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RECENT POSTS

November 2, 2011 | 1:49 PM | By Pete Bigelow

Michigan’s Economy Shows Mixed Signs Of Improvement And Struggles

Some contradictory news emerged on the Michigan economy today.

The state’s economy is recovering from the Great Recession at the second-fastest pace of any state in the country, according to a Bloomberg index that measures the pace of state growth. Only North Dakota outpaced Michigan, which was led by the resurgence of Detroit’s automakers and local manufacturing.

Seventy percent of Michigan employers said they expected the state’s economic outlook would improve over the next 18 months, according to Bloomberg Businessweek, which first reported the results. But the financial magazine also said the improvement reflects the severity of Michigan’s decline – it ranked last in the index through 2010.

Michigan still has formidable challenges ahead. Elsewhere, a report released today by outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas showed that it ranks as the fourth-highest state or district in number of layoffs to date in 2011. The report said that 29,312 Michigan employees have been laid off so far this year.

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FILED UNDER: Industry, Jobs, auto industry, employment, Michigan, unemployment
November 2, 2011 | 12:12 PM | By Pete Bigelow

Midwest Memo: Budget Cuts Concern Chicago Aldermen, Japanese Currency Adjustment Angers Michigan Contingent

Three stories making news across the Midwest today:

1. Chicago aldermen send Emanuel letter. Saying proposed Chicago budget cuts would hurt public safety and quality of life, a majority of the city’s 50 aldermen have called for Mayor Rahm Emanuel to alter his 2012 city budget. Our partner station WBEZ reports that 28 aldermen signed a letter that said the cuts would cause too many layoffs at city libraries, close too many mental health clinics and endanger public safety. Also, the letter stated they have “reservations” about the doubling of fees for city parking stickers for SUVs.

2. Projected layoffs drop across U.S. After planned layoffs across the U.S. hit a 28-month high in September, they dropped 63 percent to 42,759 in October, according to a new report. Government and financial sectors keyed the rebound, said outplacement consulting firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas. But “the two sectors are not out of the woods, by any means,” John Challenger, CEO, tells the Chicago Tribune. Employers have announced a total of 521,823 planned layoffs so far this year, a jump of 16 percent from 2010. The report comes in advance of Friday’s October jobs report from the federal government.

3. Michigan Senator Slams Currency Adjustment. U.S. Senator Debbie Stabenow of Michigan and a trade group that represents Detroit automakers criticized a decision by the Japanese government to lower the value of the yen. “Currency manipulation gives other countries an anti-competitive advantage and directly translates to lost American jobs, especially in Michigan,” Stabenow told the Detroit News. The automotive trade group that the move, the third this year, essentially subsidizes Japanese exports to the United States while weakening U.S. exports to Japan.

FILED UNDER: Government, Industry, Jobs, Chicago, Debbie Stabenow, employment, Japan, Michigan, Rahm Emanuel, unemployment
October 5, 2011 | 11:45 AM | By Pete Bigelow

Midwest Memo: Midwest Counties Gain Ground, Illinois Seeks Amazon Taxes, Automakers Report Strong Sales

Three stories making news across the Midwest today:

1. Midwest counties lead nation. Several counties in the Midwest are among the country’s biggest beneficiaries of increased employment and wages, according to new data released from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Elkhart County in northern Indiana had the largest percentage increase in employment from March 2010 to March 2011 among the nation’s largest 322 counties, growing its workforce by 6.2 percent. Indiana’s overall employment increased 1.9 percent in the same time span. The next-largest increase belonged to Ottawa County in western Michigan, which grew at 4.7 percent. Peoria County, Illinois showed the largest year-over-year increase in average weekly wages, with a gain of 18.9 percent.

2. Illinois seeks Amazon taxes. Amazon.com has agreed to pay sales taxes in California. Officials are hoping that deal means the online retailer will agree to do the same in Illinois, according to a report in Crain’s Chicago Business today. The Illinois Retail Merchants Association has sent Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos a letter, saying “the tide is turning” and encourages the company to begin collecting Illinois sales tax immediately. Under the California agreement, Amazon agreed to go to Washington D.C. and lobby for national legislation that regulates how internet retailers should be taxed.

3. Big Three post sales gains. Strong sales of trucks and sport utility vehicles buoyed Chrysler in September, when sales rose 27 percent. The automaker led an impressive month for Detroit’s Big Three. Despite a struggling economy, General Motors posted sales gains of 20 percent and Ford’s sales rose 9 percent. “There is no double dip downturn going on around here,” Dodge brand president and chief executive Reid Bigland told The Plain Dealer in Cleveland. At General Motors, the Chevrolet Cruze continued to be the company’s best-selling car, although the sales of the Lordstown, Ohio-built Cruze dipped below 20,000 units for the first time in five months.

FILED UNDER: Government, Industry, Jobs, auto industry, automakers, Chrysler, employees, employment, Ford, General Motors, Illinois, taxes
September 7, 2011 | 11:59 AM | By Pete Bigelow

Midwest Memo: Help Wanted at Cleveland Casino, Groupon May Postpone IPO

Three stories making news across the Midwest today:

1. Cleveland casino hiring. Today marks a milestone in the development of Cleveland’s Horseshoe Casino. After spending hundreds of millions of dollars to refurbish a downtown building, the gambling company is now seeking employees. It is filling 500 positions for dealers – no experience necessary – in positions that will pay as much as $40,000 per year, according to The Plain Dealer. A professor from nearby John Carroll University predicted the jobs would have a multiplier effect on the region. “This is the evidence that it wasn’t just hoopla or overstatement,” LeRoy Brooks told the newspaper. “They’re actually putting up the capital, the training costs.”

2. Sun power, meet sunflower. A Wisconsin energy company is building one of the largest solar projects in the state, and allowing individual investors to buy a stake in the project. The Convergence Energy Solar Farm began construction last year on 14 acres, and will be the state’s second-largest solar farm when completed. “We’re really striving to build local economies,” Steve Johnson, the company’s VP of business development told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “It’s providing an opportunity for people who want to invest in solar and put a little more clean energy on the grid.”

3. Groupon may postpone IPO. Chicago-based Groupon may postpone its upcoming IPO, a delay it attributed to market volatility, according to The Wall Street Journal, which first reported the development. That may not be all. Marketwatch reported today that the company may be skirting the “quiet period” required by businesses once they file papers with the Securities and Exchange Commission, and opines that Groupon CEO Andrew Mason appears “hell-bent on becoming the poster child for business schools and budding entrepreneurs on how not to go public.”

FILED UNDER: Industry, Innovation, Jobs, casinos, Chicago, clean energy, Cleveland, employment, Groupon, Ohio, Wisconsin
August 26, 2011 | 11:33 AM | By Pete Bigelow

Midwest Memo: Michigan Names Struggling Schools, Small-Business Owners Lament Dearth of Qualified Candidates

Three stories making news across the Midwest today:

1. Michigan’s low-achieving schools named. A list of 98 schools in Michigan deemed “low achieving” was released Friday by the state’s Department of Education. More than half of the schools are located in Wayne County, which includes Detroit. Fifty-eight of the schools also earned the same designation last year, according to the Detroit Free Press. In 2010, the state enacted a law that created a state reform district to include the state’s worst-performing schools.

2. Chicago teachers reject proposal. A proposal to lengthen the school day for Chicago students by 90 minutes has met swift rejection from the Chicago Teachers Union. District officials said teachers would receive a 2 percent raise, but union president Karen Lewis tells our partner WBEZ, “they’re asking us to do 28 percent more work for 2 percent – so do the math, it’s not coming out.” Chicago students receive 166 fewer hours of classroom instruction than the nationwide average, school district officials said.

3. Hard to find good help? Some small-business owners in Ohio say they’re having a hard time filling job openings in the Cleveland area because they cannot find workers will needed skills – or with much interest in working. They tell the Plain Dealer in Cleveland that some workers appear complacent because they can fall back on unemployment benefits. “With this economy, I’m very shocked at how hard it is to find skilled help,” car-care center owner Mike Paradise tells the newspaper.

FILED UNDER: Government, Jobs, Chicago, employment, Michigan, schools, unions