NEW YORK — Jets coach Rex Ryan underwent a weight-loss procedure Saturday to help him fight obesity.

The husky Ryan had lap-band surgery at NYU Medical Center, and was relaxing at his home in New Jersey on Saturday night, team spokesman…

For the past six months, both positive and negative reports have dotted the economic news, much of it downright contradictory. Most recently, for instance, there was evidence that consumer demand went up, even as consumer confidence went down. Retail sales rose but small business confidence fell. Wholesale inventories declined (a good thing) but freight shipments by rail (already at very low levels compared with 2006) also declined (not a good thing).

And so it goes, month after month, with the general trend upward, but in fits and starts, and not – almost all experts agree – with anything close to the needed robustness that will generate a sustainable recovery as the stimulus from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act continues to fade away over the next nine months. Nowhere is this more true than when it comes to jobs, which for most Americans is  the leading indicator of economic health.

For 11 months, the number of layoffs as reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics have been dropping. For February, the job loss was still 36,000, and revisions for January and December put the average monthly job loss for the past three months at 57,000. So the bleeding hasn’t stopped, but it’s a far cry from the 728,000 average monthly job losses for the same three-month period a year ago. If that had continued, the official “U3″ unemployment rate would now be 12.7% and instead of 15 million out of work, nearly 20 million would be. Nonetheless, 15 million is still a post-World War II high, and when discouraged workers and the underemployed are counted, the number soars to at least 29 million.

Many indicators point to growth in jobs being just around the corner and probably happening right now. For instance, the Department of Labor reported Monday that job openings rose sharply in January, up 7.6% over, which could be a sign that employers are preparing to hire. In December there were 6 people for every job opening, and now there are only 5.5.

These and other data suggest that the Labor report coming up on April 2 will almost certainly show the first significant gain in jobs since a spike in November, which may have been a fluke related to holiday hiring. The question: Will the April numbers mark the beginning of a long-term surge generating the hundreds of thousands of new jobs needed each month? Who can predict? It could be mid-summer before we have a firm grasp on that. One reason, as pointed out by Calculated Risk earlier this week is Census hiring.

The Census will be taking on some 100,000 temporary workers this month (perhaps as many as 750,000 by the end of May. Most of those jobs will only last for five to 10 weeks. We’ll also find out whether there was a “snow effect” in February. Some analysts put that figure as high as 100,000 jobs that would have been generated if not for severe weather. Taking the optimistic approach, add that 100,000 to a potential 100,000 new jobs in March plus 100,000 in Census hiring and the April report could show 300,000 jobs in the positive column. That would compare quite favorably with the Clinton years when the nation averaged 225,000 new jobs a month for eight years. But to sustain itself, a job recovery will depend on more than short-term Census jobs, no matter how welcome they are. And many of those other jobs that may be generated result from government spending that will taper off as the year grows older.

If Keynesian policies adopted by the Obama administration in face of stiff congressional opposition could restore or find substitutes for the 8.4 million lost jobs of the past 26 months and the 125,000 a month needed to keep up with new workers entering the labor force, it would be hallelujah time. But what evidence is there that such a recovery is in the making, even two years down the road? This morning, for instance, the Department of Labor reported that initial claims for jobs benefits remained at a stubbornly high 462,000. The less volatile four-week running average rose to 475,500.

Many of us – left-of-center, left of left-of-center and “far” left – continue to see the fiscal-monetary mix that the administration (and previous administrations) have been promoting for the past three decades as sending the nation toward even bigger economic problems in the future. To counter this will require something stronger than Keynesian medicine – industrial policy, revamped trade policy, a new paradigm around the worship of growth for its own sake, and limits on the oligarchs who have enriched themselves at the expense of the rest of us.

It would be easy to be blinded to these much-needed long-term changes by a month or three of good news on the job front. And no doubt some people will be.

Recent abuses suffered by GE’s “green” workers — who are now suing GE — confirm our worst fears that there’s little guarantee so far that green jobs are going to be good jobs.

Via Greg Sargent, a new Democracy Corps poll finds that most people think President Obama is doing at least as good a job on national security than Bush — and a plurality, 39%, think he’s doing a better job.

   When it comes to national security, do you think President Obama is doing better, worse, or about the same as President George W. Bush?

   Total better: 39
   Total worse: 31

And:

   When it comes to combating terrorism and handling terrorism suspects, do you think President Obama is doing better, worse, or about the same as President George W. Bush?

   Total better: 38
   Total worse: 31

As both Greg and Spencer Ackerman note, these numbers should be a wakeup call to Congressional Democrats who for some reason think it’s good politics embrace Republican talking points on national security.

In this case — as with so many others — good policy is good politics. Rasmussen polls aside, most Americans think President Obama is doing a good job on national security. In other words: if you’re a pol looking for political safe ground on national security, President Obama offers it. Let’s hope more Congressional Democrats realize that important fact.

Update (2:52): Politico notes that on the specific question of interrogation of the underpants bomber, 51% disapprove of Obama’s approach while 44% agreed. Nonetheless, 57% support Obama overall on national security — whereas on the congressional side, Republicans have a significant lead over Democrats.

Are you interested in a job with reasonable and regular hours, in the NYC metro area? Check out the latest Job of the Week, brought to you by Lateral Link.

Position: Corporate Counsel – Contract

Location: New York Metro Area

Description: Major food services company is seeking an attorney with 3 to 5 years of experience to be responsible for review, negotiation and documentation of contract matters for the company. Ideal candidates will have familiarity with FAR regulations and experience managing complex transactions. Position offers regular 9 – 5:30 hours and is located just outside of New York City.

For more information about this position, please view Position #5637 on Lateral Link (or current Members may can contact their personal search consultant). Membership in Lateral Link is by application only and you can apply at www.laterallink.com.

Earlier: Prior Jobs of the Week

Lateral Link – United States – New York – Job of the Week – New York City

It was the same story as last month in the lead up to today’s release of the Bureau of Labor Statistics jobs report: A couple of weeks of mixed economic news. The report clocked in this morning with the jobless numbers well below the consensus predicted by experts surveyed by Bloomberg and The Wall Street Journal: a seasonally adjusted loss of 36,000 nonfarm jobs for February. The headline unemployment rate held steady at 9.7%. U6, the alternative measure that counts underemployed workers and a portion of those out of work Americans too discouraged to look for a job, rose to 16.8%.

^{Click for larger version of this now iconic Calculated Risk graphic}

Employment fell in construction, the information industry, transportation and warehousing. Temporary help services, health care and the retail trade added jobs. Severe winter weather may have affected the job statistics, leaving some workers uncounted, but quantifying exactly how many was not possible, the BLS stated. Economists at Macroeconomic Advisers LLC in St. Louis said the bad weather might reduce the payroll count by anywhere from 150,000 to 220,000 workers, according to Bloomberg. That undercount will probably be reversed this month, they said.

Revisions raised lowered the job losses in December from the 150,000 reported last month to 109,000 and boosted the job losses for January from 20,000 to 26,000.

The tally of officially unemployed rose slightly to nearly 14.9 million, with the U6 population of unemployed and underemployed still clocking in at nearly 26 million. The civilian labor force participation rate rose slightly to 64.8 percent in February. The employment-population ratio went from to 58.4 percent in January to 58.5% in February.

The  New York Times reported:

The economy is expected to add as many as 100,000 jobs a month later this year. But with businesses still skittish about hiring, and the end of stimulus programs in sight, economists are concerned that the labor market’s slow growth may hamper a recovery.

Those doubts have resurfaced in recent weeks in light of weak economic data. Consumer confidence has waned, and sales of homes have fallen rather sharply. Still, there are signs of a rebound: the manufacturing sector is improving, and businesses appear to be reinvesting in capital.

But without a vibrant jobs market, consumer spending will likely remain tepid, and businesses will continue to rein in costs.

If only 95,000 jobs are added each month in 2010, as the President’s Economic Report predicted last month, it would mean a reduction of only slightly more than a million of the 8.4 million jobs lost since the Great Recession began in December 2007. In other words, another oxymoronic “jobless recovery” like the ones that occurred in the two previous recessions.

Various other reports this week maintained a positive trend, including a strong gain year over year in retail sales, factory orders and the Institute for Supply Management’s non-manufacturing report. But retail sales are being compared with an especially weak 2009, and are still well below the same period in 2007. Factory orders rose but were below expectations, with a drop in orders for machinery and computers. And the employment index of the ISM report, though continuing its upward run, still indicates non-manufacturing jobs are being lost, just that the losses are far smaller than a year ago. And the negative news of the past two weeks continues to cast a shadow: weaker consumer confidence even as some people seem to be loosening their purse strings: and the drop in home sales. All in all, these reports add up to a who-can-tell kind of conclusion. Both optimists and pessimists have data to make their case, just as has been true since late last spring. One thing remains clear, however, anyone expecting a quick turnaround in the job market will continue to be gravely disappointed.

The BLS report also noted:

• Construction employment declined by another 64,000; manufacturing employment rose 11,000.

• Temporary hiring rose by 48,000.

• Hiring for the Census in January was 15,000.

• The average workweek for production and non-supervisory workers fell to 33.1 hours.

• The number of long-term jobless (27 weeks or longer) fell slightly to 6.1 million.

• • • • •

SilverOz has a diary on this subject here.

Last fall, we wrote about the Presidential Management Fellows (PMF) program, which one reader of ours described as “a hidden, relatively-unexploited gem for graduating law students.” You can read the full post here.

Some commenters, who already knew about the PMF program and the job opportunities it offers, were not happy with the exposure. A reader summed up their reactions:

A lot of people are complaining that the competition for the program will now increase due to extra exposure. I guess that can be rough for some people, but overall I think it’s good for the program.

Well, it certainly increased the competition. The number of applications went up — way up….

From a current Presidential Management Fellow:

I thought you’d be interested in the email below, which indicates this year the PMF program received 8,700 applications — a 70% increase. As you know, to be able to participate in the PMF job fair, you must be nominated by your school and then pass an assessment test. The number of jobs at the PMF job fair never increases over a couple hundred. 8,700 applicants basically means that if a candidate didn’t get an almost perfect score on the assessment test, they’re out of luck. PMF jobs just became as hard to get as federal clerkships.

With the job fair set for March, the finalists should be announced any day now.

So, telling someone who can’t find a Biglaw job to explore federal government opportunities — which is something we do all the time, truth be told — is not very helpful. These days, federal gigs like clerkships and DOJ positions are probably just as competitive, if not more competitive, than law firm jobs.

We suspect that PMF is just one example of a federal government opportunity that is more competitive than ever. Feel free to discuss others in the comments (which will hopefully work; if you encounter technical difficulties, we apologize, yet again).

Earlier: Another Federal Government Opportunity: The Presidential Management Fellows Program

PMF PROGRAM OFFICE — MEMORANDUM TO PRESIDENTIAL MANAGEMENT FELLOWS

Dear Presidential Management Fellow (PMF):

We would like to extend you a warm welcome and invite you to join our event staff for the upcoming PMF Class of 2010 Finalists Job Fair scheduled from Tuesday, March 30 to Thursday, April 1, 2010, and the PMF Class of 2007 Graduation Ceremony scheduled for Wednesday, March 31, 2010. Both events will take place at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center, Hall D, in Washington, DC.

We hope to formally announce finalists for the PMF Class of 2010 within the next couple of weeks. This year we received 8,700 applications; a 70% increase from 2009.

All PMFs who are able to volunteer to be part of the event staff for a four hour shift will receive a gold PMF polo shirt to be worn during their volunteer time. In addition, beverages and snacks will be provided in the Event Staff Room and lunch will be provided. All Fellows volunteering for the Job Fair during normal duty hours should consult with their supervisor to volunteer for the event (if applicable).

At the moment, “Job Fair Information for Agencies” can be found at https://www.pmf.opm.gov/AAgencyJobFair.aspx. Once 2010 finalists are announced, the “Job Fair Information Finalists” webpage will be activated under the “Fellows” section. Information about the Graduation can be found at https://www.pmf.opm.gov/TGraduation.aspx.

This 2010 Job Fair is exclusively designed to introduce and engage finalists with many Federal recruiting agencies to obtain PMF appointments. The 2007 Graduation is a celebration for those PMFs completing the program and converting to permanent positions.

The PMF Program Office prefers current Fellows to serve at these events in efforts to:

1. answer questions from attending finalists,
2. represent yourself and your agency, and
3. give back as previous Fellows have in past events.

Your assistance is crucial, so please let us know if we can count on your participation by completing the attached form and replying by Monday, March 22, 2010. When you reply, please either fax your form to xxx-xxx-xxxx or send it via e-mail to xxx@opm.gov, with the subject “PMF Event Staff” in the subject line. If you have any questions, please send an email to xxx@opm.gov.

We hope to hear from you soon and we will be in contact with those able to participate.

Sincerely,

The PMF Program Office

Federal government of the United States – United States – Employment – Government – Presidential Management Fellow

Ed. note: Have a question for next week? Send it in to advice@abovethelaw.com.

Dear ATL,

Like many 2009 grads, I’m jobless, but not workless. I started an unpaid internship for a local government in January. They’ve been giving me a full caseload (as much as they give other employed attorneys), but no indication that they’re ready to hire me. At what point should I take a stand? And what should I say?

Taxation without Representation

Dear Taxation Without Representation,

Nothing is more infuriating than when people expect you to do the job for which you were hired. When you accepted the unpaid internship two months ago, you sent SEVERAL telepathic messages indicating that you would accept the job on the condition that it would transform into a paid position in eight weeks or less. Even though you agreed to work for free in exchange for valuable resume-building experience, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t be entitled to a salary, 20 vacation days and a lump sum gross-up for accrued hours to date.Your employer’s failure to acquiesce to these reasonable demands is outrageous and potentially illegal.

If you bring the payment issue up with your job head on, they’ll probably use underhanded tactics like citing to your “internship agreement” or your “eight weeks on the job.” Seasoned attorneys will recognize these as red herrings, but lawyers with less experience like you may fall prey to such specious arguments. Accordingly, your best bet is to drop subtle hints that you’d like to get paid. That may mean changing your name to a symbol and writing the word “slave” on your cheek or spending lunch hour singing chain gang work songs and pretending to dig a ditch by the vending machines. If you still fail to get the message across, you can quit and become a hero to all interns who resent the very nature of their engagements. Or, you can spend the rest of your internship being an intern.

Your friend,

Marin

Sure, listen to Marin. Play it safe, accept your limitations, remain beaten and cowardly. Hell, while your at it why not just buy ladies scented body wash and start watching Leno. I mean, if you listen to Marin, it won’t be long before life officially passes you by. Just make it obvious so people with important things to do don’t waste any of their precious time on you.

Look man, fortune favors the bold. Nobody is going to give you anything in this life, you have to stand up and take it. Reach down towards your crotch and see if there is anything dangling there. Are you solid? If so, I think it’s time you started to stake your own claim to this world. There’s a Guinness commercial about this.

Of course you should ask for the money. What’s the worse that can happen? They say “no”? Who cares? Only losers and Democrats are afraid of the word “no.” Winners understand that “no” is just a starting point; it’s the beginning of a negotiation, not the end.

Nobody wants to pay for anything these days. It makes perfect sense to me that government expects you to work for free. Obviously, you had to agree to those terms in order to get in the door. No matter how little you think you can live on, there’s always some competitor willing to do your job for just a little bit less. But now that you have your foot all up in the door, you should absolutely try to get some money out of it.

You don’t think you are worthless, do you? Of course not. I’d walk in there with nothing but my d*** in my hand and tell them to put the money on the table.

– The Confidence Man

Do you have a question for next week’s Pls Hndle Thx? Send it to advice@abovethelaw.com.

Earlier: Prior installments of pls hndle thx

Business – Employment – Job Search – United States – Opportunities

Lindsay Lohan skipped out on a hostess job to party in Milan for Fashion Week. Lindsay is squeezing herself right out of any job! First, she doesn’t do any acting anymore. Second, all of her party hosting invites are going to stop because she cancels them last minute, leaving the clubs in the lurch.
 
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…

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Mel B might get Dancing With the Stars job. Since Samantha Harris’ job is open, quite a few names have been tossed around as replacements. Now Mel’s name is out there, as well as a few other high profile celebs.

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