About 7 years ago

07/11/2017 - Midnight Reads – Package-Delivery Jobs Rise as More Consumers Shop Online

Package-Delivery Jobs Rise as More Consumers Shop Online

– The Wall Street Journal 

Package-delivery companies added 4,200 jobs last month boosting overall employment in that sector to 666,500 jobs, the highest point since December 2016, when e-commerce sales surged ahead of the holidays. E-commerce accounted for only 8.5% of total U.S. retail sales in the first quarter of 2017, according to the Commerce Department. However, online sales are growing far faster than overall consumer spending and packaging companies are making preparations.

 

How the Growth of E-Commerce Is Shifting Retail Jobs

– The New York Times 

To anyone who has been following the trends, empty malls don’t come as much of a surprise. But beneath the surface, the situation might be even more dire. From the NYT: “The hundreds of thousands of jobs created by new online firms have not absorbed the job losses at traditional retailers. At the same time, the new jobs are concentrated in a handful of large cities and tech hubs.” We have a series of economic and cultural trends, all of which appear to be disadvantaging the same regions.

 

Chicago Won’t Allow High School Students to Graduate Without a Plan for The Future

– The Washington Post

To graduate from a public high school in Chicago, students will soon have to meet a new and unusual requirement: They must show that they’ve secured a job or received a letter of acceptance to college, a trade apprenticeship, a gap year program or the military. Few would dispute that kids often need more than a high school diploma to thrive in today’s economy, but there is a simmering debate about the extent to which schools should be – and realistically can be – expected to ensure their graduates receive further training.

 

Neomi Rao, the Scholar Who Will Help Lead Trump’s Regulatory Overhaul

– The New York Times

Ms. Rao’s ability to work both sides of the ideological divide, emblematic of her career in academia and government, is about to be tested anew. On Monday, the Senate is expected to approve Ms. Rao’s nomination to lead an obscure but powerful White House agency called the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs – placing her at the heart of President Trump’s politically contentious agenda to overhaul government rules and regulations.