Latest news with #jobSeekers
CBC
5 days ago
- Business
- CBC
Employment scams are common but there are ways to protect your money, personal info
Social Sharing With university graduates searching for post-grad work and students looking for summer jobs, the Better Business Bureau Atlantic is warning job seekers about employment scams. "These types of scams are problematic for sure throughout the year … but certainly, you know, instances of reporting can go up in more popular times for people to be looking for employment," said Julia Lewis, president and CEO of the Atlantic chapter. According to the bureau's national risk report, employment scams ranked the second riskiest scam in 2024. Lewis said this is because these scams have a high median loss at around $2,500. She said there's a few ways scammers target job seekers for money. One way is to put the applicant through somewhat of a hiring process, which is usually quite quick, and the scammer will say they're sending the person a cheque — whether it's for office equipment or gift cards for clients. "They will send the cheque, the person will go off to the bank, they'll cash it [and] immediately, they will get a message from the scammer saying, 'Oh, we've actually oversent money to you, can you please send us back a … certain amount?'" said Lewis. "They're sending that money back, unfortunately, before the cheque is cleared and, you know, the cheque never clears, and then they end up also being out the money that they sent." According to the Canadian Anti-Fraud Centre's website, there has recently been an increase in crypto job frauds. Using real names of companies, the scammers will offer people freelance jobs to boost products, apps or videos on a software. But once the person installs the software, they will receive tasks they need to complete and may receive a small payment to prove legitimacy. Then, the scammers will say you can earn higher commissions by boosting more products but the person will need to pay fees to gain access to that work. When the victim deposits the money, they'll be able to see it in their crypto account, but won't have the ability to withdraw it or the money they earn. Vigilance encouraged during application phase While employment scams don't typically occur during the initial application or contact, Lewis said it's always a good idea not to blindly apply to a posting without doing your own research first. Moncton-based Beverly Somers, the co-founder and managing partner for Smart Human Resource Solutions, said it can be a good idea to get in touch with the person listed on the posting or, for larger companies, see if you can find someone in your network who can confirm the validity of the company or job. She said the applicant could also check the company's social media pages, such as LinkedIn, to see if you have any contacts who work there. "It's a little bit of background work that, you know, people might need to do, but it's a good way … just to validate and make a connection with somebody in the company," said Somers, adding that it could also help ensure your application gets seen. Somers said when people are applying to jobs, they should never be required to provide personal information for an application such as date of birth, an address or your social insurance number. And Lewis said it's important for job seekers to look for indicators, such as a potential employer wanting to set up an interview over some kind of messaging app rather than a video call. The position may be advertised as a work-from-home opportunity, offering a salary that seems "too good to be true" for the role. "They're often wanting you to make a decision really quickly, so they may offer you the job on the spot … to get, in those instances, your personal information through social insurance number, your banking information, that type of thing," said Lewis.
Forbes
6 days ago
- Business
- Forbes
America Is Facing A Talent Mismatch. Congress Can Help.
As short-form credentials emerge as a tool for economic mobility, widening the allowable use of Pell ... More dollars to access many of these programs can unlock pathways to economic mobility. Americans want good jobs. American employers need skilled workers. Yet three out of four employers say they have difficulty filling full-time roles, even as many current job seekers report challenges in finding new employment. For decades – arguably starting with the end of World War II and passage of the GI Bill – the college degree was seen as the surest path to a good, stable job. Degrees became a frequently used tool for employers to find people with the skills they desired, and the number of jobs that required a degree grew. The unintended consequence is that these degree requirements put many jobs out of reach for tens of millions of Americans who don't have a college degree—and limited the talent pool for employers. Over the past decade, companies have taken steps to remove degree requirements from many jobs. This shift toward skills-based hiring and other skills-based practices reflects a growing realization: a four-year degree, while valuable, is not the only—or even the best—preparation for many well-paying jobs. Programs that are aligned to workforce needs, often much shorter than a college degree, can play an important role in helping match skilled talent to employers, creating a win/win for workers and companies. And families are taking notice. Today, only about one-third of the American public feels confident in higher education and, in contrast to the college-oriented parents of 10 years ago, almost half now say they'd prefer their children pursue something other than a bachelor's degree upon graduating high school. Congress has a chance to support this transition to a skills-based labor market by passing the bipartisan JOBS Act, which would expand Pell Grant eligibility to students enrolled in short-term programs that lead to in-demand jobs. A Republican-led version of this bill was included in the budget reconciliation package that passed the House. For more than 50 years, Pell Grants have been one of the most powerful engines of economic opportunity in the country — providing students from low-income communities with the funding they need to earn a degree and pursue a higher-earning career path. But in those past five-plus decades, the world of work has continued to change, and programs like the Pell Grant haven't always kept up with the needs of learners or employers. Currently, federal Pell Grants—a critical source of financial aid for low-income students—are only available for programs that are at least 600 hours or 15 weeks long. This excludes many short-term, high-quality programs that could quickly prepare workers for good-paying jobs. The JOBS Act is rooted in the understanding that it's harder than ever to commit to the time and money that a traditional degree pathway requires, especially for adult learners who are balancing work and family commitments in addition to their studies. It's built in standards of quality to ensure that Pell Grants can't just be used for any training program — but only those that lead to industry-recognized credentials that are aligned with the needs of state and local economies. Perhaps most importantly, it's designed to help meet the needs of today's economy. Republican Senator Roger Marshall called the bill an 'incredible opportunity for students in an ever-changing job market' when introducing it in February. His Democratic counterpart Tina Smith of Minnesota noted that many of today's most in-demand jobs – welders, machine operators, medical technicians – don't require college degrees at all. In her words, 'We need to make it easier to get people into these career fields, and letting students use Pell Grants to make it happen just makes sense.' States on both sides of the aisle provide a roadmap for what success can look like in these types of programs. A research study found that in Virginia and Louisiana, community college students who completed short-form credential programs experienced immediate annual wage gains of between 19-24%. The same report looked at programs in Colorado to prove that those increases lasted: Colorado students experienced not only that immediate salary bump but saw their earnings compared to high school graduates continue to increase five and ten years after completing their short-term program. In addition to supporting individual economic mobility, these wage gains are a signal that the skills acquired through shorter-form programs are valuable to employers, who are willing to pay a premium to access talent with those skills. As short-form credentials—such as certificates, industry certifications, and microcredentials— emerge as a tool for economic mobility, widening the allowable use of Pell dollars to access many of these programs can unlock pathways to economic mobility. In fact, the research on Virginia and Louisiana found that some of the biggest wage gains for short-term programs happened in zip codes with the lowest income. Helping more Americans find good jobs and provide for themselves and their families is at the core of nearly every policymaker's goal for the country. The JOBS Act is hardly a silver bullet for closing talent gaps or solving political polarization, but it's a powerful way to build on the work employers have already undertaken to shift to a skills-based labor market.
Globe and Mail
15-05-2025
- Business
- Globe and Mail
The summer job market is getting trounced
Young Canadians have suffered the most in a weakening labour market – and the outlook doesn't look great, either. As of early May, summer job postings on Indeed Canada were down 22 per cent from last year, according to a new report from the job-search site. The decline is being driven by summer camp roles, which have tumbled by 32 per cent. As part of its analysis, Indeed tallied job postings with 'summer' (or in French, 'été') in the title, which included everything from camp counsellors to lifeguards and painters. Summer job postings typically peak from mid-April to mid-May, so the weak trend this year bodes poorly for the warmer months to come. 'The dip in job postings comes at a time when growth in youth employment has fallen far short of rapid population growth over the past two years, suggesting 2025 could be another difficult summer for seasonal job seekers,' wrote senior economist Brendon Bernard in the report. The youth unemployment rate (for those aged 15 to 24) hit 14.1 per cent in April, steadily rising from a low of 9 per cent in the summer of 2022. Higher interest rates, meant to curb inflation, have weighed on economic growth and job creation, while strong immigration has led to an influx of job seekers. Now, the U.S.-driven trade war is forcing some families to tighten their budgets and companies to scale back their hiring plans. 'With other risks to the Canadian labour market looming, there are few signs of near-term turnaround amid what's already a troubled job market for youth,' Mr. Bernard wrote. Decoder is a weekly feature that unpacks an important economic chart.
RNZ News
15-05-2025
- Business
- RNZ News
Why you might need to be careful of that job offer
If you're being asked to pay to work, that's a big red flag. Photo: Pixabay In a tight job market, being approached by a recruiter for a job opening may seem like a stroke of good fortune, but for some job hunters, it's turned out to be a major letdown - or worse. Recruitment scams are becoming increasingly prevalent. In a recruitment scam, a fake job ad is posted or an offer of employment made to get personal information out of would-be applicants. The scammers can then use the data for online fraud and identity theft. Sometimes, people are also asked for money. Shay Peters, chief executive of recruitment firm Robert Walters in Australia and New Zealand, said he had seen a spike in the number of scammers in the last 2-3 months. Some pretend to work for his company. "It's a concern that people are leveraging off our brand in the market, trying to gain very, very private information on people's backgrounds," he said. "We're an organisation that's been around for over 40 years. "Our name is fairly well known. Only recently, I've had personal contacts reach out to me, saying they've been contacted by Robert Walters for some quite senior level roles in New Zealand. "I've had to let them know it's not actually us, because it looks legit." He said the risks to jobseekers were "quite profound". "The information that we are privy to is significant about a person's background and the risk of identity fraud is very, very high, when you're dealing with scammers pretending to be from the recruitment industry." Netsafe chief online safety officer Sean Lyons said employment-related scams made up a significant part of the financial losses reported last year, and seemed to be on the rise in New Zealand and overseas. "These scams can be sophisticated and often leverage well-known brands in New Zealand to create a false sense of legitimacy, making them more appealing to potential victims. "Scammers use a variety of different methods, but a common employment scam we see is a job offer for a role that can be done relatively easily. Once people sign up, they're told they are earning money, but when they try to withdraw it, that's when the scam starts to be revealed. "At this point, scammers will often offer large incentives to leave the money or simply stall to the point where people give up in exasperation. While identifying a scam can be tricky, it's important to have a level of scepticism when it comes to online job offers." He said people should think carefully, before engaging with any unsolicited offers. "Very few - if any - genuine opportunities will come out of the blue, with no previous contact or connection. If you are being asked to pay in order to work, then this should be looked at with caution and scepticism. "Prospective employers don't generally ask people to pay money to be employed, so if that is the ask, think very carefully before taking any further steps, even if the amount seems relatively small to begin with and, perhaps because of that, feel like they are worth a risk, they are not. "If the job is at a known company, contact them directly to verify the ad's legitimacy, before moving ahead with anything." Peters said all recruiters would have a Linked In profile. People could check that and make sure it lined up with what they were being told. "Scammers will post fake profiles too, so you might need to dig a bit deeper, but some of the scamming we are seeing at the moment is quite rudimentary. People are gaining access to people's accounts through Whatsapp, Facebook, text messaging and offering quite senior-level roles, without many layers or barriers to achieving success in gaining that role. "The sniff test is also very important from that perspective." Lyons said it would be almost unheard of to be offered a job without a job interview.
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Weekly Jobless Claims Drop From 2-Month High Reading
Weekly applications for unemployment insurance fell from the highest level in about two months, sugg
