2002-01-01

2002-01-01
Claude E. Barfield _American Enterprise Institute_
The Role of International Trade and Investment
"In 1930, after the stock market crash but before the full onset of the Depression, Congress passed the infamous Hawley-Smoot Tariff Act.   Log-rolling and the reconstruction of most individual tariff rates caused the average U.S. tariff rate to rise steeply to almost 60%, thereby reducing import volume by 12%-20%.   Today economists do not argue that Hawley-Smoot caused the Depression, but they generally agree that it was one important factor in precipitating a worldwide trade collapse...   GATT... Over the past 50 years, as a result of negotiations in 8 rounds, average national tariffs have gradually been reduced from 55% in 1945 to 3%-4% today...   From 1950 to 1963 annually, the average growth in trade volume was almost 8%, while national output growth averaged 5%.   From 1990 to 2000, trade volume grew 7% and average output grew 3%...   Recent trading rounds have liberalized trade and investment, but much remains to be done.   Highly respected University of Michigan economists have calculated the potential future gains that would flow from additional trade liberalization.   They estimate that a 33% reduction of post-Uruguay Round tariffs on agricultural and industrial products, combined with a 33% reduction in services barriers, would produce annual world welfare gains of $613G, with $177G of this total going to the United States, $169G to Europe, $124G to Japan, and $90G to developing countries.   (In the United States, a one-third reduction in trade barriers would translate into an additional $2,500 annually for a typical American family of 4 -- just the kind of jump start for consumerism that is needed in a potentially severe down-turn.)   Further, about 80% of the gains stem from liberalization in the services sectors -- areas where the United States enjoys a strong competitive advantage and where increased liberalization would result in often doubling or tripling U.S. services exports over the short term, further stimulating U.S. job growth...   Some 80% of welfare gains accruing to the United States stem from liberalization of key service sectors such as telecommunication, financial services, energy services, and professional services...   While average industrial tariffs in developed countries are now relatively low (3%-4%), there are important exceptions.   In addition, many developing countries have special exemptions that should be gradually removed in the new round.   As with agriculture, [the textiles sector] (which is protected in some developed countries by tariffs up to 20%-25%) is of major importance to the economies of many developing countries."
 

2002-01-02

2002-01-02 11:32PST (14:32EST) (19:32GMT)
Keith Regan _Tech News World_
Dot-Com Lay-Offs Dropped in December
"While high-profile e-commerce and media-related busts marked the 2000 down-sizing, lay-offs in 2001 were more likely to be from the companies that help power the Internet.   The number of lay-offs announced by Internet companies fell to a 17-month low in December, raising hopes for a more upbeat 2002, according to a report from out-placement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.   Dot-com companies cut 2,403 jobs in December, a 17% decrease from November and nearly 90% below the more than 10K jobs cuts in December of 2000.   In fact, the last month of 2001 saw the fewest lay-offs in the Internet sector since July of 2000...   While dot-com lay-offs peaked in April, when more than 17K jobs were shed, the latter half of 2001 saw an overall slow-down in job cuts...   2001 went into the record books as the most devastating year in terms of Internet jobs lost.   For the year, 100,925 positions were cut -- about 250% higher than the 41,515 cut during all of 2000, when the dot-com shake-out began in earnest."
 

2002-01-03

2002-01-03
Jennifer Disabatino _Computer World_
Report: Job cuts in 2001 reach nearly 2M
"The telecommunications industry reported the most lay-offs, with 317,777 job cuts, 9 times more than the total for the previous year, according to the Chicago-based out-placement firm's report, which was released today...   Last year, there were 1,956,876 job cuts, which was 1.3M more than the previous record of 677,795 in 1998, according to the Challenger Gray & Christmas, which has been tracking job cuts since the mid-1990s...   many companies were in trouble before 2001 September 11, with 1.2M cuts already announced...   In 11 out of 12 months last year, job cuts exceeded 100K.   That constant barrage of cuts left job seekers disillusioned and pessimistic, particularly those older than 40, Challenger said.   In a December survey, they told the firm that they expected it would take 5 to 6 months to find new jobs...   computer industry, 168,395; industrial goods, 153,952; electronics, 153,432; automotive, 133,686; and transportation, 133,017, 72% of which came in September."

2002-01-03
_Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal_
Job cuts in 2001 reach nearly 2M

ComputerWorld
"December cuts of 161,584 marking the third consecutive month of fewer cuts following the September 11 terrorist attacks, according to figures compiled by out-placement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.   Job cuts since the terrorist attacks number 785,995 and account for 40% of the unprecedented 1,956,876 cuts announced in 2001, according to the report Thursday.   The 2001 total is 3 times higher than the 613,960 job cuts recorded last year [2000].   It is also nearly 1.3M more than the previous record total of 677,795 in 1998.   December job cuts were lower by 11% from November (181,412).   November cuts were 25% lower than October (242,192), which was 2% lower than September (248,332).   Last month was 21% higher than 2000 December, when 133,713 job cuts were announced.   In 11 out of 12 months, job cuts announced in 2001 exceeded 100K.   7 out of 12 were above 150K.   Telecommunications was the largest job-cutting industry of 2001, announcing 317,777 job cuts, 9 times more than the 34,903 announced in 2000.   That ranks telecommunications as the highest year-end total announced by one industry since Challenger began tracking job cuts daily in 1993.   Telecommunications firms announced 88% more job cuts than the second-ranked computer industry (168,395).   Computer was followed by industrial goods, 153,952; electronics, 153,432; automotive, 133,686; and transportation, 133,017, 72% of which came in September...   'Even before September 11, the job-cut toll reached 1.2M.', says John Challenger, chief executive officer of Challenger, Gray & Christmas."

2002-01-03
_Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal_
161,584 lay-offs continue decreases of previous 2 months "December cuts of 161,584 marking the third consecutive month of fewer cuts following the September 11 terrorist attacks, according to figures compiled by out-placement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc.   Job cuts since the terrorist attacks number 785,995 and account for 40% of the unprecedented 1,956,876 cuts announced in 2001, according to the report Thursday.   The 2001 total is 3 times higher than the 613,960 job cuts recorded last year [2000].   It is also nearly 1.3M more than the previous record total of 677,795 in 1998.   December job cuts were lower by 11% from November (181,412).   November cuts were 25% lower than October (242,192), which was 2% lower than September (248,332).   Last month was 21% higher than 2000 December, when 133,713 job cuts were announced.   In 11 out of 12 months, job cuts announced in 2001 exceeded 100K.   7 out of 12 were above 150K.   Telecommunications was the largest job-cutting industry of 2001, announcing 317,777 job cuts, 9 times more than the 34,903 announced in 2000.   That ranks telecommunications as the highest year-end total announced by one industry since Challenger began tracking job cuts daily in 1993.   Telecommunications firms announced 88% more job cuts than the second-ranked computer industry (168,395).   Computer was followed by industrial goods, 153,952; electronics, 153,432; automotive, 133,686; and transportation, 133,017, 72% of which came in September...   'Even before September 11, the job-cut toll reached 1.2M.', says John Challenger, chief executive officer of Challenger, Gray & Christmas."

2002-01-03 12:28
Al Swanson _HelpAnimals_/_UPI_/_COMTEX_
Nearly 2M Jobs Disappeared in 2001
"A report by Challenger, Gray & Christmas, a Chicago-based out-placement & recruitment firm, found 785,995 people lost jobs in the final quarter of 2001, including 161,584 in December.   Still the December job-cut toll was 11% lower than November's 181,412 & 25% fewer than October's 242,192 cuts."

2002-01-03
H. Josef Hebert _AP_/_San Diego Union-Tribune_
Senate Panels to look into Enron collapse
"Top Enron executives & directors 'apparently reaped almost $10G in stock sales in 2000 & 2001', said [Carl] Levin, while hundreds of Enron workers were barred from selling Enron stock in their 401(k) retirement fund during the company's collapse."
 

2002-01-04

2002-01-04
_AP_/_Milwaukee Wisconsin Journal Sentinel_
A high-tech job boom goes bust very quickly
"Clark County's story is the story of western Oregon and Washington - flying high on new money and new technology, then falling hard.   'It's shocking.   It's depressing.', said Bruce Nimmo, an employment specialist at the Vancouver WorkSource job center, which has been overwhelmed by people like Bodeman.   'At this front-line level, it has been devastating.'   Clark County's November unemployment rate was 7.3%, up from 4% a year ago.   Nationally, the jobless rate in December was 5.8%, the highest in more than 6 years.   Things in Clark County were far worse in the early 1980s, when unemployment regularly topped 11%.   But the early 1980s recession inspired Clark County leaders to diversify the economy...
  People followed the jobs.   Clark County was the state's fastest-growing county in the 1990s, expanding 45% from 238K to 345K people.   The state overall grew by 21% during that period...
  The down-turn is straining Clark County's social services network.   While people like Bodeman may get by for a few months on unemployment and savings, laid-off workers farther down the economic ladder are not making it.   'The homeless shelters are turning away record numbers of single women, single men and families with children.', said Michael Piper, Clark County director of social services.   Food banks are also overwhelmed, and Piper said he expects mental health and addiction treatment services to see the effects soon."
 

2002-01-05

2001-01-05
Daniel Walfish _Chronicle of Higher Education_
Chinese Applicants to U.S. Universities Often Resort to Short-Cuts or Dishonesty: Students can buy essays, stand-ins for exams, & improper access to standardized tests
"In the year ending [2000] September 30, the US Embassy issued more than 24K visas to [Red Chinese] students & scholars...   About 55K [Red Chinese] now study in the United States, & they are generally viewed as being hard-working, high-achieving students...   Columbia is especially cautious when evaluating international applicants but acknowledges that it has more problems with students from mainland [Red China], Hong Kong, & Taiwan than elsewhere.   Sometimes Chinese people even show up at Columbia with fake letters of admission and try to register...   New Oriental's next goal is recognition and respect.   Legend, [Red China's] largest computer company, has invested $6M in a much-trumpeted joint venture with the school to offer on-line courses."

2002-01-05
_DoL ETA_
unemployment insurance weekly claims

• 637,343 initial claims
• 4,685,080 continuing claims
• 3.6% insured unemployment rate

2002-01-06

2002-01-07
 

2002-01-08

2002-01-09
 

2002-01-10

2002-01-10 16:13PST (19:13EST) (2001-01-11 00:13GMT)
_USA Today_/_COMTEX_/_AP_
Book Store Profits Are On Track
"Barnes & Noble, the nation's #1 book-seller, said Thursday that full-year profits would slightly exceed the high end of its reduced forecast range of $1.08 per share to $1.12 per share...   Borders Group also raised its fourth-quarter & full-year earnings forecast.   It now expects fourth-quarter profits in the range of $1.31 per share to $1.34 per share, excluding one-time items...   Sales at its Barnes & Noble book stores open at least a year, known as same-store sales, were up 5.5% in the 9-week period from November 4 through January 5...   Total Barnes & Noble book-store sales for the 9-week period were up 13.2% to $864.5M.   For the 48 weeks that ended January 5, total store sales rose 8.4% to $3.1G, representing 91% of total book-store sales.   Same-store sales were up 2.8%...   Borders announced that for the period from November 23 through January 6, its Borders super-stores achieved same-store sales of 5.1%."
 

2002-01-11

2002-01-12
 

2002-01-13

2002-01-13
Robert Trigaux _St. Petersburg Times_
Enron collapse stirs echoes of 1980s savings & loan woes
"The dramatic collapse of the country's S&L industry remains the biggest U.S. economic catastrophe since the Great Depression, one that eventually required a nationwide federal bailout approaching a half-trillion dollars of nearly 800 failed savings & loans."
 

2002-01-14

2002-01-14
John C. McCarthy _CNET_
The IT diaspora
"Over the next 15 years, 3.3M US services industry jobs and $136G in wages will move off-shore to countries like India, Russia, [Red China] and the Philippines."

2002-01-14
Richard Curtin _University of Michigan's Surveys of Consumers_ (as reported by Matt Bell of AC Nielsen)
ACNielsen Finds 9 Month Lag Between Consumer Sentiment & Purchasing Of Non-Durable Goods: University Of Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index Found To Be Strong Leading Indicator Of Consumer Purchasing Of Food, Health & Beauty Aids & Non-Food Consumer Packaged Goods
"Past work has linked our index with purchasing of durables such as automobiles & appliances.   We have also found that the index is a good predictor of changes in unemployment levels that materialize 9 months later.   But this is the first evidence we have ever seen that the index predicts changes in purchasing of non-durables."
 

2002-01-15

2002-01-16

2002-01-17

2002-01-18

2002-01-19

2002-01-20

2002-01-21

2002-01-21
_Minnesota Star Tribune_
Optimism rules
"Although 40% of Minnesota firms that responded to a Star Tribune survey have slashed workers, 80% say they expect business to improve in the coming year.   Those are among the results of the mid-December survey of more than 200 Minnesota businesses by the Star Tribune & BusinessWire.   About 64 firms responded."
 

2002-01-22

2002-01-22 13:40PST (16:40EST) (21:40GMT)
Rachel Konrad _CNET_
Demand for H-1B guest-workers reached an all-time high in fiscal 2001 -- despite a recession and massive lay-offs of American workers
"A large percentage of the foreign workers are exempt from the cap -- including scientists hired to teach at American universities, government research labs and non-profit organizations...   According to the most recent survey from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 8.3M Americans were unemployed last month -- 2.6M more than the number who were unemployed in 2000 December...   'American workers expect to get paid what they're worth.', Walker said.   'This is a sad situation where they bring in these folks from India and [Red China], and we realize they're here to work cheap.   We don't blame them; they want to get a green card and bring their families over.   It's a different situation for them, but it's not fair to American workers.'"
NBER says recession that troughed in 2001 April ended 2001 November.   The stock market crashed 2000-03-10.   The STEM job markets were already diving by 2000 September, and general job markets in mid-2001.   STEM product sales were tanking all through 2001 and 2002.   Job markets still had not fully recovered by the end of 2016.
 

2002-01-23

2002-01-23
Kelly Morrison _CNET_
US high-tech worker shortage myth
"I am a U.S. citizen with a bachelor's degree in mathematics, a bachelor's degree in computer science and a master's degree in computer engineering, and I'll have finished my doctorate in the next few months.   I also have nearly a decade of solid industry experience.   Yet I was laid off last March from a company I helped start, and I still haven't been able to find a job.   It's very frustrating sending out hundreds of resumes and carefully targeted cover letters, but never getting any replies.   Yet the United States still imports thousands of additional H-1Bs each year, complaining of a fictitious lack of skilled high-tech employees.   If they can't find skilled employees here in the United States, they should contact me: Almost every high-tech worker I know is unemployed right now.   It's very frustrating.   Time to get back to the 10th month of my job search now.   Thank you for bringing this problem to light."
 

2002-01-24

2002-01-24
Thomas Stengle _DoL ETA_
unemployment insurance weekly claims
"The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 345,127 in the week ending October 19, a decrease of 40,320 from the previous week.   There were 429,541 initial claims in the comparable week in 2001.   The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.4% during the week ending October 12, an increase of 0.1 percentage point from the prior week.   The advance unadjusted number for persons claiming UI benefits in state programs totaled 2,997,308, an increase of 21,950 from the preceding week.   A year earlier, the rate was 2.3% and the volume was 2,964,722."
graphs
 

2002-01-25

2002-01-25 14:57
_USA Today_
Odd Todd: The UnEmployed Dot-Com Everyman
 

2002-01-26

2002-01-26
Martin Luther King quoted by Tom Turnipseed _Common Dreams News_
The Dream of Martin Luther King Distorted Into a Nightmare of Moderation and Militarism
"I must confess that over the past few years I have been gravely disappointed with the white moderate.  I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro's great stumbling block in his stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen's Council-er or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate, who is more devoted to 'order' than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice: who constantly says: 'I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I cannot agree with your methods of direct action'; who paternalistically believes he can set the timetable for another man's freedom; who lives by a mythical concept of time and who constantly advises the Negro to wait for a 'more convenient season'.   Shallow understanding from people of good will is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will.   Luke-warm acceptance is much more bewildering than out-right rejection."
 

2002-01-27

2002-01-27
Samuel Autman _San Diego Union-Tribune_ pg A14
Academic Rewards

School	Position	Salary
National University	president	$403,750
UCSD	chancellor	$276,600
Alliant International U (USIU)	president	$250,000
USD	president	$247,655
SDSU	president	$225,388
Cal State San Marcos	president	$200,004
MiraCosta College	president	$174,541
Palomar College	president	$162,000
SouthWestern College	president	$161,000
Point Loma Nazarene U	president	$149,619
Mesa College	president	$136,416
City College	president	$129,900
Miramar College	president	$129,900
Cuyamaca College	president	$128,944
Grossmont College	president	$128,944
Hillsdale College	president	over $1,000,000
Harvard U	president	$352,650
Duke U	president	$350,000
Yale	president	$423,750
Stanford	president	$461,656
Qualcomm	CEO	$936,557

2002-01-27
Daniel J. Chacon _San Diego Union-Tribune_ pg A14
"Law enforcement at fault in most of its accidents: Local agencies blamed in about 6 of 10 wrecks"
"Cops & crashes
Data from law enforcement agencies in San Diego county show that officers have been at fault in more than half of their vehicle accidents since 1996.

Agency	Wrecks	Cop at fault	%	Costs
CHP (statewide since 1997)	3985	1550	39	NA
SD city	1672	972	58	$4,145,354
SD sheriff (since 1997-12)	626	348	56	$4,484,237
Escondido (since 1997)	166	86	52	$118,763
Oceanside	134	70	52	$935,573
Carlsbad	87	51	59	$45,173
El Cajon	85	55	65	$27,754
La Mesa	25	17	68	$11,380
National City (since 1997)	68	55	81	NA
Coronado	11	7	64	$7,500"

 

2002-01-28

2002-01-29
 

2002-01-30

2002-01-30
Linda Rosencrance _Computer World_
Dot-com job cuts continue to drop
"January, only 1,802 dot-com job cuts were announced, the lowest figure since 1,652 cuts were reported in 2000 June, according to Chicago-based out-placement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc.   IT departments continue to be the area most affected when Internet companies down-size.   Challenger said the January dot-com job cuts were 25% lower than the 2,403 cuts announced in December and 40% lower than the number of cuts in November, when 2,901 dot-com lay-offs took place.   January's figures stood in stark contrast to the 12,868 dot-com job cuts reported in January 2001 -- a record high at that time.   The monthly survey showed that workers at companies that make the equipment, software and services that allow the Internet to operate continue to be hit the hardest.   Technology firms announced 1,079 cuts in January, more than twice the 492 jobs lost in the next-highest ranking category, consumer service."
 

2002-01-31

2002-01-31
Thomas Stengle _DoL ETA_
unemployment insurance weekly claims
"The advance number of actual initial claims under state programs, unadjusted, totaled 376,366 in the week ending October 26, an increase of 26,568 from the previous week.   There were 436,902 initial claims in the comparable week in 2001.   The advance unadjusted insured unemployment rate was 2.4% during the week ending October 19, an increase of 0.1 percentage point from the prior week.   The advance unadjusted number for persons claiming UI benefits in state programs totaled 3,055,601, an increase of 85,870 from the preceding week.   A year earlier, the rate was 2.4% and the volume was 3,030,300."
graphs

2002-01-31
Keith Regan _CNN_/_eCommerce Times_/_CIO Today_/_NewsFactor_
Dot-Com Job Cuts Hit 19-Month Low
"During January, 1,802 Internet job cuts were announced -- 25% fewer than the 2,403 made public in 2001 December.   In fact, January showed the smallest number of lay-offs in 19 months, since 2000 June...   In comparison, last January saw 12,828 job cuts...   Challenger's running tally now puts the number of dot-com jobs lost since 1999 December at 144,242.   More than 100K of those lay-offs came in 2001, with the vast majority occurring during a 10-month stretch beginning in 2000 October, when the dot-com shakeout began in earnest.   Between that month and 2001 July, 75% of all Internet-related job cuts recorded to date were announced.   The wave of lay-offs peaked in 2001 April, when more than 17K Internet workers lost their positions...   Challenger said the technology sector, which includes software and services, took the heaviest hit in January, with 1,079 cuts.   Consumer services firms, such as Web travel and financial sites, posted the second-largest number, at 492.   Challenger, Gray & Christmas counted 121 job cuts in the online retail category, 95 at Web portals and 15 in online media."

2002-01-31
Ivan Boothe _The Phoenix_
Seniors face recession & weaker job market: Many turn to graduate school to delay job search
"When seniors graduate in May, they can expect a job market as much as 13% smaller than last year, according to a recent report from Michigan State University...   Employers 'reported hiring 34% fewer bachelor's graduates... than they [had] projected'.   'This year the market will contract another 15% to 20%depending on degree level and academic major.   Bachelor graduates can expect a decline of 6% to 13%.   [Employers] expressed hope that hiring would pick up during the second quarter of 2002; now the third quarter appears more likely.'"
Collegiate Employment Research Institute report
http://www.csp.msu.edu/ceri/pub/rectrends.htm
NBER says recession that troughed in 2001 April ended 2001 November.   The stock market crashed 2000-03-10.   The STEM job markets were already diving by 2000 September, and general job markets in mid-2001.   STEM product sales were tanking all through 2001 and 2002.   Job markets still had not fully recovered by the end of 2016.
 

2002 January

2002 January
Brian O'Connell _Computer User_
A survivor's tale: 2 lay-offs
"1.4M jobs were lost from January through 2001-10-31, according to employee recruitment firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.   2001 September lay-offs alone totaled 248,332, up 77% from August and more than 5 times higher than the number recorded in 2000 September.   7 of the 10 largest job-cut months recorded since 1993 occurred in 2001, Challenger says.   And... 594,326 -- were announced during the third quarter of 2001, up more than 60% from second-quarter numbers."

2002 January
_Humboldt State University_
Index of Economic Activity (graph)
"Median Home Price $140K... Unemployment Rate 6.0%, Help Wanted Advertising up 36.5%, Building Permits up 43.3%, Unemployment Claims down 29.6%, Manufacturing Orders up 7.2%...   The Humboldt County economy appears to have levelled off after the steep decline caused by the September 11th shock.   The Index of Economic Activity's seasonally adjusted composite value, which now stands at 104.8, rose by less than 0.1% in December from November's revised figure.   Although this leaves the Index essentially unchanged, it's nice to note that during a recession, any positive growth, however minuscule, is heartening.   Taken with other positive indications explained below, there is evidence that a turn-around may already be under way...   A count of help-wanted ads indicates the number of new job openings.   December's Index figure jumped an impressive 36.5 percent from the previous month.   The measure is down 5.0% and 11.2% from the same month in the boom years of 1999 and 2000, respectively, but is substantially higher in the other year-over-year comparisons: 8.9% from 1998, 27.8% from 1997, and 37.1% from 1996."

2002 January
_Department of Labor Office of Inspector General_
Top Management and Performance Issues
"The OIG has found that individuals allowed into the United States under this program often lack the specialized skills necessary for meeting the requirements for H-1B visas.   We continue to identify fraud in the foreign labor certification programs, with the majority of cases involving the H-1B program.   These cases involve fraudulent petitions that are filed with DoL on behalf of fictitious companies and corporations, individuals who file petitions using the names of legitimate companies and corporations without their knowledge or permission, and immigration attorneys and labor brokers who collect fees and file fraudulent applications on behalf of aliens."
 

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