Tracy Davidson

USA TODAY
Here’s another headwind for a sputtering job market: State and local governments plan many more layoffs to close wide budget gaps.
Up to 400,000 workers could lose jobs in the next year as states, counties and cities grapple with lower revenue and less federal funding, says Mark Zandi, chief economist for Moody’s Economy.com.
The development could [...]

Google is set to begin covering a cost that gay and lesbian employees must pay when their partners receive domestic partner health benefits, according to a report in the New York Times.
The increased pay is largely to compensate these workers for an extra tax that heterosexual married couples do not pay. The increase will be [...]

Companies are starting to hire again, but many are turning their backs on older job seekers.
Statistics from the Labor Department show the employment outlook is improving for most workers. The unemployment rate for those in the 25 to 54-year-old age group has fallen from a record high of 9.2% in October to 8.7% in May.
But [...]

Once upon a time, there was job security in a government job.
That’s no longer the case. The layoff ax has hit public sector payrolls with force as states wrestle with massive budget shortfalls. Since August 2008, some 231,000 state and local government jobs have disappeared — 22,000 last month alone, according to federal data.
The majority [...]

Can’t find a job? Maybe it’s time to take your search on the road.
The U.S. trucking industry will need to hire about 200,000 drivers by the end of this year, and will need to add another 200,000 by the end of 2011, according to the state of logistics report from the Council of Supply Chain [...]

Job offers were the most plentiful for new graduates who had majored in business administration, computer science, accounting, engineering, or mathematics. But which jobs came with the highest starting salaries? These careers were at the top, according to the NACE:
Consulting services
Average salary offer: $55,703
Bring your expertise to the table by working as a consultant. These [...]

The White House responded Thursday to concerns that the ban on drilling for oil in the deep waters of the Gulf of Mexico will cost the region thousands of jobs.
“The six month moratorium on deepwater drilling was instituted for a clear reason,” White House spokesman Ben LaBolt told CNN. “The President believes we must ensure [...]

Jobs may be coming back, but they aren’t the same ones workers were used to.
Many of the jobs employers are adding are temporary or contract positions, rather than traditional full-time jobs with benefits. With unemployment remaining near 10%, employers have their pick of workers willing to accept less secure positions.
In 2005, the government estimated that [...]

Company says it will slash 9,000 jobs but create 6,000 over same period
Hewlett-Packard Co. said it aims to boost margins by cutting jobs and reallocating spending to more profitable technology services, shrinking its work force by a net 3,000 jobs, or 1 percent, over three years.
The move, which will result in a $1 billion charge, [...]

Drugmaker Pfizer Inc will cut 6,000 jobs, or 18 percent of its workforce, at its 78 manufacturing plants over the next five years as it pares back operations following last year’s purchase of smaller rival Wyeth.
The world’s biggest drugmaker plans to cease operations at eight plants in Ireland, Puerto Rico and the United States by [...]