Employment – Page 8

Big Problems, Coronavirus, Employment, Science & Technology News

Here comes the retirement crisis, coronavirus-style

May 4, 2020

Will COVID-19 deepen the retirement crisis? Yes and no — here’s how

The coronavirus crisis may worsen an already impending retirement crisis.

Remember when Americans struggled to save for retirement because they were juggling high housing costs, student loan payments, credit card debt and scanty access to workplace savings? Add in a global pandemic, record unemployment and an economic lockdown. How’s that for a retirement crisis?

The coronavirus poses a threat to many Americans’ health and current financial well-being, but it also has the potential to derail an individual’s future retirement security.

Many Americans were already underprepared for retirement, not having saved enough for their futures by the time they were ready to leave the workforce. The global pandemic may make it even harder to afford to retire. In the past four weeks alone, 22 million U.S. workers have filed for unemployment benefits, and people without jobs are not able to contribute to their workplace investment accounts, nor do they have any extra money to put away. People may also have to take distributions or loans from their retirement plans, which lowers their potential returns in the long-run.

Continue reading… “Here comes the retirement crisis, coronavirus-style”

Business, Employment, Latest Trend, Science & Technology News

Skill gap 2020″ 5 soft skills and 10 hard skills companies need now

May 3, 2020

What are the most critical soft and hard skills that organizations are hiring for and training for in 2020?

In the recently released LinkedIn Learning 2020 Workplace Learning Report, LinkedIn analyzed data from 660+ million professionals and 20+ million jobs to map the 15 most in-demand skills. More specifically, they looked at the skills that are in demand relative to the supply of people who have those skills—in other words, the skill gap.

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Coronavirus, Employment, Science & Technology News, Software Development

7 careers that are even more viable during the pandemic outbreak

May 1, 2020

We’re living in unusual times.

With the pandemic in full-force all around the United States, there’s been a massive shift not only in where we work but in how we work.

While it’s true that remote work is challenging and there is a new reality for most, some employment categories will likely see an upswing in terms of greater needs, more positions available, and even higher pay.

These jobs will be in particularly high demand over the next few weeks and months.

Continue reading… “7 careers that are even more viable during the pandemic outbreak”

Big Problems, Business, Coronavirus, Employment, Science & Technology News

Furloughed workers don’t want to return to their jobs as they’re earning more money with unemployment

April 29, 2020

An unintended and unexpected consequence of the multitrillion dollar stimulus package is that workers are asking to be laid off or reluctant to go back to work after being furloughed.

In an effort to help people financially cope with their job losses in the midst of a pandemic, the federal government—through the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (CARES Act)—is providing an extra $600 per week in unemployment benefits. This amount is in addition to what the states already pay, which is in the range of $200 to $300 per week.

A person could conceivably earn $1,000 per week on unemployment, depending upon the state he or she resides in. In addition to the enhanced benefits, most Americans, earning less than $75,000 in 2019, received a one-time check for $1,200 and $500 for each child under 17 years of age.

Here’s the situation facing companies that have already been financially hurt by the consequences of the COVID-19 outbreak. Consider a worker in an Amazon warehouse. The worker has to be on their feet all day, lift heavy boxes onto and off of high shelves and race around the facility to fulfill orders. Earning a minimum wage of $15 per hour, the person may make pre-tax $525 per week. Think of how many millions of other people work at dangerous, physically demanding or unpleasant jobs earning a similar amount.

Continue reading… “Furloughed workers don’t want to return to their jobs as they’re earning more money with unemployment”

Coronavirus, Employment, Science & Technology News, Uber

Uber launches effort to help drivers find other work during coronavirus crisis

April 21, 2020

The Work Hub can be used to find gigs with Uber Eats, Uber Freight, or over a dozen other companies

Demand for ride-hailing in cities is down severely due to the coronavirus pandemic, and as such, drivers are struggling to find work. Uber is rolling out a new feature for drivers that is designed to help them find work during this crisis — even if that work is for a different company.

Uber drivers received an email on Monday announcing a new feature in the driver app called the Work Hub designed to help drivers earn money with the company’s other ventures. Drivers can use the Hub to receive orders through Uber Eats; haul freight with the company’s trucking business, Uber Freight; pick up a shift with Uber’s temporary worker program, Uber Works; or respond to an opening from over a dozen other companies that are looking to hire.

Like most shared transportation services, Uber has seen a precipitous drop in ridership as a result of the pandemic. The company’s gross bookings in Seattle, a city hit hard by COVID-19, is down by 60 to 70 percent, and Uber is assuming similar declines in other big cities like San Francisco, Los Angeles, and New York City. The virus has cut Uber’s overall business by as much as 50 percent, according to The Information.

Continue reading… “Uber launches effort to help drivers find other work during coronavirus crisis”

Coronavirus, Employment, Science & Technology News, Trending

One Chart Shows Coronavirus’ Stunning Job Losses

April 19, 2020

Job seekers wait in line at the JobLink Career [+]

The U.S. Department of Labor reported unemployment insurance claims for the week ending Saturday, April 11, came in at 5.245 million, a decline of over 1.4 million from the prior week, but still the third highest weekly total ever recorded. The coronavirus has driven the four-week total over 22 million, and the past seven weeks of claims have been:

Unfortunately the job losses and unemployment claims probably won’t fall to zero or even close to it next week and above average claims will probably persist for the next few weeks and maybe even a month or two.

Continue reading… “One Chart Shows Coronavirus’ Stunning Job Losses”

Automation, Coronavirus, Economy, Employment, Science & Technology News

A coronavirus recession will mean more robots and fewer jobs

April 14, 2020

Automated delivery bots are already working in the small town of Milton Keynes, England.

All economic downturns increase automation. This one will be worse.

The novel coronavirus pandemic is certainly not good for the labor market. Recent weeks have seen unemployment claims surge to record levels as businesses and entire industries shutter in order to stop the spread of the Covid-19. As a result, the economy has plummeted, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average and S&P 500 down more than 20 percent from their February highs.

While social distancing measures may be temporary, this economic downturn’s effect on the labor market will have long-lasting effects. In a joint post with his colleagues, Mark Muro, a senior fellow and policy director at the Brookings Institution’s Metropolitan Policy Program, recently wrote, “any coronavirus-related recession is likely to bring about a spike in labor-replacing automation.”

Economic downturns, he argues, bring about increased levels of automation, which is already an existential threat to many jobs. And a coronavirus recession, due to its breadth and scale, could cause even more automation.

Continue reading… “A coronavirus recession will mean more robots and fewer jobs”

Big Problems, Coronavirus, Employment, Science & Technology News

The official jobless numbers are horrifying. The real situation is even worse.

April 6, 2020

The record unemployment numbers only hint at the crisis facing many with no work.

The shutdown of much of the service economy—think restaurants, hotels, and retail stores—in an attempt to slow down the spread of the coronavirus is sending the US toward a deep recession. It isn’t a question of “if.” It’s a question of how deep it will get, how long it will last, and perhaps most important, who will be hit hardest by this devastating downturn.

This week the Labor Department announced that a jaw-dropping 3.3 million people filed jobless claims; the previous weekly record was 695,000, in 1982. As bad as that number is, though, it greatly understates the crisis, since it doesn’t take into account many part-time, self-employed, and gig workers who are also losing work.

Continue reading… “The official jobless numbers are horrifying. The real situation is even worse.”

Coronavirus, Employment, Food, Science & Technology News, Shopping

Instacart is hiring 300,000 grocery shoppers

March 29, 2020

The company will provide with paid sick leave in case they’re diagnosed with COVID-19.

Instacart plans to hire an additional 300,000 “full-service” contractors to help it deliver groceries to people during the coronavirus pandemic. With so many individuals and families stuck inside as a result of social distancing measures and shelter in place orders in states like California, Instacart says order volume has increased by 150 percent over the last few weeks, with people buying more per cart as well.

The company currently operates in about 5,500 cities across the United States and Canada. Instacart’s plan will see it hire broadly in states like California and New York. In the former, for instance, it plans to bring on approximately 54,000 new full-time shoppers. In other states like Texas and Florida, it will hire thousands of new contractors as well, and provide them with paid sick leave if they’re diagnosed with COVID-19 or need to self-isolate.

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Coronavirus, Employment, Science & Technology News, Trending

As coronavirus forces millions to work remotely, the US economy may have reached a ‘tipping point’ in favor of working from home

March 25, 2020

Companies are enabling remote work to keep business running while helping employees follow social distancing guidelines.

A typical company saves about $11,000 per half-time telecommuter per year, according to Global Workplace Analytics.

As companies adapt to their remote work structures, the coronavirus pandemic is having a lasting impact on how work is conducted.

With the U.S. government declaring a state of emergency due to the coronavirus, companies are enabling work-from-home structures to keep business running and help employees follow social distancing guidelines. However, working remotely has been on the rise for a while.

“The coronavirus is going to be a tipping point. We plodded along at about 10% growth a year for the last 10 years, but I foresee that this is going to really accelerate the trend,” Kate Lister, president of Global Workplace Analytics, told CNBC.

Continue reading… “As coronavirus forces millions to work remotely, the US economy may have reached a ‘tipping point’ in favor of working from home”

Alternative Transportation, Automation, Employment, Science & Technology News, Transportation

Einride is hiring its first autonomous truck operators

March 23, 2020

Einride is hiring autonomous pod operators in both the U.S. and Sweden with the new jobs set to begin later this year.

Einride, a Swedish technology company that designs, develops and sells driverless electrified trucks and logistical solutions, has announced it will be hiring the first autonomous and remote truck operator in the freight mobility space.

The company said new operators will be hired in Sweden in March and in the U.S. in the third quarter.

Einride said the first drivers are slated to hit the street in Sweden for commercial purposes later this year, with the first American drivers getting to work in the fourth quarter.

In the coming years, as SAE Level 4 self-driving technology is implemented on scale, trucking will change fundamentally, Einride noted. Looking towards the future, the company said it has made the decision to hire a former truck driver as its first dedicated autonomous truck operator, opening a new category of jobs.

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Automation, Employment, Future, Science & Technology News

The Future of our partnership with machines

March 20, 2020

I’m often asked questions about the future of work. Will the machines takeover? How long until the human race declines? And how many jobs will go away?

One new book that thoughtfully approaches these topics of how we will work symbiotically with machines and how we can all evolve to benefit together is HUMAN/MACHINE: The Future Of Our Partnership with Machines.

I recently spoke with Olivier Blanchard, one of the co-authors.

Continue reading… “The Future of our partnership with machines”