JOBWIRE

State Surpasses 15 Million Jobs

California employers added 36,900 jobs in August, pushing total nonfarm payroll employment over the 15-million mark. The state’s strong performance contributed 29 percent of the nation’s total job growth last month. Ten of the eleven industrial categories added jobs, with only construction declining by 3800 positions. Government recorded the largest gain, up 10,300 jobs, followed by professional and business services (7900), educational and health services (5900), information (5900), leisure and hospitality (4100), manufacturing (3200) and financial activities (2000). California’s unemployment rate rose a tenth to 4.9 percent.

On the Job Front

NATIONWIDE – Twenty-eight percent of US companies plan to increase staffing levels in the fourth quarter this year, according to a Manpower survey of 14,000 employers. Eight percent of companies surveyed anticipate staff cutbacks before the end of the year.

FOLSOM – Intel will lay off another 61 employees this month as it continues to slim down and restructure operations. Non-management staffers are being given two months to find a position elsewhere in the company before being terminated. The IT chipmaker employs nearly 100,000 people worldwide.

MOUNTAIN VIEW – Oxonica Inc, a maker of nanotechnology-based healthcare diagnostics will hire about 25 people, doubling its current staff, to pursue a research and development project.

SACRAMENTO – Royal Truck Body, which converts stock trucks into specialty vehicles for tradespeople, has leased 148,000 square feet at McClellan Park.

SAN FRANCISCO – Fourteen of the City’s largest hotels agreed to raise wages and increase funding of healthcare benefits, ending a two-year dispute with unionized hotel workers.

SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO – Amgen, the world’s largest and most profitable biotechnology firm is expected to continue adding staff as it expands its local campus to 600,000 square feet. Insiders estimate at least 300 new hires a year over the next four years.

Veterans Struggle to Find a Job

Federal authorities estimate that approximately 250,000 US service members leave active duty annually. According to a new CareerBuilder.com survey, acclimating back into the civilian workforce can be difficult, with nearly one in five veterans taking six months or longer to find a job after returning home. One in ten reported it took them more than one year. Data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows nearly 20 percent of veterans age 20 to 24 are unemployed, three times the national average. Veterans surveyed said their primary challenges in finding gainful employment are: lack of available jobs in their place of residence (29 percent), employers don’t understand how the skills acquired in the military translate to the civilian world (16 percent); lack of college degree (12 percent); and inexperience with effectively communicating skills acquired in the military to employers via resumes and interviews (11 percent). While unemployment amongst veterans in their early 20s is especially high, employers are offering encouraging news. According to the CareerBuilder survey, 40 percent of hiring managers plan to recruit veterans for their open positions in the remainder of 2006. To find employers eager to recruit veterans, go to OperationHeroforHire.com.