Good news as it relates to the job market!

According to Reuters, the number of Americans filing brand new unemployment claims dropped more than expected last week. Today the Labor Department announced initial claims dropped by 23,000 for a total of 340,000. Typically, 350,000 is the benchmark economists reference for a strengthening job market.

As for the drop itself, the implication is the result of the previous week’s jump since employers weren’t laying off workers so readily after hearing about the $85 billion government spending cuts.

The piece pointed out the tighter fiscal policy may have tightened the belt on economic activity but the slow pace may just be temporary as job opportunities grow stronger and home prices increase to boost consumer spending.

Economic activity appears to have cooled somewhat early in the second quarter on the back of tighter fiscal policy, but the slowdown could prove to be temporary as the steady job gains combine with rising share and home prices to support consumer spending.

The claims report showed the number of people still receiving benefits under regular state programs after an initial week of aid fell 112,000 to 2.91 million in the week ended May 11. That was the first time in five years so-called continuing claims were below the three million mark.

Forget the doom and gloom, according to Snagajob, a site that publishes employment opportunities for hourly job seekers, prospects for summer hiring are up, up and away!

Let’s get a few things straight: Is it full-time employment? No. Benefits and paid time off? No and no. That said, we are talking about opportunities for seasonal work for people who are on the bench and looking to get in the game.

As per a piece on Fortune, the number of companies seeking to hire summer help has risen significantly and average pay is $11.50 per hour (this is compared to $10.90 one year ago). Read more

As a footnote to Friday’s labor report, Simply Hired, a technology company that operates a job search engine, echoed the job growth with their own set of statistics. Last month openings on their site were up 6.2 percent month over month and 40.9 percent year-over-year.

To drill down even more for media folks, their representative informed us there are 25,036 job openings in media. This is up by six percent from March and almost 30 percent year-over-year.

As for the cities with the most available jobs, that would be New York City (2,745 jobs), Los Angeles (1,479 jobs), and Chicago (1,150). The numbers represent the media industry as a whole and unfortunately, don’t specify the medium within media itself. Read more

In case you haven’t heard of the General Release and Agreement, we’re here to give you some insight.

Here’s the deal: Let’s say you get laid off and an employer gives you documentation for your signature in exchange for severance. Essentially, the document indicates you’ll waive your rights to sue the company and that you won’t say anything negative about it. Read more

Are you the type of person who looks at a glass and thinks it’s half full or half empty?

We’re the half full types and thus, today’s job report is actually a good thing. The economy added 165,000 jobs last month and the unemployment rate dropped to 7.5 percent nationally.

Here’s the kicker: According to a piece on ABC News, economists apparently thought the report was going to show adding 153,000 jobs last month with a stagnant unemployment rate.

As such, today’s report was better than expected! We’re not the only optimistic ones.

Kevin Dunning, U.S. Analyst for The Economist Intelligence Unit, told the site, “This is encouraging because it suggests that previously discouraged workers are returning to the jobs market on the back of better prospects now.”

What we’re about to tell you is bleak, so please don’t say we didn’t warn you.

According to new survey results released by Accenture, 41 percent of recent college grads who are employed indicated they’re underemployed.

Essentially, they graduated within the past two years and feel they’re working in jobs that don’t require college degrees.

Furthermore, approximately 63 percent say they will need more training in order to get their desired job. The 2013 College Graduate Employment Survey included 1,010 students graduating from college this year along with 1,005 students who graduated in 2011 and 2012. Read more

Sorry to end the week with grim news but we heard production workers at the San Jose Mercury News are going to lose their San Jose-based jobs starting on Monday.

According to The Business Journal, layoff letters were issued to 118 employees. As for the good news? An undetermined number of those employees will be offered jobs at other locations affiliated with the paper.

The employees impacted by the reduction in force (a.k.a. “RIF”) include press operators and production staffers. It sounds like timing is everything. After all, the layoffs are occurring merely two weeks after the newspaper announced its intentions to market its 30-acres.

Publisher Mac Tully explained, “This plant sits on very valuable real estate that we want to realize the value of.”

Congratulations! You worked hard, got recognized and landed that coveted promotion!

What happens when the dust settles and you realize your salary hasn’t been properly increased to reflect the new job responsibilities?

Gregory Giangrande, executive human resources officer in the media industry, writes in his New York Post column:

“Speak up, but craft your message and the timing carefully: Express gratitude for the acknowledgment and enthusiasm for taking on more responsibility. And it is legitimate to say you thought the compensation would be commensurate with the new job.”

Essentially, the conversation surrounding the factors relating to compensation could be helpful from a growth perspective to hear upper management’s reasoning behind the insignificant adjustment. Plus, it gives you the opportunity to hold your ground and move forward to “revisit and review the compensation in the future.”

Walt Disney Studios laid off 150 workers yesterday; a few senior executives received some of the pink slips.

Apparently the cuts didn’t impact eliminating entire departments. In addition, the lay offs won’t have implications of restructuring the studio.

As per Variety, employees working in home entertainment, production, distribution and marketing, and Disney’s theater and music business in New York City were hit the hardest.

Disney employees approximately 166,000 employees across the globe. The reduction in force represents less than five percent of the studio’s workforce across Disney, Pixar, Marvel, Lucasfilm, Disney Theatrical Productions and music divisions.

This just in…hiring is anticipated to be slowing down this quarter, says a new survey by CareerBuilder.

Compared to last year, apparently we’ll see a slow down through the end of June. More than 2,000 hiring managers and human resources professionals were surveyed. Respondents revealed they’re more cautious at the moment than they were a year ago.

Matt Ferguson, CEO of CareerBuilder, explained in a press release, “The U.S. job market is in a better place today, but concerns over spending cuts, wavering global economies, and other factors are weighing on employers’ minds. We expect continued stability and improvement as the year goes on.” Read more