Hiring On The Rise

From npr The country's unemployment rate still hovers at 10 percent, and a new report says job cuts in January were at a five-month high. But a few recent announcements may give job searchers some hope. CarMax, Ford Motor Co., Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide and Oracle Corp. said last month that they plan to hire hundreds — or even thousands — of workers. Some industry analysts said it is a good sign about hiring this year. John Challenger, CEO of Chicago employment consulting firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, said conditions are right for hiring. "Productivity numbers went way up in this recession," he said, despite the fact that companies needed to make their workforces leaner. But there's only so far a company can stretch a taut, productive staff. Challenger's firm reported Wednesday that employers had announced plans to reduce payrolls by 71,482 workers last month. That's the highest job-cut number in five months, but 70 percent less than a year earlier. Also, the Bureau of Labor Statistics is due to release employment figures for January on Friday. Reuters projects that nonfarm payrolls grew by 5,000 last month. More Business Equals More Travel The entertainment and leisure industry leads among companies who plan to hire, according to the Challenger report. Included in that tally is Starwood Hotels. The hotel giant that owns the Sheraton, Westin and St. Regis chains announced it would create more than 12,000 jobs this year. Half of those jobs would be located in the United States, and most of the new jobs are a result of 80 to 100 new hotels that Starwood is opening.