Tarrant Business

Summer job market not so hot

Here's our story from Sunday's newspaper on what's left for people who are still looking for summer work.

- Scott Nishimura, jobs and workplace reporter, Star-Telegram

(Photo left, l-r, Michael Medford, Hunter Houk, Tyler Morgan)

(Photo right: Chris Hicks)

Texas adds 43,600 jobs in May

Texas added 43,600 jobs in May, the fifth straight month of gains, the Texas Workforce Commission said Friday.

 

The state’s jobless rate remained at 8.3 percent, adjusted for seasonal fluctuations, continuing to fare better than the national 9.7 percent jobless rate.

 

Most industries added jobs for the month, compared to April, Tom Pauken, the Workforce Commission chairman, said.

 

Professional and business services added 10,200 jobs, the fifth monthly gain in a row.

Leisure and hospitality added 9,600 jobs. Trade, transportation and utilities added 8,200 jobs.

 

“Jobs were added across nine major industries in May, which is positive news for our state,” said Ronny Congleton, the Workforce commissioner representing labor.

 

Manufacturing added 7,000 jobs; mining and logging added 6,500 jobs; and education and health services added 500 jobs.

 

The Fort Worth-Arlington jobless rate was 8.1 percent in May, not adjusted for seasonal factors, compared to 7.5 percent for the same month the prior year.

 

The area added 6,500 jobs in May.

 

Federal government added 2,500 jobs, driven by Census employees. Leisure and hospitality added 1,700 jobs, up 1.8 percent. Education and health services added 400 workers. Local government added 600 jobs.

 

- Scott Nishimura, jobs and workplace reporter, Star-Telegram

Irving non-profit wins $2.2 million federal healthcare careers training grant

The Labor Department awarded a $2.2 million grant to an Irving non-profit that will train organizations in nine states, including local workforce boards, on how to navigate a soon-to-be-built health care careers web site.

 

SER-Jobs for Progress National, a 501(c)3 non-profit, will receive the grant from federal stimulus funds for its Coaching to Care Initiative.

 

Another organization will build the web site in the next year. Then SER-Jobs will move in and launch training on the site, said Roland Ramirez, corporate liaison manager for SER-Jobs.

 

Jobseekers will be able to use the site to find information about health care careers, Ramirez said. His organization will train workers in Texas’ local Workforce Solutions offices in how to use the site, including ones in Tarrant County.

 

Health care organizations will be able to use the site “to train incumbent workers as well,” Ramirez said.

 

SER-Jobs, which has about 70 employees, was founded in 1965.

 

The organization will add some employees as part of the grant, once the training starts, Ramirez said. How many isn’t clear yet, he said, noting the organization hasn’t received formal word from the Labor Department of the award.

 

Outside Texas, several other SER offices will use funds from the grant to train agencies in their areas, including California, Florida, Illinois, Kansas, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania.

 

- Scott Nishimura, jobs and workplace reporter, Star-Telegram

Signs of life in the job market

Here's our recent story on signs of life emerging in the local job market.

- Scott Nishimura, jobs and workplace reporter, Star-Telegram 

Companies rethink how to retain employees

Here's our recent story on employers thinking of new ways to retain employees as the economy recovers.

- Scott Nishimura, jobs and workplace reporter, Star-Telegram

 

(Photo: at Inspirus)

College grads sniff out jobs

Here's our recent story on some impressive college grads who found jobs, and how they did it.

- Scott Nishimura, jobs and workplace reporter, Star-Telegram

(Photos, clockwise from right, Britney Robinson, Nathan Dean, Addi Hall)