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CAREER SHOWCASE ANNOUNCES MARCH 2022 JOB FAIRS
LIVE INTERVIEWS WITH MULTIPLE HIRING COMPANIES

New Jersey, March 2, 2022 – Career Showcase, Inc. announced that they are hosting job fairs on March 8, 2022 in Edison, NJ and on March 10, 2022 in Parsippany, NJ. These events will be held from 5pm -7pm. Eli Lilly and Co. along with many other companies will be recruiting live & in person looking to fill multiple positions. Companies who are attending these Job Fairs are looking to fill positions such as Customer Service, warehouse & logistics specialists, dispensary technicians, sales executives, manufacturing operators, Marketing, utilities operators, quality control technicians, CMA’s, CTA’s, home health aides, energy auditors, energy technicians, and many more.

Career Showcase has been hosting hiring events for 20+ years in NJ and has connected thousands of job seekers with hiring companies. “We continue to receive requests from our partner employers in the region that are eager to fill thousands of open jobs in NJ. We plan to continue holding these live & in person job fairs in 2022 and beyond to help our businesses connect with job seekers in our area” said Career Showcase’s Managing Director Brad Edwards.

Job seekers who plan to attend these events must pre-register at www.careershowcase.com . Attendees are advised to bring several copies of their resume and wear attire appropriate for interviewing.

Hiring companies that would like to participate in these events can email Brad at brad@careershowcase.com or call them at 732-242-2532.

The U.S. labor market is going through extraordinary times: historically fast job growth, severe labor shortages despite a still-high unemployment rate, and the epic shift to remote work. As the fallout from Covid-19 continues, here are the most important U.S. job market trends.

The shift to remote work

1. Remote work is here to stay. Seventeen months after the beginning of the pandemic, most employers believe that remote work does not negatively affect workers’ productivity, and perhaps even improves it. As a result, a growing share of firms expects to permanently shift to remote work models. perhaps the biggest legacy of Covid-19. There has also been a large increase since before the pandemic in the share of office-job ads that mention remote work. This has been especially noticeable in computer-related and finance and insurance occupations. The increase also occurred in office support and clerical occupations that were rarely done remotely before the pandemic.

2. Employers are geographically expanding their potential employee pools. The shift to remote work allows employers to hire workers in cheaper labor markets and save on labor costs. In 2018, less than 40 percent of Silicon Valley tech company jobs ads were posted outside of that area. Now it is about two thirds. Most of the increase occurred during the pandemic, around the shift to remote work.

3. Job growth is historically fast, but employment is far from recovered. Job growth surged in 2021, especially during June and July, as in-services industries continued to re-open. The unusually strong growth in recent months is constrained to industries such as leisure and hospitality, mining, personal care, and education (both public and private). Most other sectors have grown in the past six months at roughly their prepandemic rates. As a result, the number of jobs in July was still 5.7 million below February 2020 levels. Compared to most other advanced economies, the economic recovery from the pandemic was much stronger in the US.

4. Some industries will not fully recover this year – or in 2022. While there is a lot of uncertainty about permanent trends in automation and consumer tastes, several industries are unlikely to recover to prepandemic employment levels before 2023. These industries include, nonresidential construction, parts of retail trade, business- and work-related transportation, commercial banking, business and facilities-support services and nursing and residential care. The rapid spread of the virus in other countries suggests that international tourism will be very slow to recover.

5. The rapid increase in the number infections had no impact on July’s job numbers. Those figures were gathered the week of July 12, before the full impact of the delta variant surge. Going forward we do expect the new wave of infections to negatively impact economic activity in in-person services. We expect job growth to slightly slow as a result, but to remain relatively strong.

6. Older people staying home will slow employment recovery. As older Americans, more vulnerable to COVID-19, may experience a longer and more isolated period of social distancing, they are likely to cut back on spending on in-person services more than younger people. In several consumption categories, such as travel, lodging and restaurants, older households are responsible for a disproportionately high share of spending. Full job-recovery may take longer in these industries.

Labor shortages

7. Severe labor shortages will persist despite high unemployment. Labor markets are extremely tight because of the unusual dynamics of the pandemic. The combination of a demand surge and stagnant labor supply created historic recruiting difficulties from April through July. The share of employers with unfilled positions was the highest ever, according to July’s National Federation of Independent Business survey. At the same time, the share of workers voluntarily quitting their jobs, and the time to fill open positions, are also elevated. Recruiting and retention difficulties are more pronounced in low-paid jobs, especially in blue-collar and manual services occupations.

8. Many potential workers are on the sidelines. Despite the very tight labor market, labor force participation is still well below prepandemic rates. Most noticeably, the labor force participation rate in the 65+ age group is 2.5 percentage points below its prepandemic level, erasing a decade of continuous improvement before COVID-19.

9. Employers are reacting. Data from online job ads show that because of severe labor shortages, employers have downskilled requirements in job postings, and are offering more sign-on bonuses, higher starting salaries and more on-the-job training.

10. Some pandemic-related supply constraints will loosen in the fourth quarter. Elevated federal unemployment benefits are gradually expiring and will fully expire by September. Lower unemployment benefits are likely to bring back many workers to the labor market. Women of color are still disproportionally out of work. If schools return to normal in-person attendance, more women will rejoin the labor force. This may result in some easing in labor shortages.

11. A shrinking working-age population is limiting the labor supply. In the past decade, the growth rate of the number of working-age people has been gradually declining. In 2020, for the first time in U.S. history, the figure itself declined. But the overall narrative about the slowing growth rate in the working-age population masks two opposing educational trends. The number of working-age people with a bachelor’s degree is solidly and uninterruptedly increasing by about 2 percent annually. On the flip side, the number of workers without bachelor’s degrees, who are willing to take blue collar and manual services jobs, is shrinking. This will increase the likelihood of a labor shortage among blue-collar and manual services occupations for this coming decade.

12. Automation and productivity may surge. After a decade of historically-slow labor productivity growth, one must be cautious about predicting the opposite trend. But the events of 2020 and 2021 may indeed fuel stronger automation and other cost-savings actions from employers. First, after massive layoffs during the early months of the pandemic, some have learned to operate with fewer workers by using more automation and other process improvements. 2021’s severe labor shortage and accelerating wages may have incentivized other employers to do the same. Finally, the accelerated digital transformation of both business and consumer activities makes it easier to eliminate routine jobs.

Wage growth and inflation

13. Wage growth is the fastest in 20 years. Much of the wage acceleration comes from blue collar and manual services occupations. Between March and July 2021, average hourly earnings increased at an annual rate of 17 percent in the leisure and hospitality sector and by 14.7 percent in transportation and warehousing. Some service-related companies set up their own minimum wage at $15 per hour. Wage growth for management and professional occupations remains below 3 percent.

14. Rapid new-hire wage growth could compress salaries. When the wage premium for experience shrinks or even turns negative, more-experienced workers feel that their pay advantage is no longer significant. Such salary compression can lead to higher labor turnover as these workers can often find new jobs at higher wages in a tight labor market.

15. Inflation is making a comeback. After being a non-issue in wage determination for several decades, strong inflation in 2021, and perhaps 2022, is likely to push wages higher. In a more extreme, and less likely, scenario, high inflation and severe labor shortages could lead to a wage-price spiral, where higher prices and wages feed each other, leading to faster growth in both.

U.S. regional variation

16. The coasts are further behind in job recovery. Pandemic job losses were much bigger in the Northeast and Pacific regions, where the spread of the virus occurred earlier, and state-mandated social distancing measures were more restrictive. Job losses were larger in vacation destinations, where hard-hit industries such as travel, lodging, and dining comprise a large share of the economy.

17. The donut effect. Because of the pandemic, fewer people are going into the office and spending money in city centers, while more people have moved to cheaper housing markets. Within large U.S. cities, households, businesses and real estate demand have moved from dense central business districts toward lower density suburban zip codes.

COVID rules lifted for live venues, office spaces, indoor gatherings

June 4, 2021 8:24 am

Starting Friday, the state is rolling back one of its final rounds of COVID-19 restrictions, as the spread of the virus plummets and more than 4.1 million people in the state are fully vaccinated.

Under these latest reopenings, effective June 4, general indoor gathering limits, previously capped at 50 people, are being lifted. Meanwhile, the 250-person cap is being scrapped on political gatherings, weddings, funerals, memorial services, and commercial events.

The roll-back of restrictions coincides with Gov. Phil Murphy’s pledge to sign a bill that would formally end the state’s public health emergency – now in its 15th month – and cede power granted under the dozens of COVID-related executive orders he has issued in that time. The bill will keep in place 14 executive orders through early next year that would allow the governor to manage vaccinations and testing, ramp up restrictions in the event of future outbreaks, and keep in place moratoriums on evictions and utility shut-offs.

A poll by the New Jersey Chamber of Commerce from early May found that at least two-thirds of executives said they were ready to return to in-person commercial events such as conferences, conventions, expos and trade shows.

The 30% capacity limit for large indoor venues and stadiums – those with at least 1,000 seats – is being lifted, as well.

“If the [New Jersey] Devils had a game on June 4, could they sell out and the answer is yes,” Gov. Phil Murphy said. The Devils are based out of the 18,000-seat Prudential Center, an indoor concert and sports stadium in Newark.

Unvaccinated patrons will be required to wear face coverings, but short of customers showing their vaccination records, businesses will instead need to rely on their good word.

Masking will still be required for places with children, such as summer camps, pre-schools, and elementary and middle schools. They’ll be required at public transit centers including airports and train stations, state offices such as the Motor Vehicle Commission, homeless shelters and hospitals, and other health care settings.

Face covering requirements in youth settings has drawn the extreme ire of conservative activists, Republican lawmakers and the two main candidates for the Republican gubernatorial primary: Hirsh Singh and former state Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli.

Office space
Under a separate order going into effect Friday, employers no longer have to enforce mask usage and social distancing at their offices among fully vaccinated workers. And they will no longer be required to keep as much of their workforce as possible working remotely. Staff will have to verify that they’ve been vaccinated.

“While we are rescinding some requirements, that doesn’t mean we don’t expect you to be flexible and to work with employees — particularly those who are juggling family obligations such as child care,” the governor said. “We’re doing this to allow employers greater flexibility to bring employees back into in-person working environments.”

One poll in May found that at least two-thirds of businesses plan to have some form of remote work in place after the COVID-19 pandemic. And many employers plan to spend thousands of dollars on new technology that would allow for that kind of telecommuting arrangement.

Parsippany, NJ Job Fair
November 19, 2020 5pm-8pm
Parsippany Sheraton

Career Showcase is 1st in the recruiting industry to bring back “In-Person” LIVE Job Fairs after 8 months of EVERYTHING Virtual.

In-person hiring events allows us to bring back the human element to the hiring process. Take this opportunity to meet quality candidates & Companies face to face again

Career Showcase & the Sheraton Parsippany are in full Covid-19 compliance. All Covid-19 protocol will be enforced in accordance with the State of NJ and local government

Candidates looking for a new career, please click here to register https://www.careershowcase.com/event-details/?eventid=547&venueid=55

***If you are a hiring manager or recruiter and would like to recruit at this event, please call Brad Edwards at 732-424-2532 or email brad@careershowcase.com

The engine that powers the world’s most potent economy is dying at a worrisome pace, a “distinctly American phenomenon’’ with no easily discernible cause or simple solution.

Those are some of the conclusions from a comprehensive new study by researchers at Virginia Commonwealth University showing that mortality rates for U.S. adults ages 25-64 continue to increase, driving down the general population’s life expectancy for at least three consecutive years.

The report, “Life Expectancy and Mortality Rates in the United States, 1959-2017,’’ was published Tuesday in the Journal of the American Medical Association. The study paints a bleak picture of a workforce plagued by drug overdoses, suicides and organ-system diseases while grappling with economic stresses.

“This looks like an excellent paper – just what we needed to help unravel the overall decline in life expectancy in the U.S.,’’ said Eileen Crimmins, an associate dean at the University of Southern California who’s an expert on the link between health and socioeconomic factors.

In a trend that cuts across racial and ethnic boundaries, the U.S. has the worst midlife mortality rate among 17 high-income countries despite leading the world in per-capita spending on health care.

And while life expectancy in those other industrialized nations continues to inch up, it has been going in the opposite direction in America, decreasing from a peak of 78.9 years in 2014 to 78.6 in 2017, the last year covered by the report.

By comparison, according to the Peterson-Kaiser Health System Tracker, the average longevity in similar countries is 82.2 years. Japan’s is 84.1, France’s 82.4 and Canada’s 81.9. They left the U.S. behind in the 1980s and increased the distance as the rate of progress in this country diminished and eventually halted in 2011.

Steven Woolf, director emeritus of the VCU Center on Society and Health and the study’s lead author, said the reasons for the decline go well beyond the lack of universal health care in the U.S. – in contrast with those other nations – although that’s a factor.

“It would be easier if we could blame this whole trend on one problem, like guns or obesity or the opioid epidemic, all of which distinguish the U.S. from the other countries,’’ Woolf told USA TODAY. “But we found increases in death rates across 35 causes of death.’’

They were most pronounced in the industrial Midwest, the 13 Appalachian states and upper New England, which Woolf attributed partly to the decline in manufacturing jobs and the opioid epidemic.

Of the top 10 states with the highest number of excess deaths in the 25-64 age range – meaning deaths above projections based on U.S. mortality rates – eight were in the Rust Belt or Appalachia. Half of the excess deaths were concentrated in the latter region.

The Ohio Valley – comprising Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio and Pennsylvania – accounted for one-third.

Some of the other numbers mined by the study, based on data compiled by the U.S. Mortality Database and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, are staggering:

Between 1999 and 2017, midlife mortality from drug overdoses spiked by 386.5%.

In that same age group and time period, deaths from hypertensive diseases increased by 78.9%, and those linked to obesity by 114%.

Suicides rose by 38% and climbed 55.9% among those ages 55-64.

Those are a lot of lives snuffed out in prime years, a long-range threat to an economy that ranks No. 1 globally in gross domestic product.

“Not only are employers more likely to see premature deaths in their workers, but also greater illness rates and greater disability, and that puts U.S. businesses at a disadvantage against businesses in other countries that have a healthier and more productive workforce,’’ Woolf said, adding that employers here are already saddled with high health care costs.
US mortality rate ‘root causes’ include lack of education and living wages

The report showed mortality rates among those younger than 25 and older than 64 have decreased. That might point a finger at the country’s dysfunctional health care system for working adults, because many in those other age groups can be covered by either the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) or Medicare.

Woolf disputes that notion, saying only 10% to 20% of health outcomes can be attributed to medical care. He said the bigger culprit is a lack of social programs and support systems more common in other wealthy countries for when working families run into difficult times.

Those rough spells, often associated with a job loss, can lead to the kind of unhealthy behaviors – drug and alcohol abuse, smoking, overeating, suicide attempts – that result in what have become known as “deaths of despair.’’

Woolf said a noticeable increase in those is yet another indication of the seriousness of the problem the U.S. faces, one he said will require investment from the public and private sectors to address.

Even if Americans were to reverse their recent backward trend, one estimate says that at its rate of longevity growth from the past several years it would take the U.S. more than 100 years to catch up to the average life expectancy other wealthy countries reached by 2016.

“We’re making a huge mistake if we don’t step back and look at the root causes,’’ Woolf said, including a lack of educational opportunities and living wages among the likely causes. “The prescription for the country is we’ve got to help these people. And if we don’t, we’re literally going to pay with our lives.’’

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY

The U.S. economy added more jobs than expected in October, handily topping estimates even as a protracted strike was anticipated to weigh on hiring growth.

The unemployment rate held near a 50-year low, and wage increases picked up slightly.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics released its latest print on the U.S. employment situation Friday at 8:30 a.m. ET. Here were the main metrics from the report, compared to consensus economist expectations compiled by Bloomberg:

•Change in non-farm payrolls: +128,000 vs. +85,000 expected and 180,000 in September

•Change in manufacturing payrolls: -36,000 vs. -55,000 expected and -5,000 in September

•Unemployment rate: 3.6% vs. 3.6% expected and +3.5% in September

•Average hourly earnings month-on-month: +0.2% vs. +0.3% expected and 0.0% in September

•Average hourly earnings year-on-year: +3.0% vs. +3.0% expected and 3.0% in September

The October jobs report reflected the impact of a 40-day United Auto Workers (UAW) strike against General Motors (GM), which lasted from September 16 through October 26. This extended over the survey weeks for both the BLS establishment and household surveys, which captured the calendar and pay period week, respectively, that included the 12th day of the month.

Forty-six thousand workers were counted as part of the strike, according to the BLS strike report last Friday.

However, the results of the strike had less of a dampening effect than expected on the BLS establishment survey, which includes metrics including the change in non-farm payrolls.

“Manufacturing employment decreased by 36,000 in October,” the BLS said in its October report. “Within manufacturing, employment in motor vehicles and parts declined by 42,000, reflecting strike activity.”

Consensus economists had anticipated, on net, a loss of 55,000 manufacturing payrolls, steepening sharply from a revised loss of 5,000 in September.

By Scott MautzKeynote speaker and author, ‘Find the Fire’ and ‘Make It Matter’

I was recently keynoting at a company when the presenter before me (an ex-Navy SEAL) took the stage to discuss the importance of succeeding under extreme pressure. It was a topical comment, as this particular company was about to go through an intense period. He shared an training overview video from the Navy SEALs detailing a particularly onerous part of their training–what’s known as the underwater competency test.

It’s a test most SEAL trainees fail on their first attempt, and it features an exercise partially shown in the video, where instructors “attack” scuba-geared trainees underwater, tying knots in their air hoses, ripping masks off their faces, and causing general mayhem. It’s intended to help the SEALs be ready for any underwater situation. A 2009 History Channel program entitled The Brain first detailed this specific exercise, an exercise that only 25 percent of Navy seals were passing.

Until the Navy injected psychology and brain science.

Because so many recruits were failing the extreme underwater test, even with four attempts to pass, the Navy sought help from psychologists and devised what one instructor (who was featured on The Brain) called “The Big Four”: four psychology-based methods the SEALs could employ to help them get through the intense situation successfully, without panicking and coming up for air before the 20-minute session was completed. Pass rates for the training increased from 25 percent to 33 percent.

The four methods are powerful for anyone who has to weather a high-pressure situation.
1. Goal setting.

Specifically, setting goals in very small increments, then tackling one goal at a time. One former SEAL said this was the approach he took for the entire intense training period–make it to lunch that day, then the next goal was to make it to dinner.

I used this technique regularly in my corporate days when it came to achieving extremely difficult, pressure-laden goals. I’d break a big goal into a series of micro-goals. Then, when I was in the midst of the highest-pressure parts, I’d leverage achievement of the previous micro-goal to give me a boost of confidence and energy to attack the next one.
2. Mental rehearsal.

This is also called visualization, working at something over and over until it comes naturally and so that it’s easier under extreme duress. The Navy SEALs want their candidates to succeed in a real-world, terrifying, underwater situation, so they make them practice being under duress, without oxygen, to learn to fight one of the most fundamental human fears–drowning.

Now, giving a keynote is hardly this stressful, but it is definitely a high-stakes situation. The No. 1 thing I do to lower the stress levels of any keynote and to better enable me to succeed is mental rehearsal. I practice the keynote over and over until it feels second nature. I visualize the audience engrossed in what I’m saying, taking notes, or any number of other positive visual cues.

When you do enough mental rehearsal, muscle memory kicks in and you don’t have to concentrate on trying to remember what you were going to say. Instead, you’re freed up to focus on putting energy and passion into your performance. It’s this simple–you want the brain prepared and familiar with the high-pressure situation you’re going to be in. Familiarity nets flourishing.
3. Self-talk.

Our brains can quickly take us into very unhelpful places when we’re panicking. Imagine the conversation you’re having with yourself when you’re 15 feet underwater and your air hose is knotted in three places. But the SEALs ae taught to recognize that we speak 300-1,000 words to ourselves a minute and so it’s about changing the nature and tone of those words.

I’ve found in high-stress situations it’s more important than ever to omit tones of panic and catastrophizing and replace them with a more focused, “let’s just do what needs to be done right now” dialogue.
4. Stay calm.

It’s important to stay cool and to specifically focus on your breathing. I would imagine it’s hard to focus on your breathing when you’re underwater and you can’t, but when coupled with the ability to stay calm, it’s a powerful duo.

I can’t say I get nervous anymore, even before a keynote to thousands of people (see point No. 2 above). But just to be sure, two minutes before I go onstage you can find me focusing on reaching a calm, centered state, and breathing slowly, aware of each breath and exhaling slowly.

Staying calm in any tense situation is easier said than done, but I can tell you first-hand, with practice, it really is a habit you can learn.

So use the combination of Navy SEAL toughness and psychology to succeed in any tension-laden scenario.
Published on: Sep 23, 2019
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The opinions expressed here by Inc.com columnists are their own, not those of Inc.com.

Companies with more women in leadership positions are likely to experience better financial performance, according to the CEO of non-profit organization Women Who Code.

Speaking to CNBC’s “Capital Connection” on Friday, International Women’s Day, Alaina Percival said companies have a “fiscal responsibility” to seek a gender balance in their top ranks.

“Companies experience a higher (return on investment) when they have women represented at the board, at the executive level, and on teams in general. So really, companies have a fiscal responsibility to have balance because it’s better,” Percival said.

Her sentiment is echoed by research from New York-based index company MSCI. According to a 2015 study from the firm, companies with “strong female leadership” generated a return on equity of 10.1 percent every year, compared to 7.4 percent for companies without.

For that research, “strong” representation was defined as a company’s board having three or more women, or the board’s percentage of women exceeding the country average.

The challenge of tech
Gender balance is especially important for the tech sector, Percival said. Companies need to take “aggressive measures to adopt best practices,” she added, saying that could include equipping women with skills and knowledge required to enter the technology workforce.

“What we’re going to be seeing is every industry becomes a technology industry. Looking forward, 10, 15, 20 years from now, having a technical background and an understanding of technical knowledge will be a basic foundation that executives need to have to lead the company,” she said.

Yet even as companies are starting to see the increasing importance of equal gender representation, Percival said the message is “getting through slowly.”

“Companies understand that they need to be making change — but most companies don’t understand how to accomplish that yet,” she said. Organizations have not built up the necessary budget to really see a big change, she added.

However, Percival acknowledged that it would take time for the results to show, and for women to be well-represented in the technology sector.

“Change also takes time, because it’s not just the number of people you hire, or the way that you’re paying,” she said. “It’s also the culture inside the company and inside of society.”

Companies added 213,000 jobs this month, the ADP and Moody’s Analytics data show. Economists polled by Refinitiv expected payrolls to grow by 178,000.
The strong jobs growth comes even after the longest U.S. government shutdown in history.
“The job market weathered the government shutdown well. Despite the severe disruptions, businesses continued to add aggressively to their payrolls,” says Mark Zandi of Moody’s Analytics.

Private payrolls grew in January at a much faster pace than expected as the labor market shrugged off the longest U.S. government shutdown in history, according to data released Wednesday by ADP and Moody’s Analytics.

“The job market weathered the government shutdown well. Despite the severe disruptions, businesses continued to add aggressively to their payrolls,” said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody’s Analytics. “As long as businesses hire strongly, the economic expansion will continue on.”

Medium-sized businesses, those that employ 50 to 499 people, led the charge by adding 84,000 payrolls. Large businesses, which have at least 500 employees, expanded their head count by 66,000. Small businesses added 63,000 jobs.

The services sector contributed the lion’s share of the jobs this month, with 145,000 jobs being added. Within the services sector, jobs in professional and business services grew by 46,000 while education and health services payrolls expanded by 38,000. The goods-producing sector, which includes construction, mining and manufacturing, added 68,000 jobs.

Wednesday’s report comes two days ahead of the release of the Labor Department’s monthly jobs report. Economists expect the government’s tally to show a gain of about 168,000 jobs for January.