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Major telecom layoffs in France (Wednesday, 10/31/01)
Alcatel is a big telecommunications equipment manufacturer, but not as big as it used to be. Losses have led to big job cuts, including the latest round of 10,000.

In some ways, it's looking more like the early '90s (Wednesday, 10/31/01)
Not only did the Gross Domestic Product shrink more during the third quarter than at any time in the past decade, the Conference Board says consumer confidence is at its lowest since 1994, and that shouldn't be surprising, writes columnist Rick Babson. Moreover, another columnist, Jerry Heaster, says that we shouldn't expect recovery from the new recession to be either quick or easy. Despite widespread optimistic forecasts, the Bush administration seems nervous about the prospects for recovery next year and seems willing to compromise in order to get a major stimulus package enacted into law quickly.

Japan's unemployment in perspective (Wednesday, 10/31/01)
Japan's unemployment rate hit 5.3 percent in September, a post-war record. Considering that Japan was left flattened and incapacitated at the end of World War II, that's saying quite a lot. The past ten years haven't been one continuous recession, but, instead, four. It's been a rough decade for the economy that once was referred to as the "Japanese miracle." Remember that only a few years ago American corporations were sending their executives to Japan in an effort to learn "how they do it."

Japan's economy is very much dependent on exports, so when the global economy slows, Japanese exports slow. Moreover, the U.S. is the world's largest market, and as we've reported, consumer spending in America is way down.

Historic structural and cultural changes appear to be underway in Japan. For instance, it used to be that the "Japan Incorporated" model meant that the government took care of Japanese companies and the companies took care of their workers, who could expect jobs for life. Not anymore, though. Michael Millet of Australia's The Age writes from Tokyo that the jobs-for-life system may soon be seen only in the history books, and Tokyo's Asahi Shimbun reports that joblessness seems to have become a chronic feature of Japanese life.

Incidentally, if you're used to American and European unemployment numbers, 5.3 percent may not seem all that bad. However, it's all in the differing ways that unemployment is measured across various countries. Given common European criteria for what it takes to be counted as "unemployed," 5.3 wouldn't be bad. Given Japan's criteria, however, it's awful.

Big changes may be due in federal farm policy (Wednesday, 10/31/01)
Democratic Senator Tom Harkin heads the Senate Agriculture Committee. He believes that his plan would not only bring major changes to the federal government's approach to agriculture and conservation, but is likely to have broad support, not only in the Senate but also in the Administration. Among other things, farmers would have more choices available.

When work isn't a good thing (Wednesday, 10/31/01)
Not so long ago during the early days of the Industrial Revolution, relentless child labor wasn't considered a social problem, but, instead, evidence of industriousness. A laboring child was not a lazy child, and, besides, there wasn't any public education service available anyway, so labor was the only alternative to idleness, which most families couldn't afford. A kid could learn most of what he would need to know about work on the job by the time he was fourteen or so, and, in many cases, particularly in the "potteries" of England's Midlands, given the conditions of work and work environments, a young person's lifespan might not extend past his teens.

Eventually, required skill levels implied longer periods of preparation, and, because of the work of Sigmund Freud and others, children came to be seen as something other than simply small adults. The early years were qualitatively different from the adult period and were filled with developmental hazards and possibilities, we learned. And, so, compulsory education and child labor laws were born.

Now, American kids are legally required to remain in school through at least their mid-teens, but this doesn't mean that they can't continue working on the side. Richard Rothstein reports that a new study finds that too much work may be responsible for the decline in academic performance that often sets in during the middle school and high school years.

Snapshot of the homeless population (Wednesday, 10/31/01)
The Census Bureau made a one-day count of homeless persons in the United States and found 170,000, at least in shelters.

An assault on financial illiteracy (Wednesday, 10/31/01)
Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan has expressed his concern with widespread financial innocence in American society, and Wells Fargo Bank has decided to do something about it. A new program will attempt to educate 100,000 American students during the next year, beginning at the fourth grade.

Looking for bright spots (Wednesday, 10/31/01)
Even though it may be hard to believe, you might even benefit from the recession and widespread layoffs...particularly if you can keep your job. Here's more from the Seattle Times. Also, Nancy Friedberg tells about what she does for a living. She helps others with their careers, and, by so doing, also helps her own.

Hell, no, I won't go (Wednesday, 10/31/01)
Older readers will remember this familiar cry from some American draft resisters in relation to the Vietnam War of a generation ago. Now, you're more likely to hear something like this from people who aren't willing to rip their families up by the roots and relocate simply in order to get a promotion, or even to keep their jobs. Among other things, the September 11 attack has gotten a lot of people to thinking harder about their life and family priorities, according to new research from Challenger, Gray and Christmas. Of course, it's easier now to stay where you're at and still work elsewhere. Amanda Paulson reports that telecommuting is gaining ground.

Ethics in the workplace (Wednesday, 10/31/01)
More companies are developing ethics programs, and researchers at Pennsylvania State University find that workers who feel that they are treated fairly by their employers are more likely to report violations of the company's ethical code.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Re-Thinking Corporate Security in a Time of Terror (Wednesday, 10/31/01)
ABC News offers some advice on keeping your workplace safe.

Another unemployment record in Japan (Tuesday, 10/30/01)
It was only two months ago that the Japanese unemployment rate hit a record high. Now, it's done it again.

Working poor hit particularly hard in the U.S. (Tuesday, 10/30/01)
The American economy seems to have slammed on the brakes. The Gross Domestic Product during the third quarter of 2001 seems to have been at its worst since the last recession that ended in the early '90s. Layoffs continue at a furious rate, and those at the bottom of the income scale are suffering disproportionately, according to Stephanie Armour of USA Today.

Layoff indicators (Tuesday, 10/30/01)
Is your job in jeopardy? Here are ten things to look for that could suggest that layoff is in your future.

Defense contractors for the new era (Tuesday, 10/30/01)
Edward Iwata reports from San Francisco that new hi-tech and biotech skills will be particularly important in the nation's defense from now on. Also, remember when "workplace security" was confined mostly to worker violence? No more, according to columnist Diane Stafford, but it will be a principal concern from now on anyway.

Can employers refuse to hire a job applicant for his/her own protection? (Tuesday, 10/30/01)
Linda Greenhouse of the New York Times reports that the Supreme Court has agreed to decide another issue relating to the disability law.

Inflation in the higher ed sector (Tuesday, 10/30/01)
Overall, inflation hasn't been a problem in the American economy for quite a long time. However, college costs have continued to escalate much faster than costs for many other things in the U.S. economy, and that gap widened last year, according to The College Board. American higher education institutions have been trying to hold costs down by relying on part-time instructors whom they tend to pay far less per class-contact hour than full-time faculty, according to U.S. Department of Education statistics, and Mary Beth Marklein of USA Today some adjunct professors have been demonstrating for higher pay around the country.

The importance of financial education (Tuesday, 10/30/01)
One of the problems with liberal arts education is that people often can't see why it is important until they've had quite a bit of it, meaning that they often aren't motivated to get it until they've had it. Similarly, former Senator William Proxmire of Wisconsin gave his "Golden Fleece Award" to Minnesota professor Ellen Berscheid for the grant she obtained in order to do research on love. Who needs to study love? Everybody knows about love, don't they? Well, in fact, no--few people really seem to know much about it, and, in fact, Americans seem greatly confused, considering the wide variety of often contradictory ways in which the word "love" is used.

Do Americans see the need for financial or economic education? Fed Head Greenspan thinks they should. Here's more from Romy Ribitzky of ABC News. In other education news, Jacques Steinberg reports that community colleges are benefiting from the fact that many laid off workers are seeking new training.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Harvard Trade Union Executive Program (Tuesday, 10/30/01)
Harvard University offers a six-week residential program for union executives and senior staff.

Take a couple of aspirin and cover your eyes (Monday, 10/29/01)
You may not like what you see when the new economic data come out this week. Kansas City Star columnist Jerry Heaster has more about the likely discomforting ugliness of it all. For one thing, there are few things less pretty than a shrinking economy, and that appears to be what America has on its hands at the moment. Brendan Murray and Kristy McKeaney write in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel about the high rate of firing just in time for Halloween. More jobs have been lost this month than during any month since Ronald Reagan was president, they say.

Growth still hard to achieve in Japan (Monday, 10/29/01)
During the 1990s, when the American economy was booming, the Japanese economy, the world's second-largest, was struggling. Now that the American economy is struggling, the Japanese economy is still struggling. Japan's central bank says it expects continuing economic shrinkage until a year from next spring. Meanwhile, Clay Chandler reports from Oksaka on increasing homelessness in Japan. There is good reason to expect that the U.S. economy will recover before too long, but experts are beginning to wonder about Japan's long-term future. Will it recede from global economic prominence and have to content itself with less influence as well as a lower standard of living for the remainder of the 21st century? We don't know either.

What Democrats want in the stimulus plan (Monday, 10/29/01)
The $100 billion stimulus bill passed the House by an extremely narrow margin, suggesting that whatever becomes law is likely to different significantly from that bill. Also, the Senate is (barely) controlled by the Democrats, who tend to have their own priorities. For instance, as Curt Anderson reports from Washington, Senate Democrats are saying that a deal will depend on the inclusion of help with health insurance for laid off workers. Incidentally, Lea Sitton Stanley of the Philadelphia Inquirer reports on how some laid-off airline workers are doing. And, do workers believe that employers are laying off people just to increase profits? No, not according to research conducted by the Employment Law Alliance. Here's more from John Morrison of the Philadelphia Daily News.

Tech visas no longer in short supply (Monday, 10/29/01)
Not so long ago, guestimates were that it would be at least ten years before the supply-demand gap for hi-tech workers would narrow, if then. Silicon Valley employers were lobbying hard to raise the ceiling on H-1B visas so that tech experts from other countries could be brought in to take jobs in the American hi-tech industry. However, Patrick Thibodeau of CNN reports that the deflation of the tech bubble plus a recession have resulted in a greatly changed situation. Not all available H1-B visas were used during the fiscal year ended last month.

Procter and Gamble sees support of diversity as in its enlightened self-interest (Monday, 10/29/01)
The United States is quickly moving toward a time when it will be a nation of minorities. Procter and Gamble plans to go with and encourage the trend toward greater diversity in the United States by placing $1.5 billion in yearly orders with minority and women suppliers by 2005.

Weight and earnings (Monday, 10/29/01)
Cornell University researchers have found a correlation between weight and earnings for white women, but not African American and Latino women. Also in the Sacramento Bee, Melanie Payne reports that employer attitudes toward called-up reservists appear to remain fairly positive.

Something to sing about (Monday, 10/29/01)
The Dallas Opera and its musicians have reached tentative agreement on a new contract.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Monthly Economic and Social Indicators (Monday, 10/29/01)
Policy makers in the United States eagerly await each new batch of economic data in the hope of getting a sense of trends and which things need tuning...or rescuing. Same in other countries. For example, the Statistics Group of the Parliament of Australia makes the Monthly Economic and Social Indicators available to Members. And, of course, one of the nice things about democracies, which totalitarians will never understand, is that a lot of the same information is made freely available to anybody else who is interested. In fact, social structure is largely determined by who can talk to whom about what under which circumstances. Totalitarians tend to fear the free flow of information and ideas more than nearly anything else, and with good reason.

Nervous exploration of new territory (Sunday, 10/28/01)
There never has been an attack on the U.S. quite like that of September 11, 2001, and there never have been economic conditions quite like those that business as well as government leaders are facing right now either. Moreover, there aren't any "operator's manuals" or tour guides available. David Ivanovich reports on how leaders are trying to feel their way.

More workers get anthrax antibiotics (Sunday, 10/28/01)
Traces of anthrax have been found at more governmental locations in Washington, and people who work in House offices are beginning treatment.

Slight delay in Argentina's announcement (Sunday, 10/28/01)
The Argentine economy has been in a long slump and has continued to make other nations in the region nervous, lest the infection spread. President le la Rua had intended to announce a new economic package today, but has decided to wait a few days in order to polish it up a bit.

Layoff can mean time to consider the next stage (Sunday, 10/28/01)
Noah Barkin reports that many New York bankers who have been laid off are learning that it's not all a bad thing.

Diplomacy pays (Sunday, 10/28/01)
David Kaplan of the Houston Chronicle tells about how a new owner can best deal with long-time employees.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Monthly Executive Summary on Indian Economy (Sunday, 10/28/01)
You can track economic trends in the world's largest democracy and second-largest nation through India Infoline's Monthly Executive Summary on Indian Economy.

Postal union wants mail processing plant shut down until it's safe (Saturday, 10/27/01)
Local President William Smith says the big New York plant is still contaminated with anthrax and should be closed until it's once again a safe place to work. The union is threatening a lawsuit if there is no response from the government.

Layoffs up 41 percent last month (Saturday, 10/27/01)
New data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics at the U.S. Department of Labor indicate that employers laid off workers in September at a rate 41 percent higher than a year earlier. The big hit taken by the U.S. economy in the aftermath of the September 11 terrorist attack had a lot to do with it, but the economy had been slowing for sometime before the attack. Now, Boeing has an additional reason to expect additional layoffs. They lost out to Lockheed Martin on a huge Joint Strike Fighter contract.

Fujitsu to upgrade its wage negotiations criterion (Saturday, 10/27/01)
The huge Japanese electronics company is breaking away from the pack in recognizing that the typical worker in the Japanese tech industry is now a college graduate, rather than a high school graduate. Here are details from Tokyo's Asahi Shimbun. Meanwhile, the tech downturn within the long-struggling Japanese economy is putting many subcontracting firms in a bind when it comes to managing the large numbers of layoffs, according to Toshiki Horigome, Takashi Kanemitsu, and Sunao Gushiken in Tokyo.

Native American business involvement begins to broaden (Saturday, 10/27/01)
Overall, Native Americans are still the most impoverished and deprived of U.S. minority groups, but some tribes have done very well in the casino business. Now, as Char Simons reports, some are trying to move into other industries, and there are programs available to help those who want to learn how to become effective entrepreneurs.

Health training in Lebanon (Saturday, 10/27/01)
Samar Kanafani of Lebanon's The Daily Star reports on a successful program that has trained 90 persons to become nurses' assistants, and it may be a model for helping those from impoverished communities, as well as helping to bolster the country's health care system.

Deciding on 401(k) contributions (Saturday, 10/27/01)
The Christian Science Monitor's Amanda Paulson passes on some guidelines for those trying to decide how much of their salary to contribute to a 401(k) retirement fund. In fact, Americans increasingly are faced with a bewildering array of financial choices throughout their lives now, making it all the more important that the overall level of financial literacy be increased substantially, according to the Chairman of the Federal Reserve. In the new economy, not only have required work skill levels risen substantially, it now requires far greater knowledge and skill just to live successfully.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Indicators on Unemployment (Saturday, 10/27/01)
The United Nations makes cross-national comparisons possible with its Indicators on Unemployment. Note that the UN statistics office must first establish a consistent criterion of joblessness, given that the nations of the world differ greatly in how they define and measure unemployment.

Few now doubt that the U.S. economy is in recession (Friday, 10/26/01)
By definition, a recession is two consecutive quarters of negative growth, so a it can't be officially declared until those two quarters have happened. However, all indications are that a recession is now underway, meaning that the American economy, instead of growing, is shrinking a bit. It doesn't take an actual recession for a lot of people to experience pain, because the economy has to grow just to keep pace with population growth, new graduates entering the job market, and so on. These problems are compounded when needs are growing at the same time that the economy is shrinking.

New jobless claims exceed 500,000 last week (Friday, 10/26/01)
The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits is now at its second-highest level in ten years. If you're seeking work, the chances of getting lost in the multitude of job seekers is increasing week by week. For instance, Joel Dresang of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writes that new college graduates and those about to graduate are scaling back their expectations, feeling that nearly any job will be a good job for a while. New York City has a special reason for its shortage of jobs, as everybody knows. Edward Wyatt of the New York Times reports on a second Twin Towers Job Expo at Madison Square Garden, and 10,000 people turned out.

Sorry, the IRS says it can't give money back in time for holiday spending (Friday, 10/26/01)
The House has passed its $100 billion stimulus plan, and, though it's likely to undergo significant change in the Senate version, both Congressional leaders and the White House want to expedite the process in order to help the American economy get going again as soon as possible. Rebates to lower-income taxpayers are likely to be included, and, if people had that money in their hands in time for holiday shopping, it might enter the retail stream faster than otherwise. However, the Internal Revenue Service says that there just isn't time to send out another round of rebate checks before Christmas.

New motivation for the pursuit of energy self-sufficiency (Friday, 10/26/01)
Leon Drouin Keith says that the current global political situation, including the new war on terrorism, is stimulating additional interest in reducing America's dependence on foreign oil. The U.S. has a gluttonous appetite for energy and consumes far out of proportion to its share of world population. Moreover, half of this energy comes from foreign sources. Not only that, but about a quarter of the world's supply of oil is located in Saudi Arabia, where the ruling monarchy might possibly be threatened by fundamentalist Islamic sentiment, and, if it were to be replaced by an alternative government, that new government would likely have more resemblance to Afghanistan's Taliban than to Western democracies.

It all adds up to a growing sense of emergency that extends beyond concern with further terrorist attacks in the U.S. itself. The Bush administration has been emphasizing the need to reduce America's foreign dependence on oil since its beginning, but its desire to make greater use of U.S.-controlled reserves has met with resistance from those concerned with the environmental impact of additional drilling, as well as concern with global warming.

Administration officials claim that independence cannot be achieved through energy conservation or renewable sources alone, at least not for the foreseeable future. However, will there ever be a better time for Americans to examine a lifestyle that squanders energy and to consider the difference between "quality of life" and material "standard of living" as ordinarily defined during recent decades? For example, the decade of the 1950s was a prosperous time in America, but, on average, houses were smaller and energy consumption was less. Is life in America really better now because of our greater extravagance and greater energy consumption?

No more business as usual, according to corporate ethics officials (Friday, 10/26/01)
The September 11 attack may result in a permanent change in the way employers and workers interact, according to participants in a meeting of the Ethics Officers Association. Here's more from Karin Miller in Nashville. However, Sana Siwolop reports that corporate lawyers are getting increasingly nervous about the legal implications of trying to respond to employee needs following the attacks.

The special problem of people here on work visas (Friday, 10/26/01)
If you're in the United States legally on a work visa, what happens when you're laid off? What then? L. M. Sixel of the Houston Chronicle explains the situation of a lot of people who are caught in the current economic crunch. Meanwhile, David Chen and Somini Sengupta report that many people don't have to be American citizens yet in order to be willing to fight in defense of the United States.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: The Geography of Diversity in the U.S. (Friday, 10/26/01)
It's clear that the United States is becoming a far more diverse society, reflecting, to a greater extent, the diversity that always has existed in the human population worldwide. However, this diversity certainly is not equally distributed throughout all regions of the United States. The Population Reference Bureau offers a look at the Geography of Diversity in the U.S.

It's official: the September 11 attack slammed the American economy...hard (Thursday, 10/25/01)
For a time following the terrorist attack on September 11, the latest economic data reflected conditions previous to that fateful day, and, while nearly everyone assumed that the latest available data were obsolete, it would be awhile before information reflecting the changed circumstances would become available. Now, a new report from the Federal Reserve mostly confirms what has been suspected, and leads many experts to expect that the Fed will cut interest rates again and do so aggressively.

Nearly everybody, including leaders in both major political parties, agrees that the American economy needs a boost, particularly now, although there is disagreement about details. Well, maybe about more than details. Generally, many Republicans would like to help the corporations that provide the jobs, because they see it as mainly an investment recession, while many Democrats believe that money should be put in the hands of consumers in order to boost consumer demand. The House of Representatives has passed its $100 billion stimulus package, but, as Jim Drinkard of USA Today reports, just barely. The Senate version is likely to be different, in large part because of greater Democratic influence on that side of the Capitol.

Managing stress in the postal system (Thursday, 10/25/01)
Francis Clines tells about the tough job that a union leader has in reassuring postal workers who are used to being stressed, but who are finding that having to worry about anthrax is a bit too much.

Euro tensions rise (Thursday, 10/25/01)
It is only weeks before the scheduled introduction of a single European currency across 12 countries, and many of Europe's leaders are concerned that the timing couldn't be much worse. The Washington Post's William Drozdiak writes about concerns that a new kind of crisis may be brewing, given the global slump and the growing probability that several national European economies are dipping into recession.

Restructuring plus recession results in major job cuts (Thursday, 10/25/01)
Kodak and Sears, like most other major corporations, have been hit by the big economic downturn in the United States, but both also have more fundamental problems that would have been influencing their decisions, even if the 1990s boom were continuing. In fact, Kodak announced the cutting of 3,500 jobs last April. Now, another 4,000 will go. Sears has announced that it will cut 4,900 jobs as part of a corporate restructuring.

In addition to everything else, Kodak has been trying to adjust to the new world of digital photography, as has its long-time rival Polaroid, which has declared bankruptcy. The most fundamental problem for both companies seems to be that the era of dominance of chemically-based photographic imaging, which began in the 1840s, seems to be drawing to a close.

Sears also faces a fundamentally changed consumer market. For many years, Sears was the dominant U.S. retailer, leaving its former catalog rival, Montgomery Ward, very much behind. Two "five and dime" chains, Woolworth's and Kresge, took very different paths. Woolworth's tried to remain a traditional five-and-dime discounter with only incremental adjustments, and eventually went out of business. Kresge, on the other hand, became Kmart, and displaced Sears as the largest retailing organization, only to be displaced itself by Wal-Mart, which introduced tremendous operational efficiencies through the use of computers and "just-in-time" inventory processes.

Kodak has been trying to become a major player in the digital imaging industry, where it faces competition from a multitude of electronics companies, and Sears will try to become a discounter.

Meanwhile, in the food sector, Hershey will cut plants and jobs, while the recently FTC-approved merger of General Mills and Pillsbury is likely to result in job cuts, but, so far, it isn't clear how many. In the service sector, immigrants are being hit especially hard by layoffs, according to Deborah Kong in San Jose.

EDS cuts severance payments (Thursday, 10/25/01)
Electronic Data Systems will begin paying laid-off workers 4 weeks severance rather than 26, as previously, in order to cut costs, according to Jeff Bennett of the Detroit Free Press. You may recall that EDS is the company founded by Ross Perot, although he has had no involvement in it for many years.

Many boomers may have to downsize (Thursday, 10/25/01)
Columnist Diane Stafford says that many members of the baby boomer generation born between 1946 and 1964 will have to reduce their expectations and standard of living during retirement, because they haven't been saving enough.

Family friendliness at Ford (Thursday, 10/25/01)
A dozen family and child care centers will be opening at various locations over the next two years, a joint project of Ford, the United Auto Workers, and Viseton Corporation. Both current and former employees can make use of the centers and their services. The first has opened in Sterling Heights, Michigan.

How many illegal immigrants are in the United States? (Thursday, 10/25/01)
New Census data suggest that there are more than previously thought. The best current guess seems to be somewhere between 7 and 8 million.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: International Labour Migration Database (Thursday, 10/25/01)
The International Labour Migration Database comes from the International Labor Organization, an agency of the United Nations. It provides data on labor migrants by country in order to provide cross-national comparisons.

"Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds" (Wednesday, 10/24/01)
That's still true, but many American postal workers are remembering the "good old days" when the worst hazard might be somebody's suspicious and angry dog. Laura Meckler reports from Washington, D.C. that two postal workers have died from the inhalation version of anthrax. Ten-thousand D.C. area postal workers will receive the anti-anthrax drug, for starters. However, many persons have been critical of the government's response, saying that things happened more quickly in relation to contamination in a powerful Senator's office. Some of the airlines aren't entirely satisfied with the pace of governmental assistance either, writes Laurence Zuckerman.

Bad projections (Wednesday, 10/24/01)
The Conference Board's Index of Leading Economic Indicators does a pretty good job of forecasting economic activity a few months ahead. It might be less troubling if the Index weren't as accurate as it is, because it slipped to its lowest level in five years last month. Here's more from Lisi de Bourbon in New York.

More unkind cuts (Wednesday, 10/24/01)
The American telecommunications sector is experiencing a lot of static. SBC Communications will cut thousands of jobs, and they're not the only ones. AT&T isn't done cutting, as it turns out, and Bell South will cut 3,000 jobs and Sprint 6,000. The head of Sprint explains in an interview in today's Kansas City Star. Other sectors are similarly affected. Felicity Barrainger reports that U.S. News & World Report, which already has made cuts, will try to avoid additional ones by slicing everybody's salaries by 10 percent. In the tech sector, leading printer manufacturer Lexmark will cut 12 percent of its workforce, which amounts to 1,600 jobs. Also, Phelps Dodge will close some mines and cut 1,440 workers. In Japan, additional losses at Fujitsu will mean that another 4,500 job cuts will be added to the 16,400 announced in August.

Maybe a little less stimulus (Wednesday, 10/24/01)
The House plan for boosting the American economy would cost $100 billion, but the President would like to see that cut to $75 billion, so changes may be underway in the Senate version of the bill. Meanwhile, the White House would like to wait until next year before finalizing a new farm assistance bill, but Senator Daschle wants to move ahead on it now.

Will state workers be voting for Governor Ventura next time? (Wednesday, 10/24/01)
Patricia Lopez Baden reports in today's Minneapolis Star Tribune that Minnesota Governor Jesse Ventura doesn't think state workers should be permitted to strike, as they did recently. There was widespread support for the Governor among state workers shortly after his election, and several even voted for him, according to what many were saying. However, there is reason to believe that he might not have such broad support from state workers in a re-election campaign. However, to say the very least, Jesse Ventura is not your garden-variety politician, so it might be a mistake to assume that he will run for re-election. At the moment, he's not saying, and, if you're a member of the Minnesota press, you may be the last to know. One thing sure: he's never had difficulty stirring controversy or calling attention to himself. His job approval ratings tend to remain fairly high among Minnesotans, but he's been turning up the heat on his conflict with local and state media recently, including Ms. Baden's newspaper. Talk radio is more reliable than the news, he says.

Northwest Airlines sued by its largest union (Wednesday, 10/24/01)
The International Association of Machinists doesn't feel that its members are well-prepared to conduct the new security searches.

Male executives prefer female mentors (Wednesday, 10/24/01)
Most top corporate positions are occupied by men, but a new study finds that men tend to prefer to be coached by women. Here's more from Del Jones of USA Today.

A very short strike in Portland (Wednesday, 10/24/01)
City workers in Portland, Oregon walked off the job for only 45 minutes before agreement was reached on a new contract.

Venture capital's impact on the American economy (Wednesday, 10/24/01)
A study from the National Venture Capital Association finds that companies supported by venture capital investments produced 13 percent of U.S. output last year.

Remember the things we were worrying about a few weeks ago? (Wednesday, 10/24/01)
There is nothing that distracts the mind like tangible evidence that there really are people in the world who would kill all Americans if they could and destroy Western democracy, including some of the things they find most offensive, such as personal freedom, government by the people, the increasing pursuit of gender equality, material success, and like that. However, even though recent events have pushed them off the front page, a number of other major problems have not gone away or solved themselves. The Christian Science Monitor takes another look at the American healthcare system and what Americans are thinking about it when their minds aren't occupied by safety and security concerns. Speaking of security, David Francis discusses the abrupt shift of focus in the immigration debate.

More women are studying online (Wednesday, 10/24/01)
Jilian Mincer reports that busy women are making themselves even busier by pursuing self-improvement through online courses. The American Association of University Women has published a new report on it called The Third Shift: Women Learning Online. Meanwhile, Amanda Paulson reports that, according to Census Bureau data, fewer women are returning to work immediately following the birth of a child. Ms. Paulson also reports that more Americans are finding a way to work from home and have home offices set up for that purpose.

America's well-off are feeling slightly less well-off (Wednesday, 10/24/01)
This is a good time to think about what is most precious about America and worth going to war or dying in order to protect. Opulence and luxury probably weren't what Washington, Jefferson, and Lincoln had in mind.

Still, despite the need for some tuning, not all of it simply fine-tuning, the United States has been an enormously successful society far beyond the wildest imaginings of the ancestors of most Americans as well as most persons living throughout the world now. Wealth is only part of it, but America certainly is wealthy. Some persons really do intend to use their wealth to advance humanity, while others may have a somewhat more limited view of the uses to which extra money can be put.

Stephanie Strom writes about Americans who are among the most affluent but feeling a little less like they have money to squander in order to show off. Constance Hays reports that market for luxury possessions has hit the skids, which might have provided more encouragement about the overall level of personal development of wealthy Americans if it had occurred during the 1990s. Noel Paul of the Christian Science Monitor says some Americans are feeling a little uncomfortable with their wealth now, so, they're spending more in order to give the appearance of having less. Clayton Collins also examines spending patterns in the post-September 11 era. Are there real trends of interest here, or is it all just ripples rather than waves or just sampling noise? Stay tuned.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Cost-Of-Living Calculator (Wednesday, 10/24/01)
Here's a Cost-Of-Living Calculator that can help you determine what it costs to live now compared to any year back to 1913. For instance, $100 in 1913 had the same buying power as almost $1,800 this year.

More security at Microsoft (Tuesday, 10/16/01)
The world's largest computers software company seems to be a target of those who would like people to develop anthrax, and Bill Gates has announced that Microsoft will strengthen security measures to protect its employees. Many companies are tightening security in their mailrooms , according to Glen Creno and Max Jarman of the Arizona Republic.

Strikes at defense contractor installations (Tuesday, 10/16/01)
More than 800 UAW members have gone on strike at three General Dynamics plants that manufacture military vehicles.

Desperate Afghans (Tuesday, 10/16/01)
Twenty years of war, a destroyed economy, a lengthy drought, a crazy government, and now American bombing have resulted in a lot of Afghans becoming very hungry. Some are selling their possessions to buy food in Kabul, according to the New York Times.

Japan's economy worsens (Tuesday, 10/16/01)
A new report from the Bank of Japan says that the world's second-largest economy is getting worse, not better.

More job cuts (Tuesday, 10/16/01)
Unisys and Commerce One Corporation are making major job cuts because of reduced business demand for their products and services. Also, Germany's Commerzbank intends to cut 3,400 jobs by the year after next.

France to help its airlines (Tuesday, 10/16/01)
The French government has an emergency funding plan to assist its struggling airlines because of the downturn in the air transport industry following the September 11 terrorist attack in the United States.

Bush praises federal workers, but doesn't want too many more of them (Tuesday, 10/16/01)
The President believes that federal workers have been responding very well during a time of national emergency, but warns against making the permanent enlargements in the size of government that can easily happen during wartime.

Who should expect severance payments (Tuesday, 10/16/01)
Not everybody who leaves a job, says Diane Stafford of the Kansas City Star. Much severance is paid because employers want to , not because they have to.

New rules for college savings plans (Tuesday, 10/16/01)
Columnist Susan Tompor says that 529 college savings plans have had some flaws, gut are about to get better.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Center for Defense Information (Tuesday, 10/16/01)
The Center for Defense Information is an independent research organization that studies funding, staffing, readiness, and other issues.

A stimulus that may not stimulate (Monday, 10/15/01)
Sebastian Mallaby of the Washington Post is puzzled by some elements of the House bill to stimulate the American economy. Why, for instance, would the bill put additional money into the pockets of the rich at a time when the recession probably will be over?

Mexican workers hit hard on both sides of the border (Monday, 10/15/01)
Mexican immigrants have been disproportionately influenced by huge layoffs in the travel and hospitality industries, and, as Sam Dillon reports, there have been major layoffs south of the border as well.

Why Washington sometimes can help when states can't (Monday, 10/15/01)
The federal government can engage in deficit spending when necessary, but states must balance their budgets. The Minneapolis Star Tribune's editorial writers say this is why Washington may be able to help in the rebuilding of the U.S. rural economy by promoting telework.

Lufthansa's plan for saving jobs (Monday, 10/15/01)
The big German airline may try to avoid layoffs by going to a four-day work week at reduced salaries. Over the years, European companies have been more interested in trying these kinds of "job sharing" techniques than American companies.

Perhaps not an oxymoron after all: boomer frugality (Monday, 10/15/01)
The boomer generation has been known more for spending than saving, but that may be changing in the aftermath of the September 11 terrorist attack.

Hoffa challenged (Monday, 10/15/01)
Tom Leedham of Oregon thinks he has a better chance this time of replacing James Hoffa as president of the Teamsters.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: The Center for Working-Class Studies (Monday, 10/15/01)
Youngstown, Ohio seems to be an appropriate place for The Center for Working-Class Studies, which is located at Youngstown State University.

Settlement in Minnesota (Sunday, 10/14/01)
The two-week strike of 23,000 state workers in Minnesota appears to be over. Dane Smith of the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports that tentative agreement has been reached.

A wave spreads across Latin America (Sunday, 10/14/01)
Fears of persistent recession spread as Latin American economies slow in the aftermath of the September 11 attack and its impact on the U.S. economy. Meanwhile, one of the new Nobel Laureates in economics says that the American economy is in recession now, but the fundamentals are okay, so a depression isn't on the horizon.

Columnist believes that the new spending should be done by the government (Sunday, 10/14/01)
Jim Barlow of the Houston Chronicle thinks that, to have an immediate stimulative effect on the economy, the emphasis should be on government spending, because it will make things happen faster than if the extra money is left to consumers to either spend or save as they see fit. Louis Uchitelle of the New York Times looks at the various choices for spending available to government, and editorial writers at the Minneapolis Star Tribune have some suggestions for how federal spending can be done in such as way as to help the states. Senate Majority Leader Daschle is willing to compromise, but wants the stimulus plan to be temporary. Congressional Democrats are not enthusiastic about the $100 billion package passed by the House Ways and Means Committee because it doesn't provide enough help for the unemployed, they say.

The new debate over health benefits (Sunday, 10/14/01)
The President and Congressional leaders appear to agree that there should be government help to provide health benefits to laid off workers, but there is considerable disagreement over the details.

Unemployment up in Silicon Valley (Sunday, 10/14/01)
Unemployment in America's technology corridor between San Francisco and San San Jose Mercury News reached 5.9 percent in September.

Thoughts about that new low-income tax credit (Sunday, 10/14/01)
The Washington Post's Albert Crenshaw says that the new retirement savings tax credit is worth taking advantage of, but wonders how many lower-income people will be able to. It's part of the tax-cut package from earlier in the year.

Retailing's new orientation (Sunday, 10/14/01)
From now on, retailers who want to hold on to part-time workers will have to offer flexibility and benefits, according to experts. Here's more from the Dallas Morning News.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Dealing with anthrax suspicion in the workplace (Sunday, 10/14/01)
Here is some advice for dealing with anthrax suspicion in the workplace from Pacific Business News. Also, the Nebraska Health and Human Services System offers an anthrax fact sheet.

Some expert views (Saturday, 10/13/01)
The New York Times has gathered together four major economic writers and has asked for their advice about the best way to boost the American economy. Meanwhile, the House Ways and Means Committee has approved a $100 billion stimulus package. David Royse reports from Tallahassee that Florida's governor has been meeting with business leaders about how to get that state's economy going. Among other things, they've decided to accelerate road and school construction in order to create thousands of jobs.

Thousands of Boeing workers to be home before Christmas (Saturday, 10/13/01)
Home nearly all the time, that is, because they will have been laid off by the big aircraft manufacturer. Approximately 12,000 jobs will be cut by the middle of December. Total job cuts could reach 30,000 by the end of next year.

Dark picture at Polaroid (Saturday, 10/13/01)
There was a time when Polaroid, with its break-through instant photography technology, was one of America's hottest companies and hottest stocks. However, in the digital age, chemically-based instant photos aren't nearly so interesting to consumers as they used to be. Polaroid Corporation has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, and a judge has cleared the way for millions of dollars in emergency funds so that the company can meet its payroll. Polaroid has been seeking a buyer.

Cuts at DaimlerChrysler (Saturday, 10/13/01)
Madeline Chambers and Justin Hyde reports that DaimlerChrysler is restructuring its commercial truck division and cutting nearly a fifth of its jobs. There have also been reports that Ford will cut hourly workers, but the company is denying it.

Carey acquitted (Saturday, 10/13/01)
Ron Carey was seen by many as a successful president of the Teamsters during the 1990s, but, then, was charged with perjury in relation to other charges that he used union funds for his reelection campaign against James Hoffa in 1996. Mr. Carey has just been acquitted of the perjury charges.

New sources of job stress (Saturday, 10/13/01)
John Gallagher tells why many flight attendants and postal workers are nervous about going to work, and you can probably guess the reasons. Meanwhile, Bill Graham tells why some aviation officials are concerned about the possibility that airport security jobs might be federalized.

Being a broker used to be more fun for many New Yorkers (Saturday, 10/13/01)
Patrick McGeehan reports on the very difficult process of adjusting to work in the very much altered center of the financial world. Old routines are gone, and there is the nagging fear that new ones will never be established.

Economists begin packing for their trip to Stockholm (Saturday, 10/13/01)
A couple of dozen recipients of the Nobel Prize in economics will be attending the big 100th anniversary celebration in Stockholm, but whether other Nobel Laureates will talk to them is another matter. It seems to have something to do with the fact that many people in fields like physics, for example, still don't consider economics to be a real "science." Psychology suffers from the same credibility problem among those in the so-called "hard sciences." The other thing that economics and psychology share in common is that nearly everybody believes they know more about these things than the experts. Here's more from Sylvia Nasar about scholars who may or may not be dismal.

At any rate, if a certain level of precision is required in order to be a science, fields such as physics and chemistry weren't real sciences either not so long ago. At what point did they achieve their genuine scientific status? It probably has more to do with the nature of the methods used for studying some aspect of nature, including human nature. In the human and social sciences, precision is limited by the tremendous complexity of the systems being studied, for one thing.

Argument continues over adjusting Census numbers (Saturday, 10/13/01)
We reported yesterday that Federal Reserve Chairman Greenspan has added concerns about present ways of measuring inflation to his list of dissatisfactions regarding the economic measures upon which public policy must be based. The quality of decisions depends on the quality of the information available at the time. There have been similar concerns about the means used for measuring the extent and distribution of the American population. Census results determine how billions of dollars in federal aid will be distributed, for example. Genardo Armas reports that Congressional Republicans and Democrats are still arguing over whether Census 2000 results should be adjusted based on sampling information.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Population Reference Bureau (Saturday, 10/13/01)
The Population Reference Bureau offers access to a tremendous amount of information on population trends and related topics. It is supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Consumer confidence goes "poof" (Friday, 10/12/01)
Before the terrorist attack, the American economy, while weakening, had been held out of recession by consumer spending, which amounts to about two-thirds of the total U.S. economy. In case you've been chained to the water pipes in the basement without a radio the past month, things have changed. Retail sales fell into an chasm in September, registering the largest one-month drop since the Commerce Department has gathered those data in the present way. Here's more on the retailing's worst September in decades from Anne D'Innocenzio in New York.

Greenspan doesn't like the idea of predetermined inflation targets to guide interest rates (Friday, 10/12/01)
A major part of the problem, he says, is that traditional ways of measuring inflation have become less satisfactory in the new economy. Meanwhile, Mr. Greenspan says that he approves of efforts to reduce the secrecy surrounding the Fed's deliberations.

Remember the drive to legalize all those illegal immigrants? (Friday, 10/12/01)
There have been many urban disasters resulting in greater loss of life during world history, but, nonetheless, the terrorists' destruction of the World Trade Center may still mark a clear boundary separating stages in American history. Some hot topics of only a few weeks ago seem as though they faded decades before. For example, Will Lester tells how the terrorist attack has completely altered the political debate about immigration.

Campos dead at 84 (Friday, 10/12/01)
Roberto Campos had a distinguished and varied career. Larry Rohter writes from Rio de Janeiro about Brazil's leading "apostle of free enterprise."

The pink slip as an opportunity notice (Friday, 10/12/01)
It has become a cliche among many social service professionals that, instead of looking at something as a problem, it's better to think of it as an opportunity. Joyce Rosenberg says that really can be the case for many people who are laid off. It brings to mind the old definition of a "crisis" as a time of both danger and opportunity.

A fast-food chain that tends to hang on to its people (Friday, 10/12/01)
L. M. Sixel tells about Chick-fil-A with a turnover rate considerably below industry average, in part because many of its workers see a genuine future with the company.

Too old for hi-tech? (Friday, 10/12/01)
Molly Joss writes in Computer User magazine about age bias in the information technology sector. The stereotype is that all of the competent techies aren't as old as most middle-aged people's suits, but is that really true? Does it have to be?

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Ageism (Friday, 10/12/01)
Webster University's Linda Woolf offers an overview and examination of the influence of the bias that is referred to as "ageism."

Jobless claims decline a bit (Thursday, 10/11/01)
First-time jobless claims dipped last week, but the reasons were mostly seasonal, according to Labor Department experts. Overall, the job market hasn't improved, and is likely to get worse before it gets better. However, if you want to get into a field where demand has increased since the September 11 terrorist attack, become a security guard.

Disagreements re-emerge in the House that is not a home (Thursday, 10/11/01)
For a brief instant following the terrorist attack, it appeared that the federal government was one big harmonious family. In some ways, this is still true, given the nature of the ongoing external threat. Still, there are real philosophical differences that won't be suppressed forever, and, in fact, one of the attractive attributes of a democracy is that these differences are supposed to be worked out in argument and debate, rather than in the streets. Curt Anderson reports from Washington that members of the House of Representatives are hard at work on an economic plan that will be intended to stimulate the now-recessionary American economy. However, as Richard Stevenson reports, a quick deal isn't assured because of differing opinions about the relative role of spending vs. new tax cuts. The issue is whether it will help more--and help quicker--for the government to collect money from taxpayers and, then, spend it, or whether it's best to let individuals spend it themselves.

Has the Fed Head been rewriting his job description? (Thursday, 10/11/01)
A number of Washington politicians who usually don't agree on much are finding themselves critical of the same Chairman of the Federal Reserve. Alan Greenspan has expanded his role too much in a variety of directions, according to his critics.

The problem of transferring skills to new situations (Thursday, 10/11/01)
When members of the senior professions get burned out or decide they made a career mistake in the first place, sometimes it's fairly easy to change careers, sometimes not. For instance, legal training can be put to use in a variety of contexts in roles not necessarily called "attorney." Physicians, on the other hand, even though they tend to possess a very high level of technical knowledge and skill, may have more trouble transferring their expertise to other settings. Columnist L. M. Sixel says that many people laid off from the airline industry may have similar problems.

Americans are living longer (Thursday, 10/11/01)
Life expectancy in the United States now stands at 76.9 years, in part because more people are surviving infancy and also because more of those persons are living into advanced years. "Life expectancy" is a statistic typically calculated from birth, so a significant decline in the infant mortality rate, as happened since the beginning of the 20th century, raises life expectancy. During past times, when this average was much lower than it has been in recent years, it didn't mean that there were no older people. For instance, the American president who lived the longest was the second one, John Adams. He was born in 1735 and died on the day that Thomas Jefferson died: July 4, 1826, the 50th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. Jefferson, who was a young man at the time of independence, lived deep into his 80s, as did Benjamin Franklin, who was an old man when the country began.

Did Cicero need slides? (Thursday, 10/11/01)
Diane Stafford says that great speakers don't need visual aids, and, in fact, are likely to find that they get in the way. For others, though, there is always the modern PowerPoint crutch. Microsoft's dominance of the computer industry has been mostly because of its ubiquitous operating system. However, some of its applications have become business standards too, including the company's word processor, its spreadsheet program, and, of course, PowerPoint, its presentation software. "Enough!", shouts Ms. Stafford. Jim Barlow of the Houston Chronicle may also be feeling like a heretic in business circles, because he's questioning the growing influence of "forced choice" performance ranking systems.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Winners of the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences (Thursday, 10/11/01)
Here's an updated list of the Winners of the Nobel Prizes in Economic Sciences, including those announced yesterday and information about the new Laureates.

Afghanistan's human disaster (Wednesday, 10/10/01)
Twenty years of war, a paralyzing drought, a crazy political regime, and, now, at least for a while, possibly no government at all, and, instead, more chaos have left millions of Afghans in desperate shape. The UN, the American government, and lots of other people seem to be deeply concerned on humanitarian grounds, but the Bush administration recognizes that part of the "war on terrorism" must be an effort to win the "hearts and minds" of large numbers of people in the Islamic world, and, in Afghanistan and other areas, this may mean first focusing on their stomachs.

New econ Laureates (Wednesday, 10/10/01)
Three Americans have won the latest Nobel prize in economics.

The cost in jobs of the September 11 attack (Wednesday, 10/10/01)
The big cost has been in lives, of course, and there has also been stunning loss of property. But, how many lost jobs can be attributed directly to the terrorist attack, just in New York? The total seems to be about 100,000, although a great many additional job losses across the country can be attributed to the sequence of events set in motion by the destruction of the World Trade Center in New York City. Although the WTC was one of the major financial nerve centers of the world, not all of the people or the job losses were related to financial institutions. For instance, Lisa Belkin writes about two restaurants that disappeared immediately along with their workers. Among the delayed effects are some Wall Street job losses now occurring or on the immediate horizon. Here's Noell Knox' report from USA Today.

The psychological effects of terrorism (Wednesday, 10/10/01)
While the September 11 attack resulted in one of the worst days in American history, so far as loss of life is concerned, its overall effects have been far broader. The purpose of terrorism is to terrorize, of course. While the perpetrators of the attack didn't mind killing approximately 7,000 people, and wouldn't have minded if, instead, it had been 70,000, the larger goal was to set in motion processes that might lead to a major transition in human history by creating fear in the Western world which might lead to political and military actions that could destroy Western democracies by turning them into fascistic armed camps and radicalizing the entire Islamic world.

Overall, the stakes are very high, and, in a culture taught to worship celebrities, on the one hand, and direct hatreds toward individuals, on the other, we will do well not to oversimplify what is going on in the world by focusing too much attention on individual personalities.

Western Civilization is not about to fall, but it could be transformed in ways that we might not otherwise choose. Much will depend upon how we cope with the immediate psychological effects of the attack and how we translate these coping efforts into changes in the political climate. Jonathan Glater writes that counselors are overwhelmed by needy individuals in New York City, and Jodie Snyder writes that there are large numbers of people with similar needs in what once was far-off Arizona. It's still Arizona, but, in today's interconnected world, it's no longer far off.

The effect of military retaliation on Japan (Wednesday, 10/10/01)
The joint U.S.-British military action in Afghanistan may or may not have a permanent effect on the international network of terrorists that is threatening Western Civilization, but it could bring the Japanese economy to it knees if it goes on over an extended period. Susumu Maejima of Tokyo's Asahi Shimbun explains one of the likely consequences of living in an increasingly interconnected world.

Will hi-tech bring the boom back? (Wednesday, 10/10/01)
The economic boom of the late 1990s, which resulted in the longest economic expansion in American history, was largely tech-driven. But, that led, in part, to a speculative bubble which, when it deflated rapidly, helped pull the U.S. economy down to a point of great vulnerability, predisposing it to recession which appears to have been precipitated by the terrorist attack and its aftermath. What will the hi-tech sector's role be from now on? Buy Halverson of the Christian Science Monitor says that it may be as before. Get set for a comeback led by technology, he says. Or, at least, maybe.

More cuts at Motorola (Wednesday, 10/10/01)
Motorola's still one of the larger hi-tech companies, but it will be considerably smaller at the end of this year compared to the year's beginning. Another 7,000 jobs will be cut, bringing the total for 2001 to about 39,000. H.J. Cummins reports that whole families are affected by layoffs, which everybody knows, of course; but, here is a report about how the worker's support system needs its own supports.

Career preparation at home (Wednesday, 10/10/01)
Anne Mulcahy says that, while she didn't realize its significance at the time, her parents' attitudes toward the value of girls and boys had quite a lot to do with her career success since.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: The 2001 List of "100 Best Companies for Working Mothers" (Wednesday, 10/10/01)
Here's the latest list of "family-friendly" companies from Working Mother magazine.

Renewed uneasiness (Tuesday, 10/9/01)
The American economy was hovering just barely above recession before September 11, so it should be no surprise that a depression in the airline industry, which makes up about 10 percent of the American economy, would be enough to push the entire U.S. economy into negative territory. Now, just as many people have started to feel safer traveling again, the U.S.-British military action in Afghanistan seems to be renewing the uneasiness because of concerns about terrorist retaliation. Among the many affected airlines worldwide are Swissair, which has announced 9,000 layoffs, and TWA, which will belong to American Airlines from now on. In the latter case, reduced passenger demand because of the September 11 attack has been adding to layoffs that were scheduled to occur anyway because of the merger. Barbara Hagenbaugh reports that fear is taking a broader toll on the American economy as well.

Why there's unlikely to be a wartime boom this time (Tuesday, 10/9/01)
It's widely understood that World War II ended the Great Depression of the 1930s. In fact, wars often have had a beneficial effect on the American economy. Probably not this time, though, and it's because this will be a different kind of war. In fact, despite its seriousness, it may be so different in so many ways that the use of the term "war" may be mostly metaphorical. Richard Stevenson of the New York Times says that because it's a different kind of war this time, it will also be a different kind of wartime economy.

So, your job has disappeared. Now what? (Tuesday, 10/9/01)
Sandra Block of USA Today passes on some practical advice about how to best cope with a difficult time. More layoffs no doubt lie ahead, and, as Peter Kilborn reports, even "jobs of last resort" are getting to be in short supply.

Credit Suisse to cut jobs in the U.S. (Tuesday, 10/9/01)
The big Swiss bank will cut 2,000 jobs in the United States because of market decline plus fallout from the September 11 terrorist attack.

Negotiations will resume Thursday in Minnesota (Tuesday, 10/9/01)
The strike of Minnesota state workers is in its second week, but the two sides will meet again Thursday in an effort to reach an agreement.

Family friendly employers (Tuesday, 10/9/01)
Working Mother magazine has released its latest top 100 listing of most family-friendly companies.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Intelligence Agencies (Tuesday, 10/9/01)
There has been much talk in the American press recently about the central role to be played by intelligence in the newly proclaimed "war on terrorism." The U.S. isn't the only nation that relies on information, often covertly gathered. Most of the world's countries have one or more intelligence agencies intended to serve political, military, or economic objectives, and some mix information gathering with covert operations or domestic security. Here's Jane's listing of intelligence agencies listed by country.

New uncertainties following yesterday's retaliatory attacks (Monday, 10/8/01)
Paul Blustein and Carol Vinzant report that Wall Street doesn't seem assured by new military activity in Afghanistan. Likewise, Nick Edwards reports from Hong Kong that the U.S.-British action has raised uncertainty levels throughout the world economy.

Bush wants $60 billion in new tax cuts (Monday, 10/8/01)
After appearing to many conservatives that he was finding Democratic spending proposals to be too attractive, President Bush has indicated that he would like to see the plan for boosting the American economy rely more heavily on tax cuts. Here's more from Curt Anderson in Washington.

How Minnesota's state workers have been doing compared to others (Monday, 10/8/01)
Thousands of state employees in Minnesota are on strike. Conrad deFiebre and Glenn Howatt report that state workers in Minnesota are among the better paid in the U.S., but lagged behind the rest of the Minnesota economy in terms of wage gains during the past year. Some observers have indicated that, even though the strike was put off for a while following the September 11 terrorist attack, a period of national emergency, including a major economic downturn and widespread layoffs, may not have been the best time to walk off the job. Now, following U.S. military retaliation yesterday, some union leaders are hoping that a deal can be made quickly.

Looking for a job has gotten to be a lot less fun (Monday, 10/8/01)
Not so long ago, there were labor shortages in many sectors and regions of the American economy. Conditions have changed quickly. Stephanie Armour of USA Today reports on the diffculties that many people are facing in the increasingly tough job market. Also, here's an overview of the economic influence of the recent terrorist attack.

Companies that lost workers in the WTC attack face a special challenge (Monday, 10/8/01)
Many companies which had workers killed in the terrorist attack want to help their families, but that's made more difficult in a declining economy.

Top economic advisor expects American economy to pick up next year (Monday, 10/8/01)
The chairman of the President's Council of Economic Advisors thinks that the U.S. economy will recover by the middle of 2002.

A chain-reaction that started in Mexico (Monday, 10/8/01)
Ginger Thompson reports on how a small worker protest at a Mexican factory has had widespread effects.

Loans so small as to seem insignificant to some can make a critical difference to many (Monday, 10/8/01)
Hundreds of experts are gathering at a meeting organized in Mexico by the Microcredit Summit Campaign. These are people who know that, to some of the world's poorest people, a tiny loan can make a big difference.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Mercantilism (Monday, 10/8/01)
If you need to take your mind off the present state of the world for a moment, Gerhard Rempel of Western New England College offers a glimpse of how much of the world once was organized when colonialism and extreme economic regulation dominated. Here's a quick overview of mercantilism.

Stimulus for the tech sector should be included (Sunday, 10/7/01)
The hi-tech sector helped fuel the boom of the 1990s and has helped pull the American economy down since. Some members of Congress believe that the new stimulus package should give a special push to hi-tech in order to help get things going again. They're advocating accelerated write-offs for businesses that invest in tech equipment.

G-7 officials say they're going to work together more vigorously now (Sunday, 10/7/01)
Top finance officials of the world's richest countries met in Washington, D. C. yesterday and agreed that they will work together to promote global economic growth. Anna Willard reports that there will be more assistance for the world's poorest countries. The global economy is disproportionately influenced by the U.S. economy, because it is the world's largest. Samuel Fromartz tells about how the September 11 attack has precipitated further slowing of the American economy by producing a "climate of fear." Incidentally, the Caribbean economies are among those hit hard by the aftermath of the terrorist attack. David Gonzalez writes about the near-collapse of American tourism in the region.

Three key questions about the future (Sunday, 10/7/01)
Richard Stevenson of the New York Times says that if we had the answers to three questions, we would be able to see quite a bit about where the American economy is heading and how fast.

Job-cut summary (Sunday, 10/7/01)
Here's a list of the jobs lost by company and industry due to the terrorist attack of September 11. To help put faces on those numbers, Pam Belluck of the New York Times as well as Shaun McKinnon, Christine Romero and Yvette Armendariz of the Arizona Republic tell how some directly affected individuals and families are trying to cope with unemployment. Meanwhile, Tamar Lewin writes about family coping for another reason: when a parent is called up for military duty.

One of the inadequately faced realities of human nature (Sunday, 10/7/01)
We're all a little "abnormal," right? No, we're not. In 2001, there are fairly clear diagnostic criteria for identifying true psychological or psychiatric impairments, and these problems are real, not imaginary. Moreover, a great many people are affected, and the personal as well as economic costs are enormous.

The fact that a problem has a high incidence does not make it more "normal." If, for instance, 80 percent of the population were to become diabetic, say, this would not make diabetes normal. Physicians would still be able to see a clear difference between health and illness; there would simply be more illness.

In a world in which hundreds of millions of persons are trying to live on a dollar a day, it should be no surprise that the treatment of psychiatric illnesses is not getting highest priority. However, in part because of traditional myths and invalid, inappropriate assumptions, most psychological illness go untreated in the rich countries too. Elizabeth Olson writes about a new World Health Organization report showing the scope of the problem and the inadequacy of the world's response.

This is an area in which an historic knowledge explosion during very recent years should change everything. We now know a lot and there is a lot that we can do, and, for many persons, it is a difference that can make a very great difference. While we do need to conduct research ever more aggressively, the PRINCIPAL reason rich societies are not doing much more for more affected persons is not because of a lack of knowledge or lack of ability to help, but, instead, because of insufficiently supportive public attitudes as reflected in their institutions.

One case in which whistle-blowing paid (Sunday, 10/7/01)
A former executive who called in the law on his former employer will receive $77 million. In a slightly similar story, a man in San Antonio, Texas will receive $500,000 because a jury has found that the FAA retaliated against him when he accused it of discrimination.

Maybe everybody should be given IQ tests first (Sunday, 10/7/01)
Several Burger King employees burned their feet when they walked over hot coals. No, they weren't walking on the grill. There may be better ways of building work group cohesion than having people go to the hospital together. You may feel that this requires explanation, so here it is.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Graduate Management Admissions Council (Sunday, 10/7/01)
The Graduate Management Admissions Council publishes the Graduate Management Admission Test® (GMAT®) and also provides information and advice on its web site for those wanting to pursue an MBA degree and a management career.

From bad to worse in Argentina (Saturday, 10/6/01)
The troubled Argentine economy has gotten even more troubled, and some are fearing devaluation. Here's more from the Washington Post's Anthony Faiola in Puerto Iguazu.

Minnesota strike is watched nationally (Saturday, 10/6/01)
The strike of 23,000 Minnesota state employees will soon be a week old. It's the second-largest strike of public workers since 1989, and, as Patricia Lopez Baden reports from the Twin Cities, it's being watched nationally because of its possible implications for other regions.

G7 leaders work together in Washington (Saturday, 10/6/01)
Finance ministers from the seven richest industrial nations have been working on the task of cutting off funds used by terrorist organizations at the same time they're deciding how best to promote economic growth.

September job losses were bad, bad, bad (Saturday, 10/6/01)
The American economy shed jobs during the month of September at a rate unmatched during the past ten years, although the unemployment rate held steady at 4.9 percent. However, economists are saying that the official unemployment number is likely to hit 6 percent very soon in the aftermath of the September 11 attack.

There are still two major parties in Washington after all (Saturday, 10/6/01)
In the burst of unity following the terrorist attack, it was hard to tell the Republicans from the Democrats for a while, but traditional differences are beginning to emerge again. The President wants tax cuts to be as great as spending in the economic stimulus package that's being worked out, and key Democrats in Congress don't agree, meaning that Republicans are beginning to like Republicans again and Democrats like Democrats. The Washington Post reports on the disagreement over the President's plan to assist the jobless. Critics are saying that it's inadequate, particularly in how children would be affected.

More job-loss fallout (Saturday, 10/6/01)
With fewer people flying, fewer people are renting cars too. Dollar Thrifty is cutting 1,200 jobs. In Japan, hundreds of thousands of people have cancelled scheduled international trips, costing Japanese travel agencies 55 billion yen. However, as a possible indicator that things may be getting a little better, Frontier Airlines is bringing laid-off maintenance workers back to their jobs.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: AFSCME and MAPE (Saturday, 10/6/01)
Approximately half of Minnesota state employees are members of two unions that are on strike at the moment. These are the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) and the Minnesota Association of Professional Employees (MAPE). You may want to visit their web sites.

Big government stimulus plan only weeks away (Friday, 10/5/01)
Alan Fram reports from Washington that federal government officials expect to have an economic stimulus package ready within three weeks or even less. The New York Times' Richard Stevenson reports that the President wants to be able to give the American economy a $75 billion boost, although with the inclusion of the $3 billion in assistance for unemployed workers, the total could be somewhat more, according to Sumana Chatterjee and James Kuhnhenn of the Kansas City Star.

Why help is needed (Friday, 10/5/01)
Warren Buffett expects a fairly rough recession for the American economy as a whole--long and deep. New York has special reasons for rough economic times ahead, and economists seem to agree with the general forecasts provided by Economy.com.

Help for Afghans (Friday, 10/5/01)
It's hard to think of a case in which a clear distinction is more warranted between a people and their rulers than in the case of Afghanistan. It's probably not too much of a stretch to say that the Afghans are being held hostage as were the passengers on those doomed airliners in the U.S. on September 11. A demented government has been adding to the miseries resulting from two decades of war and a ruined economy, and the result is an imminent humanitarian disaster of historic proportions. As the Bush administration may be planning to drop a few bombs on the Afghan rulers, it is preparing to drop a lot of food and medical supplies to the country's suffering people. The Bush administration wants to provide $320 million in aid before the brutal Afghan winter hits.

September unemployment holds steady (Friday, 10/5/01)
The U.S. unemployment rate for September remained at 4.9 percent, but doesn't reflect the big layoffs that occurred as a result of the September 11 terrorist attack. The job market was weakening even before the attack, and forecasters expect October's rate to be as high as 5.6 percent. Neighbor Canada's unemployment rate remained at 7.2 percent in September.

Farm bill moves ahead in the House (Friday, 10/5/01)
Environmentalists aren't pleased, and the White House isn't particularly pleased either, but, nonetheless, the big $170 billion farm assistance bill is likely to be passed in the House of Representatives.

More cuts at British Air (Friday, 10/5/01)
A total of 7,200 jobs will have been cut when the latest batch of 200 are included. However, the latest are a result of the merger of two regional carriers. British Airways is Europe's largest airline, and, like most others, it has been affected significantly by the reduction in travel resulting from the terrorist attack.

Let's hear it for the Fed (Friday, 10/5/01)
Columnist Jerry Heaster reflects on the crucial role of the Federal Reserve, particularly during times when other factors are working to increase economic instability.

How many seasonal workers will be needed for the holiday season? (Friday, 10/5/01)
Maybe not as many as usual, according to L. M. Sixel of the Houston Chronicle, and the reasons may be fairly obvious.

A rough time for strikes (Friday, 10/5/01)
Striking Minnesota state workers and others risk condemnation and loss of public empathy during a period of national emergency when many people are expecting that sacrifices are justified, according to Steven Greenhouse of the New York Times. Unions are finding that it's in their enlightened political self-interest to tread lightly.

Grassroots help (Friday, 10/5/01)
One Minnesota community was greatly affected by the closing of a steel plant last winter, and Larry Oakes reports on what one family is doing to help children of unemployed workers.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: How the Government Measures Unemployment (Friday, 10/5/01)
Is it possible not to have a job and still not be unemployed? Yes, according to the definitions used by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor. As we've emphasized repeatedly for years, WHAT we know depends entirely on HOW we know it. Here's how the U.S. government measures unemployment, including a description of procedures and definitions.

Jobless claims spike upward (Thursday, 10/4/01)
First-time jobless claims reached 528,000 last week, according to new Labor Department data. That's the highest level since 1992. Michael Rubinkam reports from Philadelphia that there is growing anxiety on American campuses as the next crop of graduating seniors begins seeking job opportunities.

Bush wants $75 billion stimulus package (Thursday, 10/4/01)
The President wants to prime the economic pump through the use of a combination of additional tax cuts and federal spending totaling $75 billion in addition to regular government spending. The Secretary of the Treasury, trying his best to be a team player, says he thinks the President's plan is just right. Leigh Strope reports that laid-off airline workers have been asking for government help, and, as it turns out, they may get a lot of what they've been seeking.

President at odds with Republican House on farm legislation (Thursday, 10/4/01)
The Bush administration is pushing for a major change in American farm policy that would please many environmentalists, make leaders of some farm groups angry, and could cause a fracture among Republicans. The Administration wants the House to see a delay in the House as they try to work things out.

The economic benefits of immigration (Thursday, 10/4/01)
An employment counselor tells why Americans should welcome immigrants.

Remember "peace and prosperity?" (Thursday, 10/4/01)
The presidential campaign of a year ago occurred within a radically different context, proving that a week can be an eternity in politics. Columnist Diane Stafford tells about the dramatic difference that a year has made in the job market. Here are some of the more recent layoffs in investment banking, the airline industry, and telecommunications.

Videoconferencing may be coming of age (Thursday, 10/4/01)
Hal Varian says that videoconferencing is getting a boost from the cutback on business travel, but it remains to be seen whether this represents a permanent change. Fallout from the September 11 attack does appear to be stimulating intended corporate technology investments, particularly in relation to security concerns.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: CIA World Factbook: Pakistan (Thursday, 10/4/01)
Pakistan is of central concern in the new war on terrorism, given its location, its political instability, the fact that it has nuclear weapons, and, of course, the fact that it is an overcrowded and very poor country. Here is an overview of Pakistan from the CIA World Factbook.

The government prepares to answer the economy's 911 call (Wednesday, 10/3/01)
Detroit Free Press columnist Susan Tompor tells about the largely coordinated responses in Washington to what nearly all the experts are saying is likely to be America's first recession in a decade. The Bush administration's chief economic advisor is among those experts. He thinks that the longest economic expansion in American history has ended, and that the economy will shrink, at least during this quarter and next. David Espo says that, in addition to the Fed's pushing interest rates to their lowest levels since the Kennedy administration yesterday, additional help for laid-off workers is almost certain, and new tax rebates are becoming increasingly probable. The Administration and Congress want consumers to have more money quickly that they can spend without delay. Whether they will go ahead and spend it as hoped remains to be seen.

More cuts at Nortel (Wednesday, 10/3/01)
Canada's Nortel Networks expects to lose $20 billion this year. At the beginning of the year, the company employed 95,000 people. An additional 20,000 job cuts will bring total employment down to less than half its original number. Layoffs continue in sectors other than hi-tech and travel/tourism as well. The big retailer Nordstrom will cut 1,600 workers.

One state that's feeling nearly overwhelmed (Wednesday, 10/3/01)
Jean Hopfensperger reports that Minnesota is struggling a bit to respond to the large number of laid-off airline workers, particularly now that a strike of state employees is going on. Additional funds are also needed, though, and the state is asking the federal government for help. The Twin Cities is home to Northwest Airlines, the nation's fourth largest carrier. About half of Northwest's layoffs are concentrated in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. Incidentally, Erick Torbenson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press reports that, unlike executives with some other airlines, Northwest executives are not taking pay cuts.

Severance payments have become increasingly scarce (Wednesday, 10/3/01)
Layoffs are up, severance is down, according to recent industry surveys.

A surprise from the Administration (Wednesday, 10/3/01)
Editorial writers with at least one major newspaper say that many critics of the Bush administration will be pleasantly surprised if they will read Agriculture Secretary Veneman's report. They think members of Congress should read it too, particularly in the House where a vote on the next big farm bill is scheduled.

It's best not to appear illiterate about a company you say you'd like to work for (Wednesday, 10/3/01)
A new study from Accountemps finds that the most effective way to fail the tests of an employment interview is to display ignorance of the company you're claiming you can benefit, if they will only hire you. It's a common problem, according to the survey. It's also about basic marketing. The way to sell something, whether it be a product or your services, is not to emphasize that you need the money, but, instead, to focus on benefits to the prospective purchaser. Incidentally, despite an increasingly grim job market in which job seekers are finding increasing competition from those being laid off, Alwyn Scott of the Seattle Times says that there are still jobs out there looking for the right people. Joel Dresang of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel says that some companies are finding the employees they need from among those being laid off from the travel industry.

When people decide not to be tourists, a lot of other people suffer (Wednesday, 10/3/01)
The global tourism industry is in a depression, economically and psychologically. James Brooke writes from Osaka, Japan about world-wide fallout from the September 11 attack in the U.S..

Will the new poverty numbers hold up? (Wednesday, 10/3/01)
The year 2000 saw the lowest poverty rate in more than a quarter century. But, how will recent events affect persons who have recently escaped from poverty? Here are thoughts from Laurent Belsie of the Christian Science Monitor.

A 15-year success story (Wednesday, 10/3/01)
Jilian Mincer tells about the impact that the Women's Employment Network has had on the lives of so many people in a decade and a half.

More than 50,000 Americans are in their second century (Wednesday, 10/3/01)
The number of Americans who are 100 or over increased by more than a third during the past ten years.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Australian Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs (Wednesday, 10/3/01)
Persons interested in migrating to Australia might want to make the Australian government's Department of Immigration and Multicultural Affairs their first stop.

Happy birthday to us (Tuesday, 10/2/01)
BraveNewWorkWorld is six years old this month. NewWork News will be six years old next January 2, 2002.

The Fed makes ninth cut this year (Tuesday, 10/2/01)
The Federal Reserve has cut short-term interest rates by a half-point. A tenth cut for the year could be coming.

Bush and Congress get together on stimulus plan (Tuesday, 10/2/01)
The President wants three major features in the intended plan for giving the ailing American economy a boost, and, as Curt Anderson reports, there doesn't appear to be much resistance from Congress. Here's more from William Welch and Judy Keen of USA Today. It appears that increased jobless benefits and tax breaks will be at the center of the plan. However, the President doesn't want the package to stimulate the economy too much, which could lead to an increase in long-term interest rates. Given the dramatic decline in consumer confidence, Alan Greenspan and the Federal Reserve have been poised to join the effort by cutting interest rates for the ninth time this year, including one rate which would be at its lowest level since 1962.

No quick resolution expected (Tuesday, 10/2/01)
The strike of tens of thousands of Minnesota government workers could go on for quite a long time and be quite messy, according to Dane Smith and Robert Whereatt of the Minneapolis Star Tribune. The issues are pay and benefits, and there's a big gap between the two sides. About half of state workers are directly affected by the strike, but some essential services are affected. For instance, the National Guard and temp workers are being brought in to care for the most vulnerable. It's the first time Minnesota's state workers have been on strike for twenty years.

Poor countries expected to suffer most (Tuesday, 10/2/01)
World Bank officials expect that the world's poorest countries will suffer a disproportionate amount economically as a result of the September 11 terrorist attack.

Japan prepares for fourth recession in a decade (Tuesday, 10/2/01)
During the 1990s, while the world's largest economy was enjoying a boom, the world's second-largest economy was struggling, and is still struggling. Yet another recession appears to be brewing, according to this New York Times report from Tokyo.

The government will have a different role in the American economy from now on (Tuesday, 10/2/01)
Christ Lester discusses another long-term affect of the terrorist attack three weeks ago today, and says that the federal government needs to put a lid on bailouts.

More cuts may be coming at HP (Tuesday, 10/2/01)
Hewlett-Packard plans to acquire Compaq Computer Corporation and has told its workers that more job cuts may be coming before the merger is carried out. Also, WorldCom, the big telecommunications provider, plans to cut 1,000 jobs in Europe.

The long, dark psychological shadow cast by terrorist attack (Tuesday, 10/2/01)
Given the experience of workers affected by the Oklahoma City bombing, that it will take very long time for many New Yorkers to recover from the September 11 tragedy. Here's more from columnist Diane Stafford in Kansas City.

Forging a team out of strong individualists (Tuesday, 10/2/01)
President Bush is rich, but his cabinet contains people who are richer still. One is Treasury Secretary O'Neill, who, like other members of the Bush II cabinet, is also used to being the boss, rather than having a boss. An early concern was that President Bush might not be strong enough to provide consistent direction to his cabinet, and might find it to be like trying to herd a bunch of self-sufficient, highly independent cats. In fact, for a time, it appeared that there might be two U.S. foreign policies, Rumsfeld's and Powell's.

However, as has happened with so many presidents in the past, it appears that President Bush has been underestimated. He chose strong, highly experienced people because of an awareness of his own relative inexperience, but also with confidence that he would be able to make everyone remember who is president. Even such an enormously powerful personality as Paul O'Neill can be compelled to read from a standard script now and then, rather than being too direct about his own views. Joseph Kahn of the New York Times has more.

Today's NewWork News Web Tip: Workday Minnesota (Tuesday, 10/2/01)
Workday Minnesota is sponsored by several organizations with a special interest in labor issues. Among other things, it can enable you to keep in touch with the current strike of Minnesota state workers.

State workers strike in Minnesota (Monday, 10/1/01)
The strike which was put off for a while because of the September 11 terrorist attack has now happened. Approximately 28,000 state workers are affected, which is about half of Minnesota state employees. It's been busy around the state capitol for other reasons too. Since the Twin Cities is headquarters for Northwest Airlines, the Minneapolis-St. Paul region has been hard hit by the layoffs at America's fourth-largest carrier. A rally at the capitol on behalf of laid-off workers was attended by both of Minnesota's United States Senators. Meanwhile, the Detroit News reports that there's also growing concern in Michigan about individuals who are left out as assistance is provided to companies.

The psychological war (Monday, 10/1/01)
Sebastian Mallaby writes in the Washington Post about how the terrorist attack not only destroyed the World Trade Center, but also a trillion dollars in stock value and a hundred thousand airline jobs. Whether the destruction will continue to increase throughout American society depends on the confidence of Americans and what the Administration can do to restore it. Extraordinary times require extraordinary measures, he says.

How things look to Secretary O'Neill (Monday, 10/1/01)
Martin Crutsinger reports that the Treasury Secretary's critics haven't been very satisfied with what he's been saying about the American economy, even though, given that he's been saying quite a lot of different things, you might expect he will get around to saying something they like.

More benefits in California (Monday, 10/1/01)
America's largest state will increase unemployment benefits.

Tax rebates didn't help much in August (Monday, 10/1/01)
New data from the Commerce Department indicates that consumer spending was hesitant in the month before the terrorist attack.

With future retirement on their minds, more Americans are swallowing an aspirin or