Portland Employment Guide March 23rd - March 29th

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The Seattle PI and More Oregon Businesses Having Trouble

Today marks a sad but current trend that happening to a lot of newspapers in the United States. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer is going web only and halting its printing presses completly. It had been printing newspapers for the last 146 years making it Seattle's oldest business when it started in December 1863. That is a long time ago and time have changed radically since then. Though the presses may be stopped, The Hearst Corp. which own the newspapers rights said that it would keep seattlepi.com and make it the nation's largest web only newspaper. The Seattle P-I might the largest newspaper to go web only, but it is not the only one in trouble. Here is list of the 10 most endangered newspapers in the country right now. Number 6 on that list is the San Francisco Chronicle, which is also own by Hearst. This might be the second major newspaper in the Northwest to go web only. Even some of the smaller Northwest papers like The News Tribune Tacoma, and The Olympian are cutting back staff and reducing payroll. I know that there are a lot of websites and other newspapers from which to get your news on a daily basis, but this is truly an odd and groundbreaking day in the Northwest.

Here in Oregon, more and more companies are feeling the weight of the recession such as Weyerhaeuser Lumber Mill and Lithia Motors. Weyerhaeuser is shutting down its lumber mill in Dallas, Oregon due the lack of demand for wood to build homes. This ties right into the housing market that is not recession proof either. Medford based, Lithia Motors on the other hand is reporting a loss of $252.6 million for 2008. Since the midyear announcement, Lithia has sold 17 of it stores and is looking to sell 12 more. That is bad news for those in the automotive industry.

The news does not get any better for the state of Oregon as it was announced on Monday that the unemployment rate is now 10.8% in Oregon. This is the first time that Oregon's unemployment has been in double digits since 1984. That is 25 years folks! Here is another article on the subject. However, the numbers that are reported might be off, but in the wrong direction. They might actually be higher than intially thought. That can not be exciting to hear, but at the Employment Guide, we are always here to help.

So in closing Portland, what are your thoughts on the Seattle P-I becoming the largest web only newspaper? And, what are your thoughts about the businesses that are hurting and directly effecting other markets? Let us know in the comments below.

Portland Employment Guide March 16th - March 22nd

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Taking A Job - Almost Any Job

In today's job market it seems that the companies that are offering jobs, job seekers are not finding matches. A lot of people are settling for positions that they are over qualified for, just because the supply of jobs just is not there. According to Rebecca Morrison-Stoney, the CEO and President of Portland-based Advantage Staffing, "What we have is a lot of mismatches, with people working in the lower wage jobs just because they’re willing." “It’s a disaster. It’s bad for American industry. It’s bad for employees. It’s a lose-lose all around." That speaks volumes for were we are at with today's job market. Staffing agencies typically serve as the bellweathers for the economy and this is the situation we are faced with today.

However, for those not willing to settle on finding work through staffing agencies or first thing that comes around, there are other options. Take for example, this list from the magazine Fast Company. These companies might not be hiring up front, but this is great list on how to incorporate their products into recruiting needs, therefore generating more work. Here in the Portland area, KeyBank announced that they are starting construction on a Columbia Tech Center branch that will be open by 2010. It is a part of a three-year expanison that could bring up to 20 new offices to the area. This is great news for those looking to get into the banking business. Another example would be Kroger, who owns Fred Meyer. Kroger posted a fourth quarter profit for 2008, which could very well mean that they are hiring and not cutting jobs.

With the job market the way it is, and with new people looking for work in high volumes. A lot of people have started going back to school. Here in the Portland area, the enrollment at Portland State University jumped up 5.5% this year. That is double the amount from last year and Portland Community College is up 10.5%. This shows that not everyone is settling for work and trying to gain an edge on those searching for jobs.

So in closing Portland, what are you doing in hopes to find work? Are you taking the first thing that comes your way or are you holding out for something that you want? Is going back to school the best option right? We here at the Employment Guide are on your side and want to help! Let us know what is on your mind in the comments below.

Portland Employment Guide March 9th - March 15th

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Amidst All The Bad News, Some Good News Is Needed!

Yesterday was a bad day for the stock market and today has not been any better, and many of us are still in the same situation that does not seem to be getting any better any faster. This is truly a scary time for a lot of people, and not just in Oregon. People are saving were they can and not trying to buy extravagant things. Take for example, Monaco the RV maker. They have had great success as one of the areas major employers. Now they are struggling to stay in business and had to let 2000 employees go. If the market is drying up for auto industry, RV's are definitely included in that discussion.

However, the job market and the economy are not suffering across the board and have some hope moving forward. Starbucks just announce that it would not be making anymore job cuts for the time being. They have also revamped their product by changing up the menu and now offering instant coffee. It is coffee on the go for under a dollar per serving which is nice because Starbucks can be a bit pricey. Another success story comes from Bend Factory Stores in Bend, Oregon. The outlet mall that caters to tourists and locals alike, has been fairly successful during the recession. Their 2008 sales were flat compared with 2007 sales. That is really good for retail with today's market being the way it is. In other news, a small Vancouver based website called Dotster Inc. bought two new web companies and sold a part of its own as a part of a new strategic focus on serving businesses. With the market for domain registering being so competitive, Dotster has decided to expand by offering entry-level rates for business web site design and associated business and marketing services.

All in all, there are jobs out there and they might not be plentiful or in a field of interest, but they do exist. So Portland, let us know about some success stories in today's market. And as always The Employment Guide is here to help. Feel free to leave your comments in the section below.

Portland Employment Guide March 2nd - March 8th

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