Free Republic

While America's job outlook is healthy and many industries are projected to grow in the coming years, there are also signs that some occupations are becoming obsolete. The majority of the decreases are in office and administrative support and production occupations, which are affected by the implementation of office technology that reduces the needs for these workers, changes in business practices, and escalating plant and factory automation. A majority of the job openings occurring in these occupations will arise not from job growth, but from the need to replace those transferring to other industries, retire or leave for other reasons...

BIRMINGHAM, AL — Wachovia Corp., the new owner of SouthTrust Corp., plans to cut 829 jobs in Birmingham between January 2005 and March 2006. More layoffs are expected to follow. The job losses represent about 20 percent of the 4,000 people SouthTrust employs in Birmingham. Charlotte-based Wachovia, which bought SouthTrust last month, told state officials about the job cuts Wednesday, as required by laws that demand disclosure of mass employment cuts. Wachovia, the country's fourth-largest bank, has said it can eliminate $255 million in annual expenses by combining its operations with those of SouthTrust, once Alabama's biggest financial institution. The...

For education and discussion only. Not for commercial use.We couldn't help but be struck by the real message conveyed by a recent brief in the Washington Post Sunday business section on job gains and losses near the nation's capitol. The item juxtaposed the shuttering of General Motors' van assembly plant in Baltimore with the announcement that new high tech jobs were being created in Northern Virginia. At first glance, these developments seemed like an unalloyed triumph of the New Economy and a clear sign that traditional manufacturing is fading into irrelevance. After all, the Post writer emphasized that the GM...

GAO Warns of Dangerous DeficitNewsMax.com WiresThursday, Sept 18, 2003 WASHINGTON -- The head of Congress' investigative arm warned Wednesday that the United States faces "large and growing structural deficits," which, if not soon addressed, could lead to "a dangerous budgetary and economic spiral that would ultimately hurt every American." "Our nation has a major long-term fiscal challenge that is not going away, and requires serious and sustained attention," David Walker, U.S. comptroller general and head of the General Accounting Office, said Wednesday at a luncheon at Washington's National Press Club. This challenge -- more than $7 trillion in accumulated...