but vowed not to raise interest rates until unemployment falls below 6.5% or inflation rises above 2.5%.
"What these numbers do tell us, however, is that the economy is moving in the right direction and is weathering the storm of various fiscal headwinds it is currently facing with considerable resilience,” Williamson added.
In fact, this is the sort of momentum the Fed has been looking for for months, ever since pinning their policies to the struggling housing and labor sectors. The Fed’s bond buying purchases, known as quantitative easing, plus historically low interest rates, are designed to stimulate mortgage lending in an effort to kick start the important housing sector.
Once that sector awakens, the impact will be felt across the economy, from the financial services to retail and construction.
The Fed would seem to be in a position to take some credit today for the positive jobs report.
Williamson noted, “These improving trends will reassure policymakers, but caution about the sustainability and robustness of the recovery will no doubt remain the key theme of the Fed's rhetoric."
Analysts say the economy needs to add about 250,000 per month over several months if the U.S. hopes to see that threshold 6.5% unemployment sought by the Fed.
One area of employment that has been consistently scaling back in recent months is government jobs, which fell by 10,000 in February after dropping by 21,000 in January.
http://www.foxbusiness.com/economy/2013/03/08/employers-add-236k-jobs-in-february-jobless-rate-drops-to-77/
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
Veterans' jobless rate falls In 2012, but remains high
Soaring unemployment that has bedeviled Iraq- and Afghanistan-era veterans for five years has finally reversed.
The jobless rate dropped to an annual average of 9.9% last year from 12.1% in 2011, labor statistics show.
"It looks like it peaked in 2011 and has since been coming down," says James Borbely, an economist for the Bureau of Labor Statistics who studies veteran data. "We're looking at a rate that has clearly improved."
Veteran advocates caution that joblessness among this group remains stubbornly high — well above the national unemployment rate of 7.8%. About 205,000 of those who served in or during the Iraq and Afghanistan wars are without work.
As the Afghanistan War winds down, more than 300,000 veterans will leave the military each of the next four years.
"We've got more miles to go. But it's clear we're marching in the right direction," says Tommy Sowers, assistant secretary for public and intergovernmental affairs for the Department of Veterans Affairs and a former Green Beret who served two combat tours in Iraq.
Paul Rieckhoff, founder and chief executive of the 250,000-member Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, warned against complacency.
"Even with this dip in the annual rate for the year, no one should be anywhere near satisfied," Rieckhoff says. "We've got hundreds of thousands of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans out of work and that should be unacceptable to all Americans."
The marginal employment success was attributed primarily to an improving economy. Veteran leaders also see the reversal as proof that a tougher focus on joblessness among new veterans by the White House, Congress, communities, labor unions and business has paid off.
Sowers notes that 880,000 ex-servicemembers have taken advantage of the new post-9/11 G.I. Bill for university or vocational education.
More employers display an eagerness to hire young veterans they see as disciplined self-starters willing to show up on time, says Lt. Gen. Howard Bromberg, head of Army personnel, who has met with recruiters from several major companies.
"These guys out there, they want our soldiers," Bromberg says.
"It just makes good bottom-line sense to hire veterans," Labor Secretary Hilda Solis says. "They've been tested, time and again, in pressure-cooker situations."
Many businesses are better informed about issues such as post-traumatic stress disorder and how they affect only a minority of applicants or can be like any other disability, says Nancy Hammer, a senior policy official with the Society for Human Resource Management, an association of hiring professionals.
She says some employers still struggle to understand how a veteran's combat skills can translate into assets for employers.
The jobs data for Iraq- and Afghanistan-era veterans contain other trends both good and bad:
- Joblessness remains high among a sub-group of veterans who have had the hardest time finding work — those ages 18 to 24 — although that rate also is declining. One in four of them were unemployed in 2011. That dropped to one in five last year.
- For women who served, jobs remain scarce. Their unemployment rate inched higher, from 12.4% to 12.5% last year, and from about 35,000 out of work to 37,000, the data show.
Retired Army colonel David Sutherland, director of the Center for Military and Veterans Community Services in Washington, says the unemployment numbers leave him "cautiously optimistic."
"But I see a trend on the horizon with the upcoming draw-down of our forces ... where if we don't do more community-based support, that (jobless) number will go back up."
http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/01/06/vets-jobless-rate-drops/1812667/
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