Dawn Rivera’s Fremont & East Bay Real Estate Blog

Employers laid off 663,000 employees in March, this make 5 consecutive months of huge job losses, upping the total U.S. jobs lost in this recession to above 5 million and the unemployment rate is up four-tenths of a percentage point to 8.5%, according to the Labor Department.

Although the March job losses were high they were in line, with what economic forecasts had suggested.  This thankfully, provided some relief, that things aren’t worse than expected. That, and the fact that February job losses weren’t revised downwards, as previous months had been, suggests that layoffs may be flattening out.

Since jobs are a “lagging indicator,” the struggling U.S. economy will continue to shed them even after a turnaround has begun. Many economists think that the unemployment rate could top 10% this year, even if the condition of the economy begins to improve, as some indicators are starting to suggest.

Since December 2007, when the recession began, 5.1 million jobs have been lost, with almost two-thirds (3.3 million) of the jobs being lost in the last five months.  According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, “In March, job losses were large and widespread across the major industry sectors.”

Manufacturers trimmed another 161,000 jobs in March; factory employment has fallen by 1 million over the past six months, the BLS said.

Both residential and commercial construction remains in the dumps, and builders axed another 126,000 jobs in March. The new twist is that commercial construction is beginning to suffer just as residential construction was hit last year.

“Unlike previous periods in this economic cycle, the bulk of job losses for the first quarter of 2009 were in the nonresidential sector as opposed to the residential sector,” according to Anirban Basu, the chief economist for Associated Builders and Contractors, an industry group. “This suggests that the residential construction sector is much closer to its bottom than is the nonresidential construction sector, which is a relative newcomer to the ongoing downturn.”

The government’s economic-stimulus spending should begin to ease some of the pain in the construction sector by encouraging infrastructure projects by late this year.

Spring has arrived! The weather’s warmer, the days longer and you seem to have a little more energy. Chances are some of that energy will be used for spring cleaning – window washing, closet cleaning or planting a garden. According to the CPA Society, it may also be smart to put a little of that energy into getting your financial house in order too.
Here are 5 ways to spruce up your finances:
1. Shake the plan.dust out of your financial  Have you looked at your goals lately? Have you been meeting them or not? If the hard times of the past few months have your financial plan on shaky ground, it may be time to rethink your goals and set new ones. Make sure everything is in order and the plan reflects any changes in your life over the past year.
2. Make your credit report sparkle. It’s important to get your credit clean and keep it that way, especially in today’s economy. Check your credit score (it’s free from each of the three main bureaus once a year or go to www.annualcreditreport.com) and clear up any discrepancies. Develop a plan to pay off your debt. Don’t cancel zero balance credit cards if you will be applying for a loan; keeping them open but inactive enhances your credit score.
3. Simplify. Review all of your open accounts - checking, money market and savings – and consolidate what you can. Have an account in another state? Close it. A 401(k) from a previous job? Roll it over to your current plan or IRA if it makes good sense under market conditions. Having as few accounts as possible will reduce confusion and help keep your finances in good health.
4. Be ready for a rainy day. I know It’s not easy these days to find any extra money in your budget, but… do what you can to put even a small amount away on a regular basis to build a rainy day fund. Now more than ever, having some cash on hand in case of a layoff, major home repair or other emergency is a good idea.
5. Get rid of the clutter. Determine what paperwork needs to be saved and what can be thrown out. It’s recommended that you keep your past IRS tax records for at least seven years and try to keep copies of the returns as long as you can as they may contain valuable information and may not be available from the IRS.
If you feel a little lost and don’t know where to start, contact a CPA (Certified Public Accountant). CPAs are more than just tax specialists; they can provide a broad range of guidance for the years ahead.