There are certain towns in the United States where it’s clearly a hellish job market for job seekers.

Miami, Detroit, St. Louis, and Las Vegas are among the worst. In the Motor City, there are nearly 22 people for every advertised job opening, according to new data by Juju.com, a job search site. St. Louis has nearly 20 people per job; Miami 15.8 people per job; and Vegas has 14.4 per job. (more…)

I don’t know about you guys but I never got a present from a boss in my whole career.

I think an editor or two took me out for lunch for my birthday, or during the holiday season, but gifts, no way.

That’s why I was surprised when I read in a recent survey that 17 percent of employers plan on giving holiday gifts to their workers this year. (OK, I may have gifts on the brain today because it’s my birthday.) (more…)

With a 10.2 percent unemployment rate, everyone seems to be scratching their heads.

There’s been a lot of speculation over the weekend on why the heck the economy seems to be turning around but the job market is still lagging.

The consensus among most economists and Wall Streeters is American companies have just gotten smarter and American workers are just more productive. Through outsourcing and better management, they just don’t need as many workers. That’s the theory at least. (more…)

I got a sinking feeling in my stomach when I heard that the man who shot to death 12 people at a military base was supposedly a devout Muslim.

Nadal Hassan allegedly committed a horrific act at Fort Hood, TX, and that should be condemned. But there’s been a tendency by some in this country to take the actions of one individual of a certain religious affiliation and blame a whole group of people.

Muslim groups anticipate a backlash. The Council on American-Islamic Relations put out a statement last night urging Americans to stay calm and united. (more…)

People, have you lost your minds?

I don’t mind if you tweet about bowl movements or your latest sexual escapades, but why would you disclose information about your health, or your family members’, or a friend’s health on Twitter or any other social networking site?

Lately I’ve noticed a disturbing trend. Many of you are baring it all in cyber space — and I mean everything from cankers to cancer. And that could spell doom (more…)

The race for New Jersey’s governor points to an ongoing problem in this country — it’s ok to discriminate against fat people.

Leading up to the elections yesterday, and even today, the fat jokes have been flowing on the Web about 5′11″, 550 pound Chris Christie who challenged incumbent New Jersey Gov. Jon Corzine:

This from a website called Power Line on Christie’s win: “The fat man sings in New Jersey.”

Can you imagine if after Obama won the election you saw a headline that said: “The black man sings.” (more…)

Would you want a man serving you dinner when you’re out at a fancy restaurant?

The owners of a high-end group of steakhouses thought you wouldn’t, and they were barring men from such duties since 1938 in the name of tradition. (more…)

Many of you are considering a career switch and that’s a great thing.

But before you do too much research into a new profession, I would do one thing ASAP — take someone in that field out for a cup of coffee.

Why? No matter how many books or articles you read about a career, no matter how long you spend on the Internet researching a profession, you’ll never know what it’s really like unless you talk to someone in the trenches. And I mean talk, not email folks.

This point was driven home for me during the weekend when I was attending a Halloween party at my neighbor’s house. My neighbor is a nurse and I’ve known her for many years now. But I’ve never really picked her brain about the job she does.

Well, all the attendees at the party got a graphic picture of what she does during a conversation about deodorant. (I know, sounds weird, but it was a party and the beer was flowing.) (more…)