Black Immigrant Daily News

Looking for a new job is a balancing act: Some people change roles for a shorter commute or better salary, others want health insurance or flexible schedules, and still others are looking to work in a new or different industry.

Hiring is booming in the US — the economy added 528,000 jobs in July, up from 398,000 in June, according to the latest job report by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics.

But in many cases, wages aren’t rising as fast as prices, leading workers to look elsewhere.

Compensation, job location and work environment are among the most important factors you should consider when looking for a new role, according to Jill Gonzalez, a financial analyst from WalletHub.

Here are five key things to think about if you’re looking for a job (or wondering whether you should):

The Current Job Market

As of July, there were 1.7 jobs for every unemployed person, meaning employers are competing for workers in many industries.

While not all employers can afford to offer cost-of-living wage increases, some are increasingly open to providing other benefits, such as more remote work options, subsidized child care, or coverage of commuting expenses, according to Johnny C Taylor Jr, chief executive officer of the Society for Human Resource Management.

“With inflation, employees that are otherwise happy at work are forced to look for another job. It’s a retention problem,” he said.

“You might have an employee who loves their workplace, but they’ll say, ‘I have to go across the street for the job that will pay me 20% more.’”

Some companies are also better prepared to withstand an economic downturn than others, which is worth considering amid fears that the US could be headed for a recession.

“The companies that are recession-resistant are typically those that sell consumer essentials, provide critical repair services, or manufacture or sell proprietary or specialized products,” said Gonzalez.

Demand for these goods and services typically stays more or less the same regardless of consumers’ budgets.

The food industry, grocery stores, power plants, waste management, pharmaceutical, and healthcare companies also weather economic instability well, she said.

Salary

How much you’ll be paid is key, and how you look at your income depends in part on your industry.

For Justin Taylor, a restaurant worker based in Minneapolis, it isn’t only a question of how much he can make per hour, but also how much he can get in tips.

Taylor increased his salary from $15 per hour to approximately $20 per hour when he changed jobs from Chipotle to a local restaurant.

His previous job didn’t include meaningful tips from customers while his current job does, significantly raising his take-home pay.

Conversations around pay are rarely transparent. If you’re not sure what the average salary in your industry might be, the US Bureau of Labor Statistics provides a list of average wages and salaries in most sectors.

Commute

If you find a job that pays more per hour but requires a longer commute, it might not work out to be much of a pay raise, after factoring in gas or the cost of public transit.

“I wanted to be close to my home, I was just trying to save money on transportation,” said Taylor.

Before his new job, Taylor used to commute 30 minutes each way on public transport; he now travels on his electric scooter for less than 10 minutes.

With gas prices higher than a year ago, Taylor also decided to sell his truck and start using more affordable alternatives.

Survey data shows that 64 per cent of US adults have changed their driving habits or lifestyle since March of this year, according to the American Automobile Association.

If you can take public transportation to your job or you pay for parking, check with your potential new employer about whether the company offers pre-tax benefits.

Benefits

For some, good benefits might include health insurance or retirement contributions. For others, working from home a few days a week or having on-the-job training are great bonuses.

“The work-life balance is equally important. (Workers) should inquire about vacation and sick day policies, as well as work-from-home flexibility,” Gonzalez said.

That was the case for Taylor, who approached his job search with the goal of having more flexibility.

“I’m a person, I have a life outside of work and wanted to have more control. That was really important, too. So I went in letting them know ‘Hey, I will need this day off,’” said Taylor, who is also a member of Restaurant Opportunities Centers United, a non-profit organisation that advocates for workers’ rights.

Eugene Natali, a financial literacy expert and CEO of Troutwood, a financial planning app, said growing your skills is especially important when there might be a recession looming.

Auto mechanics, for example, should take every on-the-job training and get every certification offered, he said, to make themselves more valuable to their workplace and more attractive to potential employers if they should need to change jobs.

Work Environment

Blair Heitmann, a career expert for the hiring platform LinkedIn, encourages job seekers to think about company culture when looking to change roles.

Reaching out to current and former employees, researching press and social media and even reading earnings reports are some of her recommendations.

Websites such as Indeed and Glassdoor have user-generated reviews of workplaces and some offer pay ranges for certain companies.

This research can also help give your insight into what makes a business run, which can give you a leg up in an interview, she said.

Stephanie Stathas, a licensed therapist with Thriveworks, which provides in-person and online therapy, says that identifying healthy workplaces can help reduce job stress.

“If a work environment doesn’t have good management or doesn’t find that time to appreciate the individual for what they do, a lot of people can tend to feel down about themselves,” she said.

But it’s more nuanced than just appreciating workers, she added, as employees also need the ability to set boundaries with their workloads.

By Adriana Morga and Cora Lewis

NewsAmericasNow.com

Black Immigrant Daily News

Sports

TTCF Commonwealth Games mechanic Kevin Tinto.

Trinidad and Tobago Cycling Federation (TTCF) Commonwealth Games mechanic Kevin Tinto has come in for high praise from the Anguilla Amateur Cycling Association for assisting one of their riders mere minutes before Sunday’s road race in Birmingham, England.

President of the Anguilla fraternity Sharon Lowe showered praise on Tinto for fixing Hasani Hennis’s bike handle ahead of his historic performance. Hennis went on to place 70th in the race and in the process, became the first Anguillan to complete the lengthy course.

Before Tinto’s timely intervention, Cycling Federation of Belize’s Calman Williams tried for over two hours to repair the handle , but was unsuccessful.

Lowe was grateful for Tinto’s assistance. Had he not stepped in, Hennis would have had to pull out of the race.

She posted to Facebook on Sunday, “I must say much love, appreciation and respect go out to Kevin Tinto (bike specialist) of TTCF. Person tried about two hours to solve it without success.

She said Tinto saw the struggle, got his toolbox and solved the problem “in less than 30 minutes, and about 25 minutes before race time.”

Until then, she said, “We were all a bit stressed and nervous as it looked like Hasani was not going to be able to ride.

“You could imagine what state of mind Hasani was in. Words can’t say how appreciative I am and it shows that Tinto is truly a bike specialist, bike boss, bike everything.”

“Hasani went on to finish the race, and be the first ever cyclist from Anguilla to do so. We owe much gratitude to Kevin Tinto (I’d never forget this name). This is another reason, why I’d forever love my Caribbean Cycling people.”

Lowe also thanked Williams for his attempts.

TTCF president Rowena Williams commented on the post: “Anguilla, on behalf of TTCF I say much love and thanks for the recognition. I am sure Kevin was happy to assist. We are all here to help each other. Congrats to your cyclist for completing the event.”

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Black Immigrant Daily News

News

Economist Dr Marlene Attzs

ECONOMIST Dr Marlene Attzs commented on the wrangle over wages between trade unions and the CPO by calling for some caution in what she said was now “a very uncertain economic time,” speaking to Newsday on Monday.

With Russia’s invasion of Ukraine having pushed the world oil price to as high as US$120 (Brent) and with the price on Monday at US$88 for WTI ( more closely aligned to TT’s oil), and natural gas at US$8.18 MMBtu, unions have anticipated a windfall in national revenues and have been hoping to address long-outstanding wage talks.

CPO Dr Darryl Dindial initially offered several public-sector unions a two per cent rise for 2014-2021, comprising zero for the years 2014-2017, one per cent for 2018, zero for 2019-2020, and one per cent for 2021. He subsequently offered a four per cent rise for 2014-2019, comprisingzero, zero, two, zero, zero, two for each year successively from 2014-2019.

The unions representing protective services have rejected both.

Attzs noted the Government’s high indebtedness.

She said the local narrative must be centred on global economic circumstances, noting that no one had foreseen Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and its global impact on energy prices plus food availability. Recalling that Finance Minister Colm Imbert said in the Mid Year Review that TT could expect a couple billion dollars in energy windfall, Attzs said it might not be unreasonable for unions to seek some of that windfall, although she urged caution.

“You have to look at the steady state. The large economies of the world could intervene to cause energy prices to flatten.”

Attzs said in the UK the public conversation expressed a fear of the upcoming winter pushing household heating bills to as high as £4,200. This fear, along with the ongoing Conservative Party leadership contest, could serve to put pressure on energy prices to come down, she warned.

“It is unsustainable for us to assume a windfall in perpetuity. We don’t know when the windfall will end.”

Attzs said she sympathised with public-sector workers living on 2012/2013 salaries but facing rises in the cost of living, including higher prices at the gasoline pump.

“But I don’t think now is the time for the unions to advocate for higher wages. It is a very uncertain economic time. I’d suggest caution.”

Attzs sounded two other warnings over wage hikes.

Firstly she said if more people were to enjoy higher wages but alongside continued global supply-chain challenges, this could create inflationary problems, eroding people’s purchasing power. She said in North America, as inflation rises the interest rates are put up to try to temper people’s appetite for spending and borrowing. However, she warned this measure can hurt individuals with flexible mortgages which rise or fall with the interest rate.

Secondly, Attzs cautioned against wage hikes pushing workers into higher tax brackets that could not only erode the increase but actually leave them worse off.

Hoping that any increases could make workers better off in the long run, she suggested, “Let the back pay be put against something tangible and sustainable, like a house.

“Why not suggest the Government relax some of the requirements so public-sector workers can qualify for low-income homes, and get medical insurance and pension plans? These are things that improve their quality of life, rather than simply higher incomes.

“I certainly don’t think now is the time to agitate for higher wages.”

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Black Immigrant Daily News

The Public Works Ministry has secured over $4 billion in additional funding for the remainder of 2022, after its supplementary budget was approved on Monday.

Govt sought a total of $44.7 billion in supplementary funding from National Assembly for the period ending December 31, 2022.

The Guyana Power and Light received an additional $4 billion. According to Senior Minister with Responsibility for Finance, Dr Ashni Singh, it is to enable cash flow at the entity.

Of this amount, $4.439 billion was earmarked for rehabilitative works on 28 pontoons of the Demerara Harbour Bridge (DHB) and for the acquisition of spares and the completion of rehabilitation of its vessels.

For upgrading roads and drains in several communities, some $3 billion was awarded.

Apart from debts owed by public entities, there is also the challenge of fuel costs. Meanwhile, with some $3.5 billion more pumped into GuySuCo, Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha said the Rose Hall estate will soon be reopened, having reemployed close to 700 persons.

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