Job Market Recovery

"Even during the worst days of the nationwide lockdown, employment for those earning $60,000 or more never fell more than 13%, according to this data. The low point was on April 16, when employment was lower by 12.8%. Within a month, it had recovered to just a 5% decline. By June 16 (so, two months from the trough), employment for those making $60,000 or more had almost fully recovered."

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I imagine [Treasury] can print enough checks to replace every American worker’s lost wages and every business’s lost revenues. In other words, it can “simulate” the effect of the economy on incomes. But we actually need the output of workers and businesses.  If all businesses shut down, we won’t have the things we need. These days, for example, people are counting on grocery deliveries and take-out food. But does anyone wonder where food comes from and how it reaches us? The Treasury can make up for people’s lost wages, but people need the things wages buy. So replacing lost wages and revenues will not be enough for long: the economy has to produce goods and services. -Howard Marks

"Having Trouble Hiring? Try Paying More" 

Barry Ritholtz Bloomberg 9/8/2016

Pop quiz time. Which of the following explains the inability of employers to fill open positions:

• A lack of qualified workers?

• Low pay?

• Welfare state/transfer payments that make work unappealing?

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I’ll try to answer that based on my own (admittedly anecdotal and limited) experience.

A few years ago, I was trying to fill an opening in our New York office. I offered what I thought was a competitive salary for a junior position, including good benefits. No one seemed to fit the bill.

I mentioned this to a friend who had a lot more hiring experience. I showed him all the details: Fast-growing company, exciting work environment, lots of perks (window office, unlimited coffee). When it came to pay, he laughed at me. “You are trying to hire someone in a high-paying industry in the most competitive and expensive city in the country for that job,” he said. “Try raising your offer.”

We did, by 50 percent. Suddenly, we had lots of qualified applicants.

*Read Full Article*

"100 Top Places to Raise a Family - Burlington, VT Ranks Number 1"

Burlington, VT

Living on Lake Champlain rewards you with more than scenic views and colorful fall foliage. The schools' per-pupil spending and graduation rates rank near the top of the country, as does the percentage of the population with advanced degrees and the median family income. And, as is often the case, wealth leads to health — there's less obesity here than anywhere else in the country, possibly because the city also has the fewest fast-food restaurants per capita.

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"When it comes to sourcing the right interview candidates, I've never been keen to use recruiters. But I recently changed my mind..." See More

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​Purple Squirrel:

Perfectly qualified candidates don't exist. Unfortunately, the recent recession has made hiring managers significantly more selective. Recruiters call it the purple squirrel syndrome. In the past it was enough to find a purple squirrel to fill an opening for a purple squirrel, but, because the recession made so many purple squirrels available, hiring managers now ask for a purple squirrel... with size-9 shoes... w/ white shoelaces... and seven years experience with size-9 shoes... and 4 years experience using white shoelaces... in emerging markets. We at Technical Connection are able to identify the key competencies the job seeker will need for success in a given role with an employer.

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We help you tap the hidden job market:

"Many open jobs are never advertised at all, or are posted only after a leading candidate - an internal applicant or someone else with an inside track - has been identified."

Weber, Lauren, and Leslie Kwoh. "Beware the Phantom Job Listing." n.d.: n. pag. Wall Street Journal. 8 Jan. 2013.