Word on RealStreet!

 

We hope you're having a fantastic start to the new year and that your schedule is quickly filling up with a plethora of new and exciting projects! Make sure you have the skilled professionals needed to finish everything on time and under budget with RealStreet's highly qualified, leased employees. Contact us today to learn more about our talent management solutions and how we can help you accomplish all of your goals in 2018. 

Best wishes from everyone here at RealStreet! 

Sincerely,
  
Katy Cook, CSP
Marketing Coordinator
 

What's Happened at RealStreet?
Recap: JobSeeker January
What is JobSeeker January?   

While we have wrapped up JobSeeker January, we are still here to help. Do you have any unanswe red questions? Reach out!
If you are considering a career change, check out the resources below:

Did you miss any of our quick tips? Watch them now!

 

  

For a deeper dive into three critical aspects of a job search - steps to take before beginning the job search process, writing / updating resumes and creating / updating your LinkedIn profile - refer to the video resources below: 

 

 

RealStreet will help you get a new job in 2018!
Interesting Industry Information
How Does the Job Market Look?
For another look at the information,
check out the BLS' interactive graphs.
The U.S. Department of Labor - Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes a "M onthly Jobs Report"  soon after the beginning of each month. Each report describes the previous month's employment situation, based on data such as the number of jobs that were added to the economy and the unemployment rate. According to t he  December Jobs Report,  t he US economy saw an increase of 148,000 jobs last month and the unemployment rate remained at 4.1%. 

Mark Zandi, chief economist with Moody's Analytics, was quoted in a recent Bloomberg post saying that  "the entire global economy had a very good 2017." The BLS's December Current Employment Statistics Summary illustrated ongoing yearly growth as well, as shown in the image below. 2.1 million jobs were added this past year, and 2.2 million were added the year before. 


While economists have mixed feelings about what the 2018 job market will look like, many agree that  President Trump's tax overhaul will play a significant role in its outcome. The tax bill could boost the economy, lead to new job creation, increased salaries and compensation and lend to efforts that shrink skills gaps. 

Some are concerned because they believe the initial boost may occur too quickly.  With new tax breaks, companies are likely  to start new projects / expand business   efforts.  B usinesses may use this as an opportunity to charge more for their goods and services, especially as they may need to hire additional employees to meet the demand.  While it might sound ideal for everyone, (the more jobs the merrier, right?) the rapid influx may lead to inflation and increased interest rates. 

Unemployment remains at historically low levels and companies continue to add jobs that they can't fill.  With increased demand for talent, a relatively stagnant supply of workers seeking employment and rising wages,  how will businesses find the skilled workers needed to complete all of their new projects? They will need to be competitive.

Wages are expected to rise at a greater pace in the upcoming year because of this, which in turn will lead to an increase in employee confidence in the job market.  As worker confidence rises, they will begin seeking out new opportunities. Employers will need to become more competitive, not just to secure new hires, but to retain their top talent as well.

Unfortunately, drastic price and wage increases could negatively impact inflation. Rapidly rising rates may then trigger a rushed adjustment by the Federal Reserve. The outcome of which is unpredictable, but the worst case scenario is another recession. At this point, only time will tell. 

Architecture, Engineering & Construction Industry 

Automatic Data Processing, Inc. reported that the construction industry added 16,000 jobs in December, while the BLS showed an increase of 30,000 within the industry. The BLS reported the addition of 210,000 construction jobs during 2017, an increase from the 155,000 jobs added to the industry the previous year.



The Dodge Momentum Index tracks and measures the initial reporting of non-residential building projects. With the increase in non-residential construction projects, the Dodge Data & Analytics' Momentum Index rose 3.6% in December to 153.9, in anticipation of future spending. The aforementioned article said that the Momentum Index, when viewed on a year-over-year basis, is almost 21% higher, with the commercial building up .7% and the institutional building up 8.6%. Analysts believe that the turnaround in October, November and December indicates an increase in building activity in 2018.
IT & Cyber Security
Industry-Wide Issues: Spectre & Meltdown
What are the Issues?

It was recently brought to light that chip manufacturers have  two critical flaws ( Spectre  and  Meltdown)  in their CPUs that allow applications to read kernel memory.   According to a recent  Trend Micro  post: 
  • Meltdown, designated as CVE-2017-5754, can enable hackers to gain privileged access to parts of a computer's memory used by an application/program and the operating system (OS). Meltdown affects Intel processors.
  • Spectre , designated as CVE-2017-5753 and CVE-2017-5715, can allow attackers to steal information leaked in the kernel/cached files or data stored in the memory of running programs, such as credentials (passwords, login keys, etc.). Spectre  reportedly  affects processors from Intel, Advanced Micro Devices (AMD), and Advanced RISC Machine (ARM).
A recent CNET article explained the vulnerabilities simply: "t o make computer processes run faster, a chip will essentially guess what information the computer needs to perform its next function. That's called speculative execution. As the chip guesses, that sensitive information is momentarily easier to access."

Are You at Risk?

Most likely. The issues  have existed in products for over two decades and could impact everything including phones, personal computers and servers.  Companies including Intel, Amazon, Google, Apple and Microsoft have been rushing to issue fixes. However, this is much easier said than done.

Solving these issues requires the development of patches and large-scale coordination across the industry. It's important to note that i t's unlikely that older devices and systems will get patches, and some chip enabled devices simply can't get patched.  Fortunately, it does not appear as though anyone has exploited these weaknesses outside of testing environments. 

What Should You Do?

Since a hacker would need to have malware running locally on a device to access data, t he best offense for individual users and businesses alike, is a good defense. Make sure your security patches are up to date and keep an eye out for system updates. Be especially cautious when installing anything. While patches are available and will continue to get released, some patches, such as some of Intel's recent releases, are causing additional problems. Plus, n ow that criminals are aware of the problem, they will try to exploit it. 

To minimize risk, experts recommend general safety practices, such as:
Is this a Sign of Things to Come?

Now that issues such as these are public knowledge, criminals will begin to target hardware for weaknesses. As stated in a recent article from The Atlantic, resolving issues such as Spectre and Meltdown  requires industry cooperation. Companies usually wait to announce vulnerabilities until security updates have been made. Industry-wide issues require more coordination and sharing of information. This increases the risk of issues being announced prematurely, simply due to the number of parties involved, the impact of which could provide criminals with a window of attack.

Featured News Post
Suggestions to Help You Find Career Satisfaction
You spend a significant portion of your life at work. If you are dissatisfied on the job, it can have a serious impact on your performance and overall well-being. That being said, there is no better time than a new year to take a look at your career and make changes for the better. Use the suggestions given in this news post to successfully find career satisfaction!


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Keep in Touch!
Feedback Wanted! 
We Value Referrals!
Would you mind taking a moment to  write a few sentences  about your experience working with RealStreet?  Thank you!
Who in your network is looking for a new opportunity? 

Check our  open positions to see if any are a match to the job seekers that you know. At RealStreet we value great candidates and when it comes down to it, we know you're the Real Deal! We have a great referral program that compensates you for every qualified referral you provide us.