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Sunday reading: stimulus job idea and more

March 8, 2009 on 11:07 am | In economy/job market, green jobs/environment, inspiration, random or weird | No Comments

Noteworthy in today’s New York Times and San Francisco Chronicle…

How to create 6 million jobs
I don’t usually read former SF Mayor Willie Brown’s column in the Chronicle, but today he reported on a novel idea from local investing giant Charles Schwab. There are 6 million companies in the U.S., and Schwab suggests that each company should be challenged to hire one more employee.

“That would mean 6 million people with jobs, instantly,” Schwab said. “It won’t cure the recession, but it would be a start.” I hope somebody on Obama’s team read about it.

This moment: the “Great Disruption”
It seems we’re in a moment that has journalists in a land grab about how to interpret it. Thomas Friedman’s column today suggests we are at a juncture where both Mother Nature and Father Greed have hit the wall. While the piece isn’t specifically about jobs, Friedman’s optimism and creative ideas and solutions are always worth considering.

700 apply for janitor job
It’s getting extremely competitive to be a junior-high-school janitor in Massilon, Ohio.

The up-and-coming job: hydrologist
As water scarcity and other issues intensify, hydrologist jobs are expected to grow 24% by 2016, according to the BLS. That’s faster than the average for all other occupations; learn more in this NYT article.

Popov sales are up!
Yes, people are drinking more in this recession, and they’re reaching for the stuff on the bottom shelf. Popov sales are up 8% in the past year, according to an NYT article. Now I don’t feel so embarrassed by the bottles of Gordon’s vodka and gin in my freezer.