A new survey posits there has been a big increase in the number of jobs in Maryland.

The Intuit Inc. Small Business Employment Index found that small business employment grew by 0.3 percent in September, equating to an annual growth rate of 3.3 percent. Hours worked and compensation both increased by 0.3 percent.

“Small business employment at the division and state level also looks more positive,” said Ginny Lee, senior vice president and general manager of Intuit’s Employee Management Solutions division. “The Pacific division posted the greatest increase of 0.5 percent while the East South Central division showed a slight decline but one that’s statistically insignificant. At the state level, California, Florida and Maryland all showed the highest growth with an increase of 0.5 percent. Oregon and New York were the only states to show slight declines but again these were statistically insignificant and therefore not worrisome.”

Florida jobs are also marking an increase.

Since the hiring trend began in October 2009, small businesses have created 720,000 new jobs. The Index is based on figures from small businesses with fewer than 20 employees that use Intuit Online Payroll.

Based on these latest numbers and revised national employment data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Intuit revised upward the previously reported growth rate for August to 0.3 percent from 0.18 percent. This equates to 65,000 jobs added in August, up from a previously reported 35,000 jobs.

“September’s small business employment figures are a big relief,” said Susan Woodward, the economist who worked with Intuit to create the Index. “After all the uproar over the threatened European financial meltdown, good news is very welcome. Unlike in August, there is no softness in September’s numbers: employment is up, hours worked are up and compensation is up.

“These solid numbers may be due to the fact that residential property prices have increased for five months in a row. There are all kinds of small businesses linked to property, such as construction contractors, real estate agents and brokers.”

Small business hourly employees worked an average of 110.4 hours in September, making for a 25.5-hour workweek. This is a 0.3 percent increase from the revised August figure of 110.0 hours.

A new bill has just been introduced that would make the federal hiring process more efficient and improve jobs in Maryland.

U.S. Senator Ben Cardin (D-Maryland) joined Senator Daniel K. Akaka (D-HI) and Congressman John Sarbanes (D-Maryland) in introducing the Federal Hiring Process Improvement Act of 2011. Senator Ben Cardin (D-Maryland) was also an original co-sponsor. This legislation would streamline the Federal hiring process to conform to private sector best practices.

The bill should also improve jobs in Boston as well.

In the coming decade, close to 50 percent of the federal workforce will be eligible to retire, making the development of the next generation of federal workers even more vital. Some federal agencies still take as long as 200 days from the date of a vacancy to hire — delays that compromise federal recruitment, jeopardize government operations, and waste taxpayer dollars. The federal government needs to adapt, just as the private sector has, in order to recruit the next generation of federal workers.

“This legislation is a common sense approach that will streamline and improve the hiring process for federal jobs so we can ensure that the most qualified, talented people are hired,” said Senator Cardin, a member of the Budget and Finance committees. “Recruitment is the backbone of every well-run organization, and it’s time that the federal government modernize and upgrade its recruitment process to make it more efficient and effective.” (more…)

Kohl’s is opening a distribution center and recruiting for customer service jobs in Maryland.

Kohl’s has closed on the purchase of a building for a new e-commerce distribution center located at 1701 Trimble Road in Edgewood, Md. Expected to open in July 2011, the 602,000-square-foot building will fulfill Kohls.com purchases, and Kohl’s will expand the facility to 1 million-square-feet by 2012. As part of the company’s continued growth which also includes 40 new stores and 100 remodels in 2011, the site was selected for its business-friendly community, strong economy, availability of a robust workforce and proximity to Kohls.com eastern customer base.
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Management jobs in Baltimore are enjoying an upswing, according to a new survey.

Memphis, Atlanta, Boston, Phoenix, and Minneapolis all had double-digit increases in managerial recruitment activity in February, according to the new CareerCast.com/JobSerf Employment Index. The February 2011 Index, which measures managerial hiring activity online, stands at 104.3, 21 points higher than it was in February 2010. Memphis, with a 19% increase in managerial hiring, was the big winner this month, followed by Atlanta (+15%), Boston (+14%), Phoenix and Minneapolis (+13%). “The Midwest made the largest regional gains this month, reaching the highest level of any region in almost three years,” says Tony Lee, publisher, CareerCast.com. “However, the Western and Southeastern regions continue to trail behind the rest of the country.” The good news is that all cities in the index improved this month, although hiring gains in Miami (+ 4%), Philadelphia and Baltimore (+3%), and Milwaukee (+2%) were minimal.

“We are hopeful this is the beginning of an upward trend since per capita hiring has improved this month in all 30 cities,” says Jay Martin, COO, JobSerf. “The index level is also far higher than the previous corresponding months in 2009 and 2010, and is performing better than pre-recession levels.“
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Virtual Assistants has announced a new event for Maryland jobs and virtual assistants all around the world.

Five months from now, Virtual Assistants (VAs) from countries all over the world will celebrate the 1st annual International Virtual Assistants Week, and 6th annual Online International Virtual Assistants Convention. These globally-based, internet-savvy entrepreneurs have joined forces to increase on and offline awareness about the industry and showcase the benefits of partnering with a professional virtual assistant. This campaign is spearheaded by The Alliance for Virtual Businesses (A4VB), a leading VA member organization whose mission is to boost awareness of the industry, providing industry resources, training, and networking opportunities, and other internationally-based virtual assistant organizations.

VAs provide remote administrative, technical and creative business support services and work with solopreneurs and small businesses via use of today’s smart technologies. They tend to be experienced office managers or executive assistants who enjoy juggling multiple tasks and working with a wide variety of clients.

“Too many business owners are still unaware of or haven’t embraced the concept of hiring professional, experienced virtual office support providers. This campaign will showcase the advantages of hiring VAs, such as reducing expenses, smart use of technology, and pay-for-services on an as-needed or retainer basis,” says Sharon Williams, owner of The 24 Hour Secretary, a virtual assistant business that recently celebrated 20 years in business and founder of A4VB and OIVAC.

During IVA Week, VAs will host a local VA meet and greet or networking event on Monday, Tuesday or Wednesday, and then join in the Online International Virtual Assistant Convention Thursday through Saturday. The Alliance will support the activity by providing media assistance, meet-up coordination, seminars, social media campaigns and other programs geared to raise awareness and increase participation. The OIVAC rounds out the week and serves as the crowning point for the celebration.

“This comprehensive undertaking serves many purposes,” says Williams: provide the missing touch and feel that occurs during face-to-face networking; educate business owners in local communities about Virtual Assistants; increase awareness and promote individual VA businesses. IVA Week will catapult the industry into the next millennium and serve as a model for connecting the virtual assistant industry and the small business sector.

Paradigm is releasing their financial results and discussing possible jobs in Maryland.

Paradigm Holdings, Inc., a provider of comprehensive information technology and cyber security solutions for federal government enterprises, today provided an update for the third quarter ended September 30, 2010.

Third Quarter 2010 Highlights:

Revenues of $8.1 million Gross profit of $2.0 million with gross margin expansion of 91 basis points to 24.3% EBITDA of $0.8 million Net income of $0.01 per diluted share driven in part by non-cash item

Peter B. LaMontagne, Paradigm President and CEO, stated, “We are pleased with our financial results for the third quarter of 2010 and the positive progress we have made through the implementation of our strategic initiatives. Nearly all of our financial indicators were positive this quarter as we achieved revenue growth compared to last year, expanded our gross margins in order to drive EBITDA margins of 9% of revenues and maintained net debt at slightly less than $3.0 million. In addition, continued expansion on existing contracts and new task order wins allowed us to once again achieve a book-to-bill above 1.0x. Finally, we continued to submit additional proposals that we hope will enable us to continue our growth prospects over the longer-term.”

Richard Sawchak, Chief Financial Officer, stated, “We have continued to be laser focused on improving our financial performance to prove the business thesis we proposed. We believe achieving revenue growth coupled with margin expansion is a significant step toward full execution of our strategy.”

The Company’s EBITDA was $0.8 million during the quarter ended September 30, 2010, as compared to approximately $0.4 million for the same period of 2009. The Company defines EBITDA as earnings before interest, taxes, changes in the fair value of put warrants, depreciation and amortization, stock compensation and restructuring expenses which include the basket allowed under our senior credit facility and other actual restructuring costs. EBITDA is not a measure of performance calculated in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (”GAAP”), and should not be considered in isolation of, or as a substitute for, earnings as an indicator of operating performance or cash flows from operating activities as a measure of liquidity. The Company believes the presentation of EBITDA is relevant and useful by enhancing the readers’ ability to understand the Company’s operating performance. The Company’s management utilizes EBITDA as a means to measure performance. The Company’s measurements of EBITDA may not be comparable to similarly titled measures reported by other companies. The table below reconciles EBITDA, a non-GAAP measure, to net income (loss) for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2010 and 2009.

UPS has announced they are hiring 50,000 people across the United States and more than 1,500 people for package handler jobs in Maryland.

The Atlanta-based shipping giant said that the upswing in hires is to prepare for the annual surge of packages that comes along with the holiday season, from November to January.

UPS has said that more than 1500 of those people will be hired in Maryland.

Most of the jobs will be driver helpers and other part-time opportunities. Package handlers and seasonal drivers are also in need.

Workers must work at least 20 hours a week to qualify for benefits. Starting pay is $8.50 per hour. Even after their gigs are over, workers may be eligible for full time, UPS spokespeople said.
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UPS is hiring for 24 seasonal jobs in Maryland to gear up for the holidays.

The jobs will mainly be in the Baltimore area. Package handlers and drivers are the main job openings. Both full and part-time positions are available. Handlers are typically part-time, while drivers are full-time.

The part-time package handlers work 17 to 20 hours a week at an hourly rate of $8.50 to $9.50 an hour. What’s more, part-time employees are offered medical benefits.

Full-time employees will work 8 or more hours during the week but not on weekends or holidays. They are also given medical benefits.

The jobs are across Baltimore, Lutherville, Laurel, Sparks and Ardmore.

UPS is also hiring a customer support specialist in Baltimore

Kona Grill has announced they are opening a new restaurant in Baltimore and are currently seeking people for service industry jobs in Maryland.

The restaurant, which is Asian-American fusion complete with sushi, is needing about 120 people to hire in the next six weeks. Open jobs include servers, bartenders, hostesses, line and prep cooks, service assistants, and sushi chefs.

The restaurant is based in Scottsdale, AZ. This is its first Maryland location, at 1 E. Pratt St. across from the Inner Harbor. They will be opening Oct. 4, tentatively.

The chefs and management positions have already been spoken for, so the remainder of the positions are all hourly.

Kona has set up shop in meeting room B at the Spring Hill Suites hotel at 120 E. Redwood St. downtown.

Those interested can come by the office to apply, anytime between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. any day but Sunday. Or if you can’t make it in, call 410-244-8994 or visit konagrill.com

Middle River Aircraft Systems, a part of GE Aviation, today announced that it is expanding its employment by 200 new jobs in Maryland — bringing the Company’s employment at its Middle River facility to more than 1,000 over the next year.

According to a press release, in the last five years, GE has invested more than $200 million in the Middle River facility and new program investments. The 200 new jobs will support the development and manufacturing of the GEnx-2B engine thrust reverser for the Boeing 747-8 commercial aircraft.
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