Walmart's success with its rolling back prices campaign is taking on new meaning as the retail giant is now rolling back jobs. The 11,000 plus job cuts represent approximately 10 percent of Walmart's employee base. The job cuts come following a strong 4th quarter for 2009, with Walmart sales exceeding 60 billion. So why the job cuts if sales are up? Two words - Sam's Club.

Sam's club which is Walmart's membership chain isn't fairing as well as its competitors in that space i.e. Costco and BJ's. So in an an attempt to be more competitive in the wholesale club membership space, Walmart's believes outsourcing its food sampling program to Shopper Events is necessary. Even more stunning, Walmart's PR is passing off the largest Walmart job cut ever as an -- investment. What's the basis for the idea of 11,000 job cuts as an investment? Well Walmart states that Shopper Events will need to hire approximately the same number of jobs as Walmart is currently axing. Cunning. So the 11,000 folks loosing their jobs shouldn't really fret the situation since they can always apply at Shopper Events for the same job that they are currently performing. In other words is really shouldn't be a big deal to trade in a "bird in the hand" for a "bird in the bush".

For Walmart, the whole investment pitch will likely be a hard sell to its employee base. Moreover, that sell fights gravity even more so, considering the 1,500 full-time employees that already received the axe this year. Granted, the 11,000 job cuts slated for Sam's Club are mostly part-time positions but hey a job is a job these days. For many American's a part-time job is the only job to be had; for others a part-time job in conjunction with a full-time job is what it takes to make the numbers work. So needless to say, Walmart rolling back jobs isn't anything to be excited about. Even worse, image if Walmart decides to reverse the rolling back prices campaign in favor of price increases. Hopefully, rolling back jobs at Sam's club isn't an early warning sign of doing away with the "low price leader" title.

If you have been drinking the Kool-aid, for the past few months, then you probably are under the impression that job market is on the up tick. Unfortunately, the data suggests otherwise...so much for the job market improvement projections huh. This seems especially disappointing considering all the hoopla around the job market report for November, which was purported as the lowest decline in jobless claims since the recession began. If you recall, the job seeker blog cautioned at getting on-board that train, since typically hiring or better stated - firing and layoffs are delayed until after the New Year. Why? Well perhaps it's a little hard to enjoy the Thanksgiving and/or Christmas Day dinner when you just got a pink slip. So let's chalk that up as the job market expressing a little compassion --- even if just for a hot minute.

So what's on the horizon for job seekers in the very near future. Well that's the million dollar question. Most likely anyone that can answer that would like get stampeded by the barrage of job seekers looking to get in the know as far as concrete job leads are concerned. Anyway, there is the President's Green Jobs Initiative which has a big bucket of cash behind it. What else? Then there are construction related jobs i.e. infrastructure upgrades to roads, bridges and highways as well as new development of roads, bridges and highways. What else? Well from there that's where things start to get a little hazy. At one point, it looked like the healthcare industry was poised to provide an economic boost with the President's Universal HealthCare Initiative. Unfortunately, that now isn't looking too good with the loss of Senator Kennedy's seat in Massachusetts to a virtually unknown Senator, Brown, who is promising to make a name for himself by blocking the President's healthcare agenda. Oh well, so much for job market improvement projections. Of course, you could apply for a job at SAS in Raleigh. SAS is listed as one of the top 100 employers. Everyone working for SAS is head over heals with their job and oblivious to the job market woes. If you're one of the lucky ones to land a job at SAS you won't likely have to deal with this job market mess for many years to come if ever at all. Go for it.

Since the current recession began there have been a flurry of back to school sales pitches but the reality is that the job outlook is dim for new graduates. As companies large and small grapple with staying afloat during this season of tight purse strings, that means hiring new graduates is more of a luxury versus a necessity. As such mid size companies are expected to hire 11% less new graduates with bachelors degrees, while large corporations are expected to hire 4% less new graduates with bachelors degrees. So what this essentially means is that promise of opportunity via education is more of an opportunity for school systems to generate revenue via selling degrees than it is for students that obtain degrees these days. In short, a college degree is essentially more or less a hope ticket synonymous to purchasing a lottery ticket. You know, you put a buck in and hope you win. Except with a degree you put a whole bunch of bucks in and hope you can get a job. I would hate to have the job of explaining to hard working graduates that have done everything right and can't find a job with exception of flipping burgers and ringing up orders as cashier somewhere. Those jobs are readily obtained without a college degree so why shell out the bucks?

On the brighter side for college graduates, if you are on a PHD or MBA track things are looking good for you. New PHD graduates can expect a hiring increase near the tune of 20%, while MBA graduates can expect a hiring increase around 11%. If you are on a masters degree track other than in Business Administration the jury is still out on your job prospects. So why the spike in interest with PHD and MBA graduates? Generally speaking these type of economic times call for more focus on theory and/or research and development, which lends nicely to PHD tracks. The knowledge acquired via R&D is then transferred over to corporations to derive creative business strategies to develop and market new products and services which of course lends nicely to MBA graduates. So a college degree can certainly be beneficial if you are on a PHD or MBA track especially if you attend a tier one college or university. Then again, since scholarships are always limited you will have to weight the benefits to cost. In the end the job outlook for new graduates is somewhat dim especially for bachelors degree new graduates but for advanced degrees such as a PHD or MBA things are looking a lot better. Just be sure to pick the right college or university to maximize your opportunities.