Bloomberg (01/30/12)

Hiring in the technology sector is gaining momentum, as nearly 50% of U.S. technology companies with a market value of more than $100 million boosted employment by more than half in the most recently reported two-year period—including such firms as Apple Inc., Google Inc., and Amazon.com Inc. Some small and mid-size businesses, meanwhile, increased payrolls by almost fivefold.

Amazon and Facebook Inc. each plan to add thousands of jobs in 2012, many in new satellite offices, while many other technology firms also are stepping up their recruiting. Job candidates who have engineering and technology-related skills are in higher demand than before, notes Jesse Harriott, senior vice president and chief knowledge officer at Monster Worldwide Inc.

MarketWatch (01/30/12) Jeffrey Bartash

The wages of U.S. workers increased sharply in December, with personal income rising by 0.5%, according to the U.S. Commerce Department. Meanwhile, personal spending declined by less than 0.1%. As a result, the personal savings rate rose to 4.0% from 3.5% in November. Economists surveyed by MarketWatch had forecast income to rise by 0.4% and spending to increase by 0.1%.

Wall Street Journal (01/28/12) Josh Mitchell

While the U.S. economy grew at its fastest pace in 18 months in the fourth quarter as companies restocked their shelves, underlying weak demand points to slower growth in the months ahead. U.S. gross domestic product increased at an annual rate of 2.8% in the October-to-December period, the U.S. Commerce Department reported on Jan. 27, the fastest pace since the second quarter of 2010.

However, growth remained below the 3% pace that many economists say is needed to quickly bring down the unemployment rate. Much of the growth was due to a surge in inventory replenishing by businesses—a trend not likely to last. Many economists expect growth to slow early this year.

Wanted Analytics (01/27/12) Abby Lombardi

Recruiters have been experiencing difficulty filling nursing jobs, due to the hiring demand growing faster than the related work force. There are different types of nurses with varying degrees of difficulty and demand. Emergency room (ER) nurse jobs are likely to be the easiest to fill across the nation. There are more than 250 health care employers currently recruiting for ER nurses. Operating room (OR) nurses, by comparison, are likely to be more difficult to recruit across the U.S, as there are currently more than 700 employers recruiting for OR nurses. Intensive care nurses fall somewhat in between OR and ER nurses, with about 400 companies currently advertising job openings for their services.

Hamilton Journal News (Ohio) (01/29/12) Chelsey Livingston

A recent Ohio work force development report notes that companies in the state are complaining that despite Ohio’s more than 80,000 job openings, finding enough workers who can pass drug tests to fill these positions remains a challenge. Sandy Oakes, a training recruiter at the Belcan Staffing Solutions office in Fairfield—a temporary job company that screens applicants with drug tests and background checks for employers—says that 5% to 10% of the hundreds of applicants are failing their drug tests. However, she notes that percentage is actually lower than in previous years, when at least 25% failed. “I feel it’s due to the fact it’s so hard to find a job. I think they know that so they’re trying to clean their act up, where before, I think they used to think, ‘Oh, I’ll fail today, but I’ll get a job tomorrow,'” Oakes says. “It is not that way anymore.”