Showing posts with label unemployment. Show all posts
Showing posts with label unemployment. Show all posts

PostHeaderIcon 152 RP nursing colleges warned of closure

11/25/2009 | Posted by Anonymous | Edit Post


Commission on Higher Education (CHED) chairman Emmanuel Angeles announced that 152 nursing colleges are in danger of being closed if the passing rate of their graduates do not improve. In the last five years, these schools posted lower passing scores than the national passing rate of 46.16% in the board exam. Next year, they will still be given a chance before facing the propect of being phased out in the business.

Nursing colleges with less than 5% passing rate of their graduates in three consecutive years will not be permitted to operate.

The most number of nursing colleges with poor performance are concentrated in MetroManila. Included n the list are: Arellano University-Manila, Arellano University-Pasay, De Los Santos-STI College, De Ocampo Memorial College, Dominican College, Dr. Carlos S. Lanting College, Emilio Aguinaldo College, J.P. Sioson General Hospital and Colleges, La Consolacion College Manila, Las Piñas College, Martinez Memorial College, Mary Chiles College, Olivarez College, Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Pasay, Perpetual Help College of Manila, Philippine College of Health Sciences, Philippine Rehabilitation Institute Foundation, Southeast Asian College, St. Jude College, St. Rita Hospital College of Nursing and School of Midwifery, STI College-Recto, the Family Clinic, Unciano Colleges and General Hospital, University of Perpetual Help-Rizal, and World Citi Colleges, Quezon City. Other erring schools are in Calabarzon, 23 schools; Central Luzon, 20; Ilocos Region, 16; Bicol, 14; SOCCSKSARGEN, 8; Northern Mindanao, 7; Zamboanga Peninsula, Davao Region and Cordillera Administrative Region, 6; Cagayan Valley and Central Visayas, 5; CARAGA Region, 3; and Eastern Visayas and Mimaropa Region, 1.--- Philstar (11/25/09, Ronda, R.A.)

The mushrooming of substandard nursing schools predictably produced half-baked graduates who have difficulty passing the board of examination. These colleges should not have been allowed to operate. Under the noses of education and labor regulators, schools nonetheless graduated so many nurses. The wastage of time, money, and effort was ignored until the despicable consequences were obvious.

Because of neglectful education planning and labor allocation, almost a hundred thousand licensure candidates are to take the next board exam at the end of November. A despicable scandal of the profession, many of them have dismal chances of landing a job locally or abroad.(Photo Credit: nursingpins.com) =0=

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PostHeaderIcon US unemployment rate rises further to 10.2% in October

11/06/2009 | Posted by Anonymous | Edit Post


According to the Labor Department that new jobless claims fell to 512,000 last week, the lowest level in 10 months. This was the kind of news we all wanted--- to complement a rosy outlook that the manufacturing sector was on a rebound to usher in the recovery from recession. Yet, signs of recovery was not buoyed by the joblessness report from last month:

“U.S. employers cut a deeper-than-expected 190,000 jobs in October, government data showed on Friday, driving the unemployment rate to 10.2 percent, the highest in 26-1/2 years… Payrolls have declined for 22 consecutive months now, throwing 7.3 million people out of work since December 2007, when the recession started.”--- Reuters (11/06/09)

This new unemployment figure is the highest since 1983. The dismal figure, worse than most economists predicted, comes earlier than expected and it suggests improvement in the economy will not come fast. (Photo Credit: Debtfree.Daniloff) =0=

RELATED BLOG: "Credibility: a big factor in economic recovery" Posted by mesiamd at 11/04/2009

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PostHeaderIcon Joblessness worse than US government projections

10/22/2009 | Posted by Anonymous | Edit Post


With overall joblessness rate nearing 10%, Americans are getting a shock of their life to find the big disparity between what the Obama administration projected and the current joblessness all over the country.

Seven months after so much rosy promises by government leaders, the state of economy still looks bleak for those who don’t have work or stopped looking for one . A staggering forty nine (49) out of fifty (50) states lost jobs the last 7 months---a far different picture than the Obama government promised.

A sampler can be seen in the table below:

State--------------Estimated Change in Jobs-------------Actual Job Change
--------------------(thru Dec 2010)---------------------thru September 2009)

Alabama----------- + 52,000----------------------------- - 33,600
Alaska-------------+ 8,000------------------------------ - 2,800
California-------- + 396,000---------------------------- - 336,400
Florida----------- + 206,000---------------------------- - 165,100
Georgia----------- + 106,000---------------------------- - 131,900
Hawaii------------ + 15,000----------------------------- - 17,000
Illinois------------ + 148,000---------------------------- - 148,900
Kentucky---------- + 48,000----------------------------- - 42,300
Michigan---------- + 109,000---------------------------- - 137,300
New Jersey-------- + 100,000---------------------------- - 55,600
New York---------- + 215,000---------------------------- - 111,800
North Dakota------ + 8,000------------------------------ + 1,800
Ohio--------------- + 133,000---------------------------- - 97,500
Oregon------------ + 44,000----------------------------- - 40,000
Pennsylvania------ + 143,000---------------------------- - 103,200
Rhode Island------ + 12,000----------------------------- - 8,500
Texas------------- + 269,000---------------------------- - 225,300
Virginia----------- + 93,000----------------------------- - 47,000
Wyoming----------- + 8,000------------------------------ - 10,500

Total
for 50 States---- + 3,460,000-------------------------- - 2,708,600

According to the data, 49 States and the District of Columbia continued to lose employment for Americans since stimulus was enacted by the Obama administration. Of the 50 states, only North Dakota registered a net positive job addition following the February 2009 stimulus.

President Obama announced his stimulus bill would create 3.5 million jobs, but the the United States has already lost a total of 2.7 million – a difference of 6.2 million jobs. With corrupted and greed-driven financial institution in America, further rise in unemployment indicated that one couldn't recklessly spend taxpayerrs' money in order to show a semblance of prosperity.

Even if Americans still wish the president would succeed (given 3 years more ahead to exhaust his tenure of office,) the joblessness data had brought an ugly picture of the recovery--- raising distrust and disappointment on where the government is heading. This is on top of the wide opposition of government over-spending, sluggish war and anti-terror campaigns, ballooning budget deficit, increasing interference of government on privae enterprise, high taxes, and unsatisfactory healthcare revamp that endangers the medica care system that 85% of Americans are happy keeping.

Source of Joblessness Data: Committee on Ways and Means Republicans (Photo Credit: Ben Heine) =0=

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PostHeaderIcon US budget deficit jumps to 1.3 trillion

8/08/2009 | Posted by Anonymous | Edit Post


The biggest economy of the world is getting poor. For this year, in July, official records showed a sharp climb in America’s budget deficit that clouds trust in Pres. Barack Obama’s ambitious plan to re-structure the United States.

Anger and opposition are brewing as the Americans wake up to the reality that their country is drastically being changed to a direction that they can’t comprehend. The public is bracing for a more intrusive government which seeks to regulate the lives of its citizens.

In spite of Obama’s campaign promises that taxes will not go up, that the health care reform will be an improvement of the current system, and that the bail-outs of banks, financial institutions and the housing industry will save the economy, many Americans are convinced the United States can’t buy its way to prosperity. They are averse to excessive trillions of dollars of spending by the government.

“The deficit for the first 10 months of fiscal year 2009, which began October 1, reached 1.3 trillion dollars, close to 880 billion dollars greater than the deficit recorded through July 2008, said the US Congressional Budget Office (CBO).

Outlays rose by almost 530 billion dollars, or 21 percent, and revenues fell by more than 350 billion dollars, or 17 percent, compared with the amounts recorded during the same period last year, the non-partisan CBO said.” AFP (08/07/09)

The amounts above are too large to be understood by the ordinary Americans, but many are suspecting something ominiously wrong is going in the management of the country. It is unwise to incur big debts and massive spending at the expense of the taxpayers and ask the children of the next generation to pay for them.

The number of unemployed workers has declined for the first time in 15 months, but joblessness at still high at 9.4%; it is expected to breach 10% by yearend. There are pockets of improvement of the housing market, but housing prices are still falling and foreclosures are rampant.

In spite of the on-going financial crisis, government leaders of Capitol Hill and their supporters spend lavishly with little accountability. Barack Obama’s assurance that things are better under his watch and the recession is ending does not match with what the people are experiencing: Insecurity.

In spite of the rosy outlook the administration is saying, more money is needed to push the economy. There are talks of another stimulus package. There is pressure to borrow and collect more taxes from the people. Entitlements and welfare claims have risen---about 34 million Americans receive food stamps and many more are dependent on social security and unemployment subsidies.

A dangerous mix of a faltering economy, excessive government spending, a declining honesty in society, and a citizenry not used to a life of frugality has become a problem. In spite of America’s apparent strengths, there are obvious weaknesses that can undermine the nation’s future stability. (Photo Credit: Rich Seattle) =0=

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PostHeaderIcon Islamic sectarian violence in Nigeria

7/30/2009 | Posted by Anonymous | Edit Post




In the past few days, heavy fighting in the northeastern part of Nigeria raged as sectarian violence erupted leading to the burning of houses and death of hundreds of people.

Government troops are battling Islamic militants headed by a radical cleric and forcing thousands people to escape to avoid the chaos. Reacting to the disturbance which left many dead on the streets, the president of Nigeria Umaru Yar'Adua says the situation is under control.

“The violence, which the authorities said began with an attack on a police station in the town of Bauchi on Sunday that left at least 39 people dead, quickly spread across four states in a heavily Muslim region long troubled by religious unrest. In this instance it appeared to have been led by an obscure fundamentalist opposed to what the authorities call “Western education.”---New York Times/ AFP (07/28/09, Nossiter, A.)

Nigeria is populated by about 140 million composed of 50% Muslims mostly in the North and 50% Christians in the South. Since the imposition of strict Muslim Shariah law in 12 northern states a decade ago after years of military rule, about 10,000 died in the ensuing religious conflict. Extremists allied with the Muslim radicals wage war against western education.

An analyst believes the root cause of the problem is the severe economic difficulties rocking the area. In spite of richness in oil and fuel reserves of Nigeria, unemployment and hunger are prevalent.

According to the World Health, 54% of Nigerians subsist in less than $1 per day budget. The people are frustrated with the government for the lack of electricity, water, healthcare and other basic human services. (Photo Credit: AFP/graphicis; AFP/ Utomi Ekepei) =0=

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PostHeaderIcon US economic recovery & the uncertainties Americans face ahead

7/24/2009 | Posted by Anonymous | Edit Post


In spite of Pres. Barack Obama’s eloquent words, the US economy is still on the edge. The ambitious social engineering of the Democratic party has started to fray---- ahead of the economic recovery that it promised. The president who built high expectations since his election campaign is losing his approval and credibility at a fast rate.

Healthcare Dilemma

The country is spooked by the healthcare overhaul plan which will likely be rationed, endangers the independence of doctors to decide for their patients, and may lead to treatment delays and astronomical costs which can rob the future of generations.

Though most Americans agree that a change in healthcare is needed, Obama’s plan to pattern the delivery of American system of healthcare to Canada and Europe is met with growing opposition. His universal healthcare plan threatens the structure that makes medicine in USA the best in the world.

American medicine brings leaders of foreign countries to come to the US for treatment. With all its faults, it is the pre-eminent leader in innovation and the advance of medical science. Though expensive, the fast delivery of medical services for difficult health problems makes it outstanding.

Yet, cutting costs will bring undesired consequences. These, the Americans are grappling to understand. They don't know how much it will cost them in insurance premiums and what medical services will they get in return. They are seriously thinking how much of their income must realistically be alloted to medical care.

Even the Obama government shows poor grasp on the details of the change the "experts" are pushing, making the public doubt whether the rush to tinker with the current system will make their life better. It seems Obama wants the health plan to be voted upon soon while the public hasn't absorbed its hidden ramifications. In a speech, he mumbles of the same generic old tunes that don't clarify the uncertainties of his plan. To President Obama's and California legislator Nancy Pelosi's disappointment, the senate recently stalled the health reform bill for September after the August recess.

For one, they even haven’t tackled how to prevent billions that are lost in Medicare and Medicaid fraud. Many lawmakers who bat for more government intrusions in private life haven't read the legislation or discussed the health proposal. It's just like when Capitol Hill voted the $700 billion plus economic stimulus in haste and the public is left guessing. They don't know where the huge public money is going. Without giving evidence, the financial decision-makers say they "averted" the total collapse of the US economy while at the same time, they warn for another stimulus package if the initial strategy doesn't work.

The administration wants to tax the people so that it can subsidize the insurance of at least 10 million illegal aliens, part of the 47 million people who are uninsured. At the expense of the elderly who may be denied of certain diagnostic tests and medical treatment, the government wants to give medical coverage to those who ignored the law and gate-crashed into America.

Obama plans to control the approval and denial of services, putting the lives of the old, disabled, and those with chronic and rare disease in limbo. It is likely, the sick who are young with high chance for full recovery and are able to go back to work will be given priority over those who are old, recurrently sick, and those without hope of improvement. As a result of the expected decline of health service, according to political analyst Dick Morris, author of a new book "Catastrophe," this health plan will displace the elderly with poorer care, it may lower the life expectancy of the Americans in the next decade as well.

Joblessness still on the Rise

In the meantime, in spite of the outrageous spending that puts USA at the edge of bankruptcy, under Obama’s watch, the joblessness in the heartland doesn’t abate. The budget deficit continues to rise, prompting America to finance its runaway spending from debts abroad. If Obama’s plan fails, there will be many apologies, but almost no accountability---just the way it happened when bankruptcies occured in the housing sector, financial services, banking, and auto industries.

Newly laid-off workers seeking jobless benefits increased last week, consistent to the forecast by the Federal Reserve that unemployment will rise beyond 10%. Bolstering this prediction, the Labor Department announced that the initial claims for unemployment insurance went up by 30,000 this week, raising the number of idle workers to 554,000.

With these, the sword of Democles hovers precariously over the heads of US citizens, not used to having no control over their lives. Unlike before, Obama can blame his predecessors as the cause of the economic mess, but as time passes, it is looking more like his own. The free fall of his popularity may be one to tell. Those who slobber and blindly support him is likely to find disappointment. (Photo Credit: iQoncept) =0=

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PostHeaderIcon Economy is worse than what Obama wants the public to believe

7/17/2009 | Posted by Anonymous | Edit Post


When the Bureau of Labor and Statistics released its June 2009 joblessness rate, the number ballooned to 467,000, putting a total 7.2 million out of work since the onset of the recession. The unemployment rate had reached 9.5%, the highest in 26 years. It was the largest job contraction in a 6 month period since the 1940’s.

With lack of public confidence, the meltdown drags--- the huge job loss equaled the job gain in the last 9 years. As a consequence, U.S. Federal Reserve officials revised their unemployment forecast to top 10 percent, above the 9.6 percent that was previously predicted. Economists and financial analysts foresee the unemployment rate to rise between 9.8 and 10.1 percent in 2009.

States Above 10% Joblessness Rate:

Alabama,
California,
Florida,
Georgia,
Illinois,
Indiana,
Louisiana,
Michigan
Nevada,
North Carolina,
Ohio, Oregon,
Rhode Island,
South Carolina
Tennessee.

"Most Fed policymakers said it could take "five or six years" for the economy and the labor market to get back on a path of long-term health. To get there, consumers must return to a regular spending groove and housing prices need to start rising again."---AP (07/17/09, Aversa, J.)

According to Mortimer Zuckerman of the US News (07/15/09,) the June data include 185,000 people who are presumed to have work, but in reality, may be jobless. Not part of the unemployment list are the unpaid leaves that have become commonplace. The work-hours in many industries have dropped and fulltime jobs for workers are being converted to part time.

About 1.4 million people are available to work within the last 12 months, but they have not been looking for employment. The average duration of joblessness in this recession has lengthened to 24.5 weeks and the average pay of workers remained at $18.53 per hour. About 223,000 positions in the production sector have been lost, creating a dismal picture for labor.

Obviously, Obama’s good intentions did not translate into success. Instead, more whispers of difficult times spook Americans who could just wait and see how the administration churn the business climate to stimulate the economy and create jobs.

With Obama’s falling popularity and shortening of public patience, a second stimulus program is in the horizon, furthering the alarming big borrowing and spending of the government. The budget deficit has skyrocketted. Just as before, financial planners and legislators in Capitol Hill have little accountability. As doubt mounts and money flows into uncertain hands, it’s the American people who are caught between the stone and a rock-hard place. (Photo Credit: Darth Dragon) =0=

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PostHeaderIcon California inches close to bankruptcy

6/16/2009 | Posted by Anonymous | Edit Post


Affected by the biggest recession gripping the country, the state of California has failed to come up with a budget, bringing the golden state near financial insolvency. The state is spending like crazy more than it can generate income. Government revenue is down by 27%. Business has been slow forcing companies to down-size or stop operation.

If no budget is agreed upon, the state is expected to run out of money by the end of July.

“It will run out of cash within weeks if it does not balance its books, leaving it little option but to postpone a variety of payments, according to State Controller John Chiang, who estimated last week that California was "less than 50 days away from a meltdown of state government."---Reuters (06/15/09, Christie, J; Gevirtz, L.)

California's income has dwindled with rising joblessness rate of 11% and unchecked housing crisis making it hard to close the budget gap of about $24 billion. One option is to cut spending --- the curtailment of entitlements and welfare programs including health insurance.

Budget cuts may be needed by putting teachers, firefighters and police officers out of work and stopping medical-care services. More taxes could be levelled on the residents to generate income. Unlike in the past, Californians are learning to live within their means just lilke Americans across the country. (Photo Credit: Jose Antonio Galloso) =0=

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PostHeaderIcon US jobless rate up to 9.4%

6/06/2009 | Posted by Anonymous | Edit Post


In whatever prism one looks, the US jobless rate in May went up to 9.4% from 8.4% in April, the highest in more than 25 years. Some consolation comes from a slower lay-off rate that economists look with optimism. Employers cut off “only” 350,000 jobs in the same time period. This is a cause of joy for optimistic financial analysts who feel relieved that the lay-off rate is lesser than in the previous months.

“Construction companies cut 59,000 jobs, down from 108,000 in April. Factories cut 156,000, on top of 154,000 in the previous month. Retailers cut 17,500 positions, compared with 36,500 in April. Financial activities cut 30,000, down from 45,000 in April. Even the government reduced employment — by 7,000 — after bulking up by 92,000 in April as it added workers for the 2010 Census.”---AP (06/04/09, Aversa, J.)

Perhaps to boost a brighter outlook and lessen alarm that the economy is still sliding down the cliff, the Department of Labor thinks the new data are signs that the recession is abating. In spite of the spike in joblessness, the highest since 1983, many insist Barack Obama’s $787 billion stimulus package is working and the economy is improving.

Critics aren’t happy though. Healthcare alone is costing taxpayers $450 billion for Medicare and $200 billion for Medicaid yearly. The government may require $1.3 trillion to cover medical coverage for the 47 million uninsured Americans in a decade once the universal health care is pushed.

This surely isn’t a consolation if one is left without work, underemployed, holds a temporary job or has given up looking for employment at this difficult economic time. (Photo Credit: AskOne)=0=

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PostHeaderIcon Sen. Francis Escudero says the Arroyo government must face joblessness squarely

5/14/2009 | Posted by Anonymous | Edit Post


In what Sen. Francis Escudero thinks as a defensive stance of the government, officials of the Arroyo administration wants to have their own survey, casting doubts on what the Social Weather Stations (SWS) data says about joblessness. A few days ago, the SWS disclosed that 34.2% or 14 million adult Filipinos are jobless. This huge number of idle people account for about 15% of the total population.

It’s truly alarming to know that one third of Filipino adults is jobless. But as Escudero said the Arroyo government must face the problem honestly “instead of using as an excuse the semantics of the definition of unemployment" as reported by the SWS.

Unemployment, by any other name, is still joblessness, and it speaks loudly of the failure of government to put up adequate policies to address to the problem. The reality is that there is widespread and increasing unemployment," ---Malaya (05/13/09, Naval, G; Benga, R)

Labor Sec. Marianito Roque is mulling on another survey---- the Labor Force Survey (LFS) by the National Statstics Office (NSO) hoping that the joblessness rate will come out lower than the SWS report. But in practrical terms, there is little to gain from thinking that unemployment must be lower than what the SWS data show. What is important is government's response to the problem that the entire nation already knows.

The belief that widespread adult joblessness must be demonstrated by huge numbers of idle people in the street is probably erroneous. Perhaps, the better indicator is the number of emaciated children-beggars who ran around while their jobless parents stay at home. (Photo Credit: Edgar J. Ediza) =0=

RELATED BLOG: "14 million Filipino adults are jobless, but the Arroyo administration thinks it’s just a “perception”" Posted by mesiamd at 5/12/2009

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PostHeaderIcon 14 million Filipino adults are jobless, but the Arroyo administration thinks it’s just a “perception”

5/12/2009 | Posted by Anonymous | Edit Post


It’s one of the bad news that we Filipinos rather forget, but the Social Weather Stations (SWS ) registered a dismal picture of adult employment in the country. Thirty four (34%) of Filipino adults, approximately 14 million people are jobless. No one can argue against the strain unemployment brings to the economy.

According to the SWS, the number does not include those who don’t look for jobs---those who are sick, the disabled, home mommies and daddies. Philippine unemployment is almost 4x as high as the jobless rate (8.9% as of April, 2009) in USA at this time. Jobless Filipinos are more than 10x the entire population of Trinidad and Tobago and 2x greater the inhabitants of Georgia, a former state of the Soviet Union.

“In its First Quarter Social Weather Survey last Feb. 20 to 23, SWS also said 13 percent of adults voluntarily left their old job, while 12 percent were retrenched. The 12 percent who were retrenched included nine percent who were laid off and three percent whose previous contracts were not renewed."---GMA TV News (05/12/09)

Since I am forcibly retired because of illness, I meet many Filipinos my age who don’t work----either they have given up looking because there’s almost no job for them out there or they have been laid off too early as early retirees----an option in the company of work. Able-bodied and healthy, some of the jobless have not been employed all their lives, spending their time sitting around.

What will these jobless adults do if they live long enough to grow in an old age of 100? What happens to a country where more than a third of adults have no way to earn a living? How long can the people take their poverty?

Since 2005, the joblessness is persistently high----more than 20%. Many companies have closed shop and left the country. The few jobs available are positions in the government, not in the private sector. Many have to travel abroad to work as overseas foreign workers (OFWs,) yet this too has suffered a slump.

It’s truly sobering to think of the huge unemployment problem. But in times of recession, one needs to be creative and persistent. We can’t rely on the word of the Arroyo administration to survive. It’s a foul joke for the government to dismiss this staggering joblessness as “perception.” Interestingly, Pres. Gloria Arroyo also says the same thing about corruption.

International Labor Organization (ILO) Definition of Unemployment

“The current definition of "unemployed" is based on the International Labor Organization (ILO) concept.

Adopted by the National Statistics Office in April 2005, the ILO concept sets three criteria in order for a person 15 years old or older to be considered as unemployed. He or she must be:
1. without work, AND
2. is actively seeking work OR not seeking work due to valid reasons, AND
3. currently available for work.

The old Philippine definition of "unemployed" considered only the first two criteria.

Under the new definition (ILO concept), people unavailable for work, or are available for work but are not looking for work, are not part of the labor force and are not considered as unemployed.”---Source: GMA TV News/ National Statistics Office (NSO) (05/12/09) (Photo Credits: DenesG1; No Worries Windor)

RELATED BLOGS: Typhoon Emong’s death toll of 43, a drop in OFW employment and a rise in H1N1 flu Posted by mesiamd at 5/12/2009; For lack of local jobs, Pres. Gloria M. Arroyo asks Filipinos to leave for employment abroad Posted by mesiamd at 3/02/2009 ; Fearless economic forecasts Posted by mesiamd at 3/11/2009; Fearless economic forecasts Posted by mesiamd at 3/11/2009; Fewer local jobs, rising numbers of OFW’s & fishermen plucked from stormy sea Posted by mesiamd at 1/22/2009



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PostHeaderIcon US jobless rate slows, but still high at 8.9%

5/10/2009 | Posted by Anonymous | Edit Post


Banking on hope that USA is on its way to economic recovery, the Obama administration takes consolation in having less than the expected joblessness for the month of April. The US Labor Department reveals that unemployment rate last month has risen to 8.9%, the highest ever since 1983.

Many of the jobs filled are vacancies in the government bureaucracy and less from employment generated by the private sector. This is in spite of the bail-outs given to shore up the ailing financial health of big businesses. The companies which asked for help from the US government have hardly been rehabilitated.

"This was another bad report. There was a significant deterioration in the labor market again. The job loss is large, it is widespread, it is affecting every industry sector and every demographic group," Commissioner of the Bureau of Labor Statistics," Keith Hall said.---Voice of America News.com (08/09/09, Tate, D)

The data showed 539,000 jobs were lost in April, bringing the total number of unemployed to 13.7 million, up from 13.2 million in March. The half a million job loss was lower than what economic experts earlier predicted. It was unclear why the worrisome employment recond didn’t dampen Wall Street which ended in a positive territory as the week ended.

Americans are soberly waiting for the Obama "magic" to take effect. It's too early to say whether the US economy is on the road to recovery. The huge bail-out money infused into the financial market can't be a guarantee. Americans have learned a hard lesson from the reckless spending prior to the recession. Basically, the ordinary US citizen is on his own, just hoping that those who manage the economy of the country will come out doing the right thing. (Photo Credit: Ben Heine) =0=

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PostHeaderIcon The NARS program & the 39,455 who passed the nurses board exam

2/20/2009 | Posted by Anonymous | Edit Post
The Professional Regulations Commission (PRC) announces that 39, 455 successfully hurdled the nursing board examination given last November 2008.

The successful examinees represent 44.5 percent of the total 88,649 who took the test. According to the PRC, Jovie Ann Alawas Decoyna of the Baguio Central University topped the examination with a grade of 89 percent.

With a high rate of joblessness among nurses due to a slump in job recruitment abroad, the addition of licensed nurses in the workforce creates more pressure to create jobs for the new professionals.

The government introduced a “stop-gap measure” versus unemployment by creating the Nurses Assigned in Rural Service (NARS) program which aims to send at least 5 nurses to each of the 1,000 poorest towns in the country. Applicants in the program will be paid a monthly salary of P8,000. Labor Secretary Marianito Roque invites interested nurses to file their applications at the nearest DOLE regional office or submit it online at http://www.nars.dole.gov.ph where application forms may also be downloaded.---GMATVNews (02/20/09, Tan, KJ)

With an estimated joblessness of more than 400,000, it is unlikely that the 5,000 NARS positions will have a dent in easing up the lack of local employment opportunities needed by by the licensed nurses.(Photo Credit: Lucindlunacy) =0=

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