www.jobberz.com
Economist sees more job losses coming
Friday, December 12, 2008 By Chris KnapeThe Grand Rapids Press
GRAND RAPIDS -- Recovery from the recession may come more slowly than in the past, although West Michigan is better positioned to move forward than the rest of the state and some other areas of the nation.
That was the assessment of economist George Erickcek, of the Kalamazoo-based W.E. Upjohn Institute for Employment Research, during his annual forecast speech for The Right Place Inc. on Thursday.
He discouraged people from looking from at distressed financial markets simply as markets.
"You should look at them as a system," Erickcek said. "If a truck jackknifed on Int. 96, it doesn't matter if you're driving a Chevette or a Lexus, you're stuck."
He said 2009 is likely to see a 2.4 percent decline in employment in the Grand Rapids area after a flat 2008.
Erickcek forecasts a very small increase in 2010. Goods-producing jobs are expected to take the biggest hit, while service and government jobs are expected to be down slightly.
The outlook for the broader region, including Holland and Muskegon, showed similar overall expectations.
"Flat is good," he said, dryly.
Erickcek expects a timid goods-producing job rebound when the recession ends, likening it to the "job-loss" recovery the nation saw after the 2000 recession.
His forecast also suggested now is not a good time to start a business.
The silver lining is it could be worse. West Michigan's relatively steady downturn has been far less dramatic than the state's as a whole.
Meanwhile, the Grand Rapids area was the leader among 12 communities Erickcek compared in terms of job creation as a percentage of total employment.
"Grand Rapids is keeping pace with manufacturing job loss with the rest of the nation," he said.
"We are separate from the rest of the state. It's hard to make people see that, but we are."
Nevertheless, West Michigan's positive news is much harder to sell to companies whose first look at the state includes the far more dismal employment outlook on the east side of the state.
"If this forecast holds true, and let's hope we're wrong, that means 10 straight years of employment declines in our state," Erickcek said.
"When people outside the state look at the numbers, they see a state in decline. That has to make economic development much more difficult in West Michigan."
Friday, December 19, 2008
StoryText SizeMich. Nov. Unemployment Rises To 9.6 %
www.jobberz.com
POSTED: Wednesday, December 17, 2008
UPDATED: 11:41 am EST December 18, 2008
LANSING, Mich. -- Michigan's unemployment rate rose to 9.6 percent in November, the highest monthly rate since March 1992, state officials said Wednesday.
The November rate was three-tenths of a percentage point higher than in October.
The Michigan Department of Labor & Economic Growth said total employment fell by 35,000 and unemployment rose by 16,000, as the labor force continued to contract.
The seasonally adjusted jobless rate was 2.2 percentage points higher than in November 2007, generally following a national trend of rising unemployment. Michigan's jobless rate remained higher than the national unemployment rate, which was 6.7 percent last month.
State officials attribute the labor market's deterioration to fallout from the national recession.
Total employment in Michigan has fallen every month since January. November also marked the fifth straight month of payoll job reductions in the state. About 103,000 jobs were lost in those five months, representing 90 percent of the state's over-the-year losses.
The only major industry in Michigan to see job gains in the last year was education and health services, gaining 12,000 jobs.
Manufacturing lost 38,000 jobs since November 2007, while trade, transportation and utilities lost 21,000 jobs and the construction sector lost 17,000 jobs.
Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
POSTED: Wednesday, December 17, 2008
UPDATED: 11:41 am EST December 18, 2008
LANSING, Mich. -- Michigan's unemployment rate rose to 9.6 percent in November, the highest monthly rate since March 1992, state officials said Wednesday.
The November rate was three-tenths of a percentage point higher than in October.
The Michigan Department of Labor & Economic Growth said total employment fell by 35,000 and unemployment rose by 16,000, as the labor force continued to contract.
The seasonally adjusted jobless rate was 2.2 percentage points higher than in November 2007, generally following a national trend of rising unemployment. Michigan's jobless rate remained higher than the national unemployment rate, which was 6.7 percent last month.
State officials attribute the labor market's deterioration to fallout from the national recession.
Total employment in Michigan has fallen every month since January. November also marked the fifth straight month of payoll job reductions in the state. About 103,000 jobs were lost in those five months, representing 90 percent of the state's over-the-year losses.
The only major industry in Michigan to see job gains in the last year was education and health services, gaining 12,000 jobs.
Manufacturing lost 38,000 jobs since November 2007, while trade, transportation and utilities lost 21,000 jobs and the construction sector lost 17,000 jobs.
Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thursday, December 04, 2008
Web site marketplace for low-cost services
Web site marketplace for low-cost services
Repairmen, caterers, small companies, others listed on Jobberz.com, many without paying fee.
Neal Haldane / Special to The Detroit News
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081204/BIZ04/812040363/1001/BIZ
ROCHESTER HILLS -- When Jim Bartlett started seeking customers for his computer repair business three years ago, he needed help. Help came in the form of a free Web site called Jobberz.com.
"I found it somewhere on the Net and I had just gone into business for myself," said Bartlett, who operates TeK NuTZ I.T. of Oxford. "It was free, local and right what I needed. It was only a matter of putting my information up there."
That first year, about $12,000 of his $15,000 in revenues came from Jobberz.com referrals. Today, Bartlett's residential and commercial computer service business is booming. In fact, with so much business, Bartlett said he doesn't even need his Jobberz.com listing.
Bartlett's firm was one of the first to sign on when Shawn Hanaee started Jobberz.com after finding out how much it cost for professionals to remodel his Oakland County condo. At the same time, a friend of the family had been laid off and was looking for side jobs to bring in some money.
So Hanaee created Jobberz.com to link people who want to earn some cash on the side with those seeking handymen (the most demanded category), electricians, painters and others to do work. He taught himself Web site creation and launched it in 2005.
"The whole goal for me was to help people find people and get connected with each other," said Hanaee, who has his own full-time job with Sprint. "Everyone is looking to make extra money doing side jobs."
ZCD Transportation of Rochester Hills has used Jobberz.com for about a year. Christi Palmer says the firm receives a lot of referrals from the site, which has been a particularly effective way to market its nonemergency transportation service for people who need rides to doctor appointments, therapy sessions and dialysis treatments.
Hanaee said he pays about $130 a month to host the site and spends his spare time keeping Jobberz.com up and running. Hanaee keeps close tabs on the listings, removes telemarketers and get-rich schemers from the site, and relies on Jobberz.com to find people to fix up his own home. For example, he found someone to repair sprinkler heads in his yard for $125 instead of the $400 a company was going to charge.
The first three ads are free but Jobberz.com does charge for additional listings and for those who add photos or want more prominent placement on the site. Most listings are from Michigan, but people from California, New Jersey, Nevada and even Hawaii advertise on the site.
"I want to allow it to grow," he said. "I'm one guy doing this. I want to take this to the next level. My goal is to have it get big -- like MySpace big."
Neal Haldane is a Metro Detroit freelance writer.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081204/BIZ04/812040363/1001/BIZ
Repairmen, caterers, small companies, others listed on Jobberz.com, many without paying fee.
Neal Haldane / Special to The Detroit News
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081204/BIZ04/812040363/1001/BIZ
ROCHESTER HILLS -- When Jim Bartlett started seeking customers for his computer repair business three years ago, he needed help. Help came in the form of a free Web site called Jobberz.com.
"I found it somewhere on the Net and I had just gone into business for myself," said Bartlett, who operates TeK NuTZ I.T. of Oxford. "It was free, local and right what I needed. It was only a matter of putting my information up there."
That first year, about $12,000 of his $15,000 in revenues came from Jobberz.com referrals. Today, Bartlett's residential and commercial computer service business is booming. In fact, with so much business, Bartlett said he doesn't even need his Jobberz.com listing.
Bartlett's firm was one of the first to sign on when Shawn Hanaee started Jobberz.com after finding out how much it cost for professionals to remodel his Oakland County condo. At the same time, a friend of the family had been laid off and was looking for side jobs to bring in some money.
So Hanaee created Jobberz.com to link people who want to earn some cash on the side with those seeking handymen (the most demanded category), electricians, painters and others to do work. He taught himself Web site creation and launched it in 2005.
"The whole goal for me was to help people find people and get connected with each other," said Hanaee, who has his own full-time job with Sprint. "Everyone is looking to make extra money doing side jobs."
ZCD Transportation of Rochester Hills has used Jobberz.com for about a year. Christi Palmer says the firm receives a lot of referrals from the site, which has been a particularly effective way to market its nonemergency transportation service for people who need rides to doctor appointments, therapy sessions and dialysis treatments.
Hanaee said he pays about $130 a month to host the site and spends his spare time keeping Jobberz.com up and running. Hanaee keeps close tabs on the listings, removes telemarketers and get-rich schemers from the site, and relies on Jobberz.com to find people to fix up his own home. For example, he found someone to repair sprinkler heads in his yard for $125 instead of the $400 a company was going to charge.
The first three ads are free but Jobberz.com does charge for additional listings and for those who add photos or want more prominent placement on the site. Most listings are from Michigan, but people from California, New Jersey, Nevada and even Hawaii advertise on the site.
"I want to allow it to grow," he said. "I'm one guy doing this. I want to take this to the next level. My goal is to have it get big -- like MySpace big."
Neal Haldane is a Metro Detroit freelance writer.
http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20081204/BIZ04/812040363/1001/BIZ
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