Did you know that the Racine County Workforce Development Center offers assistance to employers faced with the difficult task of downsizing their workforce?

The Workforce Development Center’s Outplacement Team is available to all Racine County employers.  The Team’s aim is to help dislocated workers – from entry-level to managerial staff - obtain resources to ease their transition.  We offer a presentation with information on job search and interviewing techniques, resume creation, career counseling, interim healthcare, unemployment insurance and other resources.  In addition, the Center offers a wide range of services that can be configured to meet your specific needs.

Companies forced to cut jobs want to treat the affected employees fairly, maintain the morale of their remaining workers, and preserve their positive image in the community.
Downsizing with dignity is important to each of these critical constituencies. Adequate planning is critical to this process and, therefore, to the future of the business.

To learn more about downsizing with dignity and class or to receive assistance please contact Jane.Kurylo@goracine.org or by telephoning her at 262-638-6603.

The City of Racine had the second highest unemployment rate in Wisconsin for August 2009.  Beloit’s rate of 17.4 percent was 1.2 percentage points higher than Racine’s rate of 16.2 percent.

The unemployment rate for August 2009 was 0.9 percentage point lower than the July 2009 rate of 17.1 percent and 7.3 percentage points higher than the August 2008 rate of 8.9 percent.  Read more here.

Want to learn more about how unemployment is calcuated?  Our labor economist has put together a brief article to help you understand.  Before we get into the actual calculation, some definitions might help.

There are three components that make up the unemployment rate. First there is the labor force, second are those employed, and third are those unemployed. The labor force are all those that are 16 and older that are either employed or have actively looked for work within the past 4 weeks. A lot of people think that only those receiving unemployment compensation are counted as being unemployed but you can see from the those considered in the labor force, not only are those receiving unemployment compensation listed, but anyone actively looking for work. We will see how that can change the unemployment rate a little further on.

Register your company on the Resume Matrix of SE Wisconsin to search an ever increasing database of candidates.  The Resume Matrix is a website for all skill levels that organizes resumes according to job seekers' work preferences and inclues a thumbnail sketch of each candidate.  Employers may choose to see the full resume by first reading a mini-profile of a person's background.  Register your company online and have access to hundreds of resumes, absolutely free of charge.

This matrix is part of the Regional Business Services initiative.  Look for more products in the future.