Screwed: 1,600 at California Department of Corrections

A daily review of the employment fallout around the country and the world.

Today’s Total: 1,894

The California Department of Corrections will issue 1,300 new layoff notices in Sacramento, Amador, Fresno and elsewhere…Exterran Holdings Inc. will lay off 274 employees after closing 4 facilities in Texas… Alemite, a grease gun manufacturer in northerneast Tennessee, will lay off 119 workers by November… Nestaway Wire Company is laying off 116 workers in Carroll County …

Career Scams to Avoid

As if the whole sub-prime mortgage debacle wasn’t scam enough, schemers have been out in fuller force since the recession began. According to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center, there was a 33 percent uptick in scams last year.

Companies billing themselves as “career marketing specialists” have started specifically targeting professionals and managers in recent months, for example, capitalizing on the massive number of laid off executives looking for work anywhere they can.

To make matters worse, consumer advocates report that the sheer number of people working as scammers is on the rise, since an increasing number of unemployed workers are turning to identity theft and other money-making schemes as an additional source of income during the downturn.

Of course, the best protection against recession scammers is knowing what game they’re trying to pull…

Networking for Non-Networkers

Network, network, network.

After getting a JD from the University of Michigan and working at one New York’s top law firms, the last thing I anticipated was to be scrambling for a job. Welcome to the new reality. Part of my severance package was career counseling from an outplacement firm that offered coaching classes on networking. “Network” was their mantra—and if I’d heeded their advice more closely back in March, I might have avoided a few missteps.

Lots of people, including me, chafe at the idea of leveraging their contacts to meet people who might be in a position to help. And I’m not suggesting, as the New York Times recently did, that you start hitting people up for business cards on the subway. But it doesn’t take a degree in math to know that the more people you know, the more likely you are to hear about career opportunities. And assuming you make a good impression, anyone you meet is one more person who can recommend you, serve as a sounding board for ideas, or even a potential client once you have landed that dream job.

As I’ve learned the hard way, there are better and worse ways to approach people. These tips will help to make your networking more effective and efficient and get you on your way to landing a job—or at least figuring out the next step…

Recession Briefing 8.24: Manorexia on the Rise

What you need to know today to survive and thrive in the recession. If you come across a good article or blog post about the recession pass it on. To receive Recession Briefing in your inbox, subscribe to our daily email.

Financial fears and the recession are contributing to the rise in the number of men suffering from anorexia. (Sky News)

Obama administration officials are looking at 1937′s stalled comeback from the Great Depression for clues as to what this recession’s rebound might be like. (Wall Street Journal)

In the recession, there are a proliferation of scams that target job seekers. In addition to sham job-finding companies, perpetrators prey on the desperate by offering credit rating repairs, foreclosure rescues, and home-based businesses that aren’t legitimate. (Boston Herald)…

Screwed: 500 at Boeing

A daily roundup of the employment fallout around the country and the world.

Today’s total: 1,576

Boeing gave layoff notices to 500 workers Friday…Pennsylvania’s Department of Agriculture will cut 255 jobs…News Corp. is expected to let go 200 people from Star TV Asia in Hong Kong…UPS is laying off 200 workers in Ireland…Dutch semiconductor maker ASM is slashing 106 jobs by closing its Phoenix facility…Bashas’ grocery chain in Arizona is closing two stories and eliminating 102 positions….Greenheck in Wisconsin is giving 91 recalled employees a double-whammy, laying them off again…

Retooling: Polishing Up a Diamond Website

Turns out, diamonds aren’t quite forever. Tiffany has been hit hard by the recession, national chain Christian Bernard Jewelers shut down, and mining giant De Beers has slashed its workforce by 23 percent to cut costs.

A perfect time, thinks one company, to start expanding…

Dating on a Dime

Let’s face it: The economy may be improving, but blast that lagging economic indicator—unemployment is around to stay, at least for a little bit. And while you may have plenty of time on your hands, the reality is that, more likely than not, your pockets will be a little bit emptier than desired.

Never fear, necessity is the mother of invention! And there are plenty of ways you can save money on a date (without looking like a cheap skate). Clever, low-cost date ideas will get you out and about in the world with your sweetheart and allow you to get to know each other better than any fancy-schmancy dinner could ever facilitate…

Recession Briefing 8.21: Elmo’s Recession Woes

What you need to know today to survive and thrive in the recession.

Elmo, Sesame Street‘s most giggly spokesmonster, is going through some tough economic times. His mommy has lost her job. (Daily Finance)

Data is beginning to show that the rich, as a group, are no longer getting richer. Over the last two years, they have become poorer. And many may not return to their old levels of wealth and income anytime soon. (New York Times)

The rough economy is inflicting hardship on people even in death. Coroners and funeral directors in several cities say the number of people seeking government-paid funerals, cremations and burials is spiking… (USA Today)

If you come across a good article or blog post about the recession pass it on. To receive Recession Briefing in your inbox, subscribe to our daily email.

Screwed: 300 in Montenegro

A daily roundup of the employment fallout around the country and the world.

Today’s total: 997

First, the good news: In Scotland, Tesco Personal Finance is said to be creating 800 new jobs and car retailer Arnold Clark is creating 700 jobs (perhaps a good time to be in Scotland?). … Morgan Stanley is adding 400 positions on its trading floor. … GEICO will bring 300 new jobs to western New York. … There are reports that state and local governments added 110,000 jobs since the beginning of the year, the below notwithstanding.

And now the bad news: Montenegro’s steelworks have handed out 300 pink slips. … Alabama’s Baldwin County schools have cut 205 jobs. … Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas will begin laying off 200 employees. … 130 mental health workers in Pierce County in Washington state have been laid off. … Osceola County, Fla., may lay off 100 workers. …Wells Fargo has cut 62 positions in Durham, N.C. …

Recession Lexicon: Clunkerf*ck

/n. What happens when the government issues coupons on cars but doesn’t use the same printing machine as it seems to for currency.

Spotted here, and in a comment on Facebook, in discussion of the cash that ran out on the government subsidy “Cash for Clunkers” program that gave consumers a $3,500 or $4,500 voucher per car for so-called gas guzzlers that could be traded in for fuel-efficient vehicles. The program was so successful at encouraging auto sales that Congress had to approve an additional $2 billion for it, on top of the initial $1 billion. But dealerships have to wade through extensive (17 pages) paperwork and face delays in getting paid by the auto giants—and some consumers lose out on vouchers that have run out. What’s more, so much for the environmental benefit since the clunkers are creating a pileup in the junkyard. No wonder some dealerships are opting out.

Ex. Dealerships are up to their ears in paperwork for the Cash for Clunkers program, and some owners will not be able to cash in after all, resulting in a general clunkerf*ck…