Thursday, April 30, 2009

[IWS] ERM Quarterly, Issue 1, Spring 2009 [JOB LOSSES outnumber JOB CREATION by almost 3 to 1] [30 April 2009]

IWS Documented News Service
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies----------------- Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations
-------- Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor
---------------------- Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016
-------------------------------Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________

European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions (Dublin Foundation)
European Restructuring Monitor (ERM)


(European Restructuring Monitor) ERM Quarterly
Issue 1, Spring 2009 [30 April 2009]
http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/emcc/erm/index.php?template=quarterly
or
http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/emcc/erm/templates/displaydoc.php?docID=51
[full-text, 30 pages]

The first issue for 2009 includes:
- current macroeconomic trends and prospects;
- an overview of ERM statistics for January-March 2009;
- restructuring in the retail sector;
- collective redundancy notifications as a potential data source on restructuring in Europe;
- restructuring in Cyprus and Malta.

Press Release
Eurofound publishes its European Restructuring Monitor (ERM) for the 1st quarter 2009:
Job lossess outnumber job creations by almost three to one
http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/press/releases/2009/090430.htm

(Dublin, Ireland): The European Restructuring Monitor (ERM) recorded a total of 721 cases of restructuring in the European Union between 1 January 2009 and 31 March 2009, involving some 220,000 announced job losses and 90,000 announced job gains. The sectors most affected by job loss were financial intermediation, auto manufacture and the retail trade. However, in terms of job creation, retail, and hotels and restaurants figured very strongly, in particular discount stores and fast food outlets, which seem to be benefitting from the downturn.

Evidence that the global recession is worsening and deepening is showing up in the European Restructuring Monitor. Growth forecasts continue to be revised downwards while predictions regarding the inflection point marking a potential recovery of the global economy are increasingly being moved back to 2010, in some cases later. For the first quarter of 2009, the ERM quarterly has recorded the highest number of announced job losses since it started monitoring restructuring in the EU in 2002. Cases of announced job loss outnumbered those of job creation by almost three to one.

During the first quarter of 2009, 219,390 announced job losses were announced across the EU. The UK recorded the highest number of announced job losses (63,314), followed by Poland (38,975), Germany (17,461) and France (11,779). For the third quarter in a row, auto manufacture is the sector with the greatest reported ERM job loss (23,584 jobs). Other sectors with large restructuring-related job loss were retail (21,740) and financial intermediation (16,778) and machinery manufacture (16,432).

Unemployment has also spiked up very sharply in other Member States, notably in the three Baltic Member States (up between 6-9 % over the last twelve months) and Ireland (5%). While the changes are less dramatic in remaining Member States, data for the most recent three months confirm that unemployment is increasing in all Member States with the exception of Germany, France, Austria and the Netherlands where there has been widespread recourse to short-time working, partial unemployment and other forms of working time flexibility.

One small ray of light in recent ERM data is that levels of announced job creation have grown in each of the last two quarters and are now nearly double the level they were at their recent low point in the third quarter 2008. Of the 89,625 announced job gains in the previous quarter, a significant proportion were in bargain retailers and chain restaurants whose fortunes appear to prosper as those of the economy around them deteriorates.

In its latest edition, the quarterly also looks at collective redundancy notices as an alternative data source and analyses their advantages and disadvantages.

______________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.

****************************************
Stuart Basefsky                   
Director, IWS News Bureau                
Institute for Workplace Studies 
Cornell/ILR School                        
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor             
New York, NY 10016                        
                                   
Telephone: (607) 255-2703                
Fax: (607) 255-9641                       
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu                  
****************************************






<< Home

This page is powered by Blogger. Isn't yours?