So what’s all the buzz about the number of job firings being lower or at least lower than expected? Well perhaps the upcoming midterm elections and the battle over taxes which are likely to go higher. On one side of the isle, the rant is why on earth would we raise taxes (on the wealthy) at an economic time like this where job uncertainty is well – certain. On the other side of the isle, the rant is why not raise taxes since the big money brokers are sitting on the cash and not contributing to the economy in the form of hiring or jobs and at the same time escaping taxes with tax loopholes and tax shelters.

Regardless of what side of the fence you’re on there is no escaping the fact that jobs just have not rebounded yet. The number of available jobs to job demand is so skewed that even the job boards are having a hard time. With Monster moving forward with the acquisition of HotJobs.com that means less job search outlets for job seekers who surf the big boards. For Monster it means their sagging revenue directly tied to the job market can at least be offset with the customer base from HotJobs. Oh let’s not forget that on the surface Monster will now appear to have more jobs available once the two databases are integrated. Perhaps what many job seekers are wondering is whether the name will change…how about HotMonster? Sounds good to me.

For those of you that have had enough of the talk on jobs or the lack there of, sorry to disappoint but you can expect to hear this mantra from now until at least the conclusion of the midterm election cycle. Surely you don't think the politicians are going to pass up an opportunity for theatrics driven by the need to get re/elected based on promises that can't or won't be kept only to blame their "friend across the isle." Then, of course, we get to repeat this exercise in two more years. At least we can hope in two years the theme will be something else other than jobs. That would be a good thing. Gotta luv it! For now we will just get warmed up with all the rhetoric that firings are going lower with the all but promise that taxes will go higher.

Just when we were getting ready to get nice and comfy with the idea that the US job market is picking back up, in comes Pfizer says hold on a second Cowboy, with its recent announcement to trim its workforce by 6,000 less jobs. This reduction is in addition to the 18,000 plus job cuts the drug maker giant has already carried out since 2008. That brings the total to a whopping 24,000 and still counting.  Why still counting you say? Well that’s because Pfizer plans to cut another 6,000 jobs over the next five years.

So what’s all the fuss about cutting 6,000 jobs now and 6,000 jobs over the next five years? Well apparently a lot since C. Scott Vanderhoef, Chief Economic Officer of Rockland County, where Pfizer is closing shop for one of its manufacturing facilities, thinks and I quote, “This is unexpected and does not bode well for local or global economic recovery.” So why in the world should one company with a relatively number of headcount reductions have an impact on global economic recovery? That’s a good question, your guess is probably as good as mine but If I had to say so, it’s probably due to the fact that pharmaceutical companies are well known for having big budgets and a lot of PhD folks on the payroll with six figure salaries performing research activities.  So when big bucks pharmaceutical companies start trimming head count of the PhD folks that probably means R&D isn’t quite as important anymore, or at least as much. This in turn could suggest that pharmaceutical companies such as Pfizer know something that we don’t, which would explain why they’re pulling back on R&D spending.

So once again the jury is out on whether the economy is poised for a rebound or is the economy playing a wicked game of virtual tease. Who knows? What we do know is that Pfizer is cutting head count to the tune of 24,000 and still counting. Of course, the next question is who will emerge as the pharmaceutical leader or will the likes of Merck and company follow Pfizer’s lead. Stay tuned.

You probably already know that that NCR decided months ago to move its headquarters to Duluth, GA. In the process of doing so jobs were eliminated in Ohio while at least 120 jobs have been created in Georgia. The classic adage "good for me" - "bad for you" holds true regarding NCR's relocation to Duluth announcement. So what's the big deal about 100 or so new jobs. That probably isn't enough to get too excited about. On the other hand, as NCR grows its ATM business, it expects to hire at least 750 more employees.

NCR has decided to start manufacturing ATM Machines in house and it plans to do it at its new facility in Columbus, GA. The facility is huge, estimated at 350,000 square feet, which is the size of a strip mall and then some. In short, NCR states the rationale for moving ATM manufacturing in house is "driven by our belief that as self-service ATM technology becomes more innovative and strategic to financial institutions, the ability to control manufacturing in key markets becomes a core and competitive advantage to our growth strategy." So based on NCR's decision, the Columbus, GA manufacturing plant will service NCR's new customers.

As you can see, NCR is focusing on operational efficiency and is putting the cash behind a new facility to make it happen. With that kind of an investment, it isn't far reaching to expect NCR's hiring of 750 employees to expand well beyond that. While the additional 750 NCR jobs comes over a three year period, it still is a lot to be excited about. This is especially true since the cost of living is scaled back in Columbus when compared to NCR's headquarters in Duluth. So you might want to get your resume submitted to NCR asap. If you've already done so, be sure to keep NCR on the radar as they seem to have a lot of exciting events taking place.