HAS THE DOWNTURN IMPACTED TURNOVER?

When the economy goes sour and firms start issuing pink slips, most employees just try to keep their heads down and hope to hold on until the storm blows over. What they rarely want to do is go on record and talk about turnover in their offices. Unless, of course, they can remain anonymous. According to our poll results, 43% of respondents claim that the downturn hasn't affected turnover at their firm. About 10% fewer (32%) say it's affected turnover tremendously. On a sobering note, slightly more than a quarter of respondents (26%) say they're now looking for a new job. Those people might want to see what Dr. Joseph Seneca, a professor at the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, has to say about the current market in New Jersey. Dr. Seneca shares information on what firms are still hiring, and the businesses that are feeling the economic pinch.

"In the private sector, 10,500 jobs were lost in the first quarter, indicating that New Jersey is fully enveloped in the developing national recession. Over the same period of time, the national economy lost 286,000 private sector jobs, so we actually had a little bit more than our share.

"There have been job losses in construction, as is expected from the housing bust. Construction lost about 1,900 jobs, manufacturing lost 1,400 jobs; even the private service providing area lost 7,200 jobs focused in retail and wholesale trade. There have been losses in the transportation, information and financial activities sectors as well.