Central US, Internet & E-commerce, Pacific US, Software, Telecommunications & Networking

Tech industry continues to thrive in California

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Silicon Valley - Tech Industry

California Tech Industry

California has always been a mecca of technology employment, with its infamous Silicon Valley region housing some of the biggest names and brightest minds in the industry.

Tech expansion extends throughout the state 
The recent tech boom has caused the state’s tech sector to expand even further. San Jose Mercury News reported that the field is propelling California toward record-breaking employment numbers. According to the source, California surpassed 16 million nonfarm jobs in April for the first time ever. This job total was 3.6 percent greater than in July 2007, the last time the state experienced a peak in its labor situation.

The recent expansions to the tech sector have not been relegated to Silicon Valley, however. The industry is experiencing major growth in Los Angeles and San Francisco as well. San Jose Mercury News explained that although the Bay Area experienced some decline to the field after the dot-com burst, its tech industry expanded by 100 percent between 2005 and 2013. Currently, the San Francisco-San Mateo region is just 45,000 jobs away from its peak tech employment numbers.

Los Angeles is also home to a burgeoning tech sector, reported the Los Angeles Times. The source noted that in 2013, tech positions accounted for 9 percent of all jobs in the county. Software and Internet organizations increased their presence in the area by 13.5 percent between 2003 and 2013. And while the region is still lagging behind San Francisco and Silicon Valley in terms of its tech workforce, California venture capitalist Mark Suster told the Los Angeles Times to focus more on newer, smaller businesses than well-established organizations.

“The real measure of the future economy is how many tech start-up jobs you have. We’ve had a demonstrable improvement in the last five years,” Suster told the news source.

Los Angeles home to a widespread tech sector 
While it is clear Los Angeles is becoming a prominent county for California tech employment, there has been an ongoing debate among industry professionals about what types of businesses fall into this category. Many up-and-coming companies have appeared on the scene via mobile apps, and despite their products being non-tech related, their approach to distribution has placed them in a technological gray area.

The Los Angeles Times pointed to ride-sharing apps Uber and Lyft as prime examples of this trend. While these organizations are essentially taxi services, their focus is primarily on developing and maintaining their mobile apps.

“There’s no well-defined tech sector. There’s clearly a large and vibrant technology sector that runs across many traditional sectors in Los Angeles – that is clear. What that translates to in terms of employment and income – that’s a little less clear,”  Jerry Nickelsburg, an economics professor at UCLA, told the Los Angeles Times.

The source reported that most professionals adhere to standards set by the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp. when determining whether a company should be considered a part of the tech industry. These guidelines veer on the side of inclusivity and consider organizations spanning multiple industries, from architecture to aerospace development, to fit in the high-tech field.

Chemical

Job cuts decrease for the U.S. oil industry

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Oil Industry

Oil Industry

Falling oil prices have been behind numerous layoffs to industry workers, but these job cuts have been showing signs of slowing down. According to a recent report from Challenger, Gray & Christmas, the worst part of the oil industry’s decline may be over as fewer workforce decreases are being reported.

The report explained that during the first quarter of 2015, over 68,000 oil industry jobs were cut, creating an average monthly decline of 17,000 jobs for the sector. The source noted that in April alone, over 20,000 positions were cut from oil-related organizations. This rate fell sharply in May however, when only 1,000 jobs were eliminated as a result of falling oil prices. The financial activities industry actually experienced far more cuts to its workforce than the oil sector, losing 5,539 workers and anticipating a minimum of 5,000 planned cuts over the next 18 months.

Still, the oil industry remains in the midst of planned downsizing initiatives meant to keep organizations afloat despite low prices. The Houston Business Journal reported that these cuts are especially prominent in Texas, a state whose economy is largely dependent on the oil industry.

So far this year, the Lone Star State has lost over 73,000 positions, and a number of big-name companies have announced plans to eliminate even more jobs in the near future. Schlumberger Ltd. will be shrinking its workforce by 15 percent, or 20,000 positions, while Baker Hughes Inc. will be cutting 10,500 jobs, which accounts for 17 percent of its overall workforce.

Despite these plans for downsizing, the report indicated that things will likely improve fairly soon.

“Unless, there is another severe drop in the price of oil, we probably will not see another surge in oil-related job cuts this year,” said John A. Challenger, chief executive officer of Challenger, Gray & Christmas, in a release.

Central US, Contract Staffing, Engineering, International News, Manufacturing, Marketing, Midwest US, North America, Northeast US, Pacific US, Southeast US, Southwest US, US News

The War For Talent Continues

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The War For Talent Continues

More than a quarter-million Americans turn 65, and every month approximately 10,000 people retire. The recession may have delayed the inevitable for a time, but as the stock market continues to rebound there are signs that more Americans are at last feeling confident enough to leave the workforce. Some experts argue that by staying in the workforce longer than past generations, boomers have been clogging the usual professional pathways, which has left fewer opportunities for people beginning their careers. This is changing quickly, but result of hiring by US companies during the recession years is a significant lack of qualified professional managers and professionals with 5-8 years of experience. This will fuel the war for talent for the next several years.

 

Bruce Peacock
Vice President of Business Development
The Richmond Group USA

Biotechnology, Life Sciences, Manufacturing, Placement Annoucements, Quality Assurance

Shawn Barley & TRG Life Sciences Complete Successful Search

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(Richmond, VA) June 1, 2014 – The Life Sciences Division of The Richmond Group is pleased to announce the successful completion of a Senior Regulatory Associate search. Our client, a rapidly growing medical device manufacturer was looking for an individual that could help them with their 510(k) submissions for their cutting-edge portfolio of spinal implants.

The challenge of this search was chiefly the location of our client: we could find a plethora of candidates that fit the success profile, but very few candidates that either were interested in the local market or wanted to move to the area.

Fortunately, Shawn reached out to a candidate that wasn’t initially looking but had extensive experience in 510(k) submissions to the FDA as well as international submission expertise. By being patient and persistent, we discovered that while she enjoyed her job at her current employer, the commute to and from work was really wearing her down. Moreover, our opportunity gave her the chance to make more of an impact than she was currently and cut her commute down significantly which would vastly improve her quality of life.  We presented her within days of taking on the search, and it was love at first sight for both parties: an offer was presented and accepted. Mission accomplished all within 30 days!

Should you desire additional information about this successful search or about our firm please contact Shawn Barley, the President of our Life Sciences Division at 804-404-2849 or email Shawn at shawnb@richgroupusa.com.

US News

Which states have the lowest unemployment rates?

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Unemployment

Unemployment

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics recently issued its Regional and State Employment and Unemployment Summary, which takes an in-depth look at which parts of the nation have strong job situations and which are struggling to gain workforce stability. The report revealed that although the country’s labor situation improved as a whole, certain areas performed better than others.

Strong job growth seen in a number of states 
The state with the lowest unemployment rate in April was Nebraska which had a jobless average of 2.5 percent – less than half the national average of 5.4 percent. Nebraska was the only state to achieve an unemployment rate below 3 percent. The state’s average showed significant improvement from last year’s rate, which was still strong at 3.4 percent. The Washington Times explained that the state’s most notable industry expansions were seen in the education and health services sector, which grew by nearly 5,000 positions since April 2014. Other fields that experienced growth included financial activities and other services.

A number of states were able to keep their unemployment rates below 4 percent in April, including North Dakota, which experienced a jobless rate of 3.1 percent, and Utah at 3.4 percent. Both Vermont and South Dakota had unemployment averages of 3.6 percent, while Minnesota’s rate hit 3.7 percent. New Hampshire, Iowa and Idaho all had unemployment rates of 3.8 percent. USA Today noted that despite these numbers being quite strong, North and South Dakota both experienced year-over-year rises to their unemployment rates. This is likely because oil is an integral part of both states’ economies, and oil prices have been steadily dropping throughout the past year.

High unemployment rates remain an issue in certain regions
While many states were below or on par with the national average, a number of areas struggled to maintain a positive labor situation in April. The highest unemployment rate in the country was seen in the District of Columbia, which hit a jobless average of 7.5 percent. USA Today explained that this high rate of joblessness is due to an increase in federal job cuts, because the government is one of the main employers in this area.

Nevada, a state where 7.1 percent of people were searching for work, was the only other state with an unemployment rate exceeding 7 percent. USA Today noted that this is because of the state’s dependency on casinos and hotels, many of which have been experiencing financial difficulties. Nevada Public Radio explained that despite this, however, the state actually created jobs in April and will likely see improvements to its overall labor situation in the near future.

West Virginia had an unemployment rate of 7 percent, which USA Today reported is connected with dwindling stability in the coal mining industry. Some states that had jobless rates between 6 and 7 percent included Alaska, California, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, New Jersey, New Mexico and South Carolina. Many states had unemployment rates that were fairly close to the national average of 5.4 percent.

Banking, Financial Services, Lending Services, Placement Annoucements

Jon Burkhart & TRG Commercial Banking Complete Senior Commercial Lender Search

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(Richmond, VA) May 20, 2015 –  Jon Burkhart and the Commercial Banking Team of The Richmond Group USA (TRG) are pleased to announce the successful conclusion of a Senior Commercial Lender search in Friendswood, TX for a successful and established East TX bank.

Our client-company reached out to us in the middle of the first quarter with an opportunity that they had been working on for over a year.  Using a blended approach — a mix of their own efforts and that of local recruiting firms — they were unable to find a senior commercial lender of the caliber necessary to do the job.  They needed someone familiar with the South and Southeast Houston market who could immediately bring in new relationships and grow the bank’s loan portfolio in the area.

Due to the specific qualifications this role required, a comprehensive search was conducted to uncover and attract a pool of qualified candidates in Southeast Houston and its surrounding suburbs and communities.  Because of our knowledge of the marketplace and our network of qualified, passive candidates, we were able to identify, qualify and attract the right candidate quickly and at the opportune time, taking advantage of a recent management shift in the candidate’s current bank.

With this new exciting opportunity, the senior commercial lender has the ability to positively and significantly impact the bank’s commercial lending portfolio, having already brought three million to the table before his first official day.  The bank now has a senior commercial lender with formal credit training, a vast network of COI’s in the area, and a significant pipeline to help provide a strong start to the second half of the year.

As your business continues to grow, so does your need for talented individuals. What are you doing today to secure the future talent needs?

Should you desire additional information about this successful search or about our firm please contact Jon Burkhart and the Commercial Banking division at 804-285-2071 or email Jon at jonb@richgroupusa.com