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Discount electricity provider Positive Energy Supply LLC announced it is recruiting for telemarketing jobs in Connecticut.

The company said it wants to hire at least 100 workers.
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Employee confidence is on the upswing for jobs in Connecticut.

The SFN Group Employee Confidence Index increased 1.7 points to 52.8 in January. The Index, which measures workers’ confidence in their personal employment situation and optimism in the economic environment, reveals for the second consecutive month that more workers believe that the economy is getting stronger, with four in ten workers also reporting that they are likely to make a job change in the next 12 months.

“Employees have begun 2011 with greater confidence than we have seen in nearly a year,” says Roy Krause, president and CEO of SFN Group, Inc. “Following recent improvements in the stock and job markets, our Index reveals that workers are more secure in the economic recovery. As a result, many more workers are likely to make a job change. We believe many employees who were hesitant to entertain the idea of a job move in recent years, may now do so as they anticipate increased job creation in the months to come. As we speak with employers across the country, we maintain cautious optimism that more job creation is likely to take place in 2011. However, we may continue to see project and temporary positions becoming a larger part of the workforce.”

A Look Inside the Report:

Confidence in Overall Situation:

The SFN Group Employee Confidence Index increased 1.7 points to 52.8 in January. The Index, which measures workers’ confidence in their personal employment situation and optimism in the economic environment, reveals for the second consecutive month, an increase in amount of workers believing that the economy is getting stronger, with four in ten workers also reporting that they are likely to make a job change in the next 12 months.

Confidence in Macroeconomic Environment:

* More U.S. workers believe the economy is getting stronger. Specifically, 29 percent believe so, an increase of four percentage points from December.
* Fifty-seven percent of workers believe there are fewer jobs available, dropping two points from last month.

Confidence in Personal Employment Situation:

* Sixty-one percent of workers are confident in the future of their current employer, an increase of one percentage point from the previous month.
* Fewer workers are confident in their ability to find a new job, with 42 percent reporting confidence. This is a dip of one percentage point from December.

Job Security:

* Fewer workers believe that it is unlikely they will lose their jobs in the next 12 months. Specifically, 71 percent believe is it is unlikely versus 72 percent in December.

Job Transition:

* Four in ten workers are likely to look for a new job in the next 12 months, representing an increase of four percentage points from the previous month.

Confidence by Gender:

* Our latest Report reveals that men have higher levels of overall confidence than women. Specifically, the Employee Confidence Index stands at 54.9 for males and 50.3 for females.
* Men are also inclined to make a job transition, with 44 percent indicating the likelihood of doing so. On the other hand, 36 percent of women believe job change is likely.

Confidence by Age:

* Workers age 18-34 expressed the highest levels of overall confidence among all age groups, with 34 percent believing that the economy is getting stronger.
* Workers age 18-34 are also the most likely among all age brackets to indicate a likelihood of making a job transition in the next 12 months, with more than half (56 percent)reporting a job change is likely. This represents a seven percentage point increase from December.

Confidence by Income:

* Workers earning $75K+ are the most confident among all income brackets, with an Employee Confidence Index of 57.6.
* On the other end of the income spectrum, workers earning less than $35K are the least confident, with an Index of 44.8.

A company that is an expert in employment screening is speaking out about proper background check techniques and how they apply to jobs in Connecticut.

Discrimination issues, global screening, contractors, credit checks, social networking and a tsunami of legislation headline the 2011 list of top background screening trends from EmployeeScreenIQ.

Since 2007, the global employment screening company has developed an annual list for HR professionals and executives. This year’s trends are designed to equip hiring professionals with advance information on crucial screening topics before they become everyday news.

The top nine trends for 2011 include:

1 – EEOC takes aggressive action toward employment background checks. The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) has increased their scrutiny of hiring practices, exposing employers to a greater risk of discrimination lawsuits. The EEOC is especially targeting “bright line” hiring decisions that automatically exclude candidates with criminal records, arrest records that don’t result in a conviction, and/or poor credit. When adverse information surfaces, employers need to consider the severity of the offense, how long ago it occurred, if the person is a repeat offender and most importantly how closely it relates to the job being filled.

2 – Legislation and litigation deterring the practice of checking credit. The states of Hawaii, Oregon, Washington and Illinois have passed legislation aimed at curbing the use of employment credit reports, with nearly 20 other states proposing legislation. There is also an effort at the federal level (HR #3149) to do the same. A number of existing laws already provide protection for job candidates, but credit checks are becoming a hot button issue and the controversy only looks to intensify.

3 – “Ban The Box” laws take effect. Massachusetts, New Mexico, Connecticut and other states have passed “ban the box” laws that prohibit employers from asking for an applicant’s criminal background on the initial job application. Other effects of these laws involve changes to how long felony convictions will display on a person’s record, as well as the need for employers to have a written criminal offender record policy.

4 – Industry accreditation sets the bar for screening providers. Earlier this year the National Association of Professional Background Screeners (NAPBS) announced a new Background Screening Agency Accreditation Program (BSAAP). Only one percent of employment screening companies have earned this distinction, including EmployeeScreenIQ. Looking ahead, accreditation will serve as an important seal of approval that all companies should look for when choosing a background screening provider.

A new company has opened, creating a slew of new jobs in Connecticut.

Eric Stavropoulos, a lifelong Connecticut resident, has launched his first Fresh Coat Painting business to serve Hartford County and its communities of Manchester, Vernon, Glastonbury, South Windsor and East Hartford.

A restaurateur’s son, Stavropoulos always knew he would own his own business. He studied business management in college and gained experience as a manager for his father, who is still working at 75.

After deciding against food services, Stavropoulos explored other entrepreneurial endeavors and chose Fresh Coat because of the reasonable cost, professional training and ongoing support.

“I looked at a few other franchises,” he said. “One of them wanted a million dollars just to start.”

He also liked Fresh Coat because of its transparency, he said, noting the franchise consultant answered his questions and even was willing to mail him written information. “Fresh Coat was the only one that would do that.”

Stavropoulos said he was impressed with the caliber of the managers, especially President Ralph Martin, who actually had run an operation. “These are not just people off the street. They didn’t just read it in a manual, then try to tell you how to do it. They’ve been there and done it themselves.”

Martin praised Stavropoulos for his work ethic and due diligence. “Fresh Coat is an ideal business for motivated business professionals like Eric who want to guide their own success.”

Stavropoulos again was impressed during his week-long training where he learned Fresh Coat’s system for best practices in hiring personnel, determining accurate proposals, and fulfilling customers’ needs.

“Four days into the training, I decided to buy another territory,” he said. That business will open next spring for Stamford and Greenwich.

Stavropoulos anticipates success, and he’s pleased he won’t be painting.

“I’m an absolutely horrible painter,” he said. “I have a good background in business. That’s what I love to do. I’ll let the painters do the painting. That’s what they love to do.”

For an on-site quote for residential or commercial projects, call 860-481-4370 or visit www.freshcoatofhartfordcounty.com.

Founded in 2004, Fresh Coat Painters was ranked in 2010 as a “Top Home Based Business” by Entrepreneur magazine and included on its Franchise 500 list for the third straight year. Fresh Coat is part of the International Franchise Association, the Small Business Association’s Franchise Registry, VetFran and Minority Fran. For details, call 866-708-9355 or visit www.freshcoatpainters.com.

Lydall has released their third quarter finances and gave some insight into opening up jobs in Connecticut.

Net sales for the third quarter ended September 30, 2010 were $83.8 million compared with $66.1 million for the same period in 2009. Excluding the negative impact of foreign currency translation, net sales increased by $20.7 million, or 31.3%, in the third quarter of 2010 compared with the third quarter of 2009.

The Company revised prior period financial statements due to errors detected in the third quarter of 2010. None of the revisions were considered material to the periods impacted, as further described below. All figures in this press release are provided as revised.

Net income for the current quarter was $1.5 million, or $0.09 per share, compared to a net loss of ($0.5) million, or ($0.03) per share, in the third quarter of 2009. Net income in the third quarter of 2010 included a net tax benefit of $1.8 million, or $0.11 per share, and a gain on sale of product line of $0.4 million, or $0.02 per share.

Operating income in the third quarter of 2010 was $0.1 million compared to an operating loss of ($0.4) million in the third quarter of 2009. The current quarter was negatively impacted by the results of the Company’s North American automotive (“NA Auto”) facility, which continued to experience manufacturing inefficiencies associated with production of fiber products, as previously identified at the end of the second quarter.

Dale Barnhart, President and Chief Executive Officer, stated, “We are pleased by the positive trend in revenues resulting from market revitalization and certain share gains. For two consecutive quarters we have exceeded our highest reported revenues since the third quarter of 2008, and we continue to report strong backlog. We are disappointed with the performance of our NA Auto facility, but believe the corrective actions will start to show improvements in the fourth quarter. Our Performance Materials segment and our Affinity business, as well as our European automotive facilities, executed well during the quarter and are benefiting both from the positive trend in revenues and from their ongoing focus on lean manufacturing.

“In the Performance Materials segment, we continued to see greater demand for our filtration and industrial thermal insulation products. Net sales in the third quarter of 2010, excluding foreign currency translation, increased by 31.1% compared to the third quarter of 2009. Excluding the gain on sale of our electrical papers product line, this segment reported an operating margin of 17.4% for the third quarter of 2010 compared to 11.1% in the prior year. Performance Materials has done an excellent job of realigning manufacturing capabilities among the production sites which has enabled us to better optimize the use of existing capacity and also to free up capacity to grow the business organically.

“In the Thermal/Acoustical segment, the second quarter’s demand for the Company’s products continued into the third quarter. While segment net sales increased by 28.0%, excluding foreign currency translation, in the third quarter of 2010, sales of automotive parts increased by 48.5% compared to the third quarter of 2009. The manufacturing inefficiencies we encountered at our NA Auto facility towards the end of the second quarter continued to challenge us in the third quarter, and contributed to the segment’s operating loss of ($3.2) million. During the second and third quarters of 2010, we responded to a rapid acceleration of orders with a plant expansion, implementation of new equipment, hiring and training a significant number of new employees, and fabrication of a great deal of new tooling, and all at the same time as we increased output to meet our customers’ demand.”

Consolidated gross margin percentage for the third quarter of 2010 was 14.9% compared with 17.0% for the same quarter of 2009. This decrease in gross margin percentage was driven by the manufacturing inefficiencies associated with production of fiber products in the Thermal/Acoustical segment. Partially offsetting the negative impact on gross margin percentage from the Thermal/Acoustical segment was improvement in gross margin percentage from the Performance Materials segment.

Selling, product development, and administrative expenses were $12.7 million, or 15.2% of net sales, for the third quarter ended September 30, 2010, compared with $11.7 million, or 17.6% of net sales, for the same quarter of 2009. This increase was primarily due to salaries and benefits, sales commission, severance related charges, and consulting services totaling $1.5 million and partially offset by the reversal of accrued incentive compensation expense of $0.4 million.

An East Coast career fair is starting up with the goal of creating jobs in Connecticut.

Unicruit announced it will bring together more than 40 industry leading employers and government agencies as well as students and alumni of 16 colleges and universities that represent the Big East Career Consortium. Participating schools include Cincinnati, Connecticut, DePaul, Georgetown, Louisville, Marquette, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, Providence, Rutgers, St. John’s, Seton Hall, South Florida, Syracuse, Villanova, and West Virginia. The virtual career fair, which is free to attend for college students and alumni, will open on November 10, 2010 at 10 AM Eastern and will be available on demand until November 19th.

Unicruit is partnering with the Big East Career Consortium to deliver the fully interactive, 3D virtual career fair.
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A company is coming out with advice on how to beat bedbugs and get the right person out to exterminate for Connecticut jobs.

Connecticut BBB offers Tips to Find a Trustworthy Pest Control Company

Bedbugs do not discriminate. They can be picked up virtually anywhere, from top hotels to movie theaters, clothing stores and offices, and they are willing and able to hitch a ride back home. Getting rid of them is not impossible, however people whose dwellings are infested must act aggressively to get rid of a bedbug infestation.

A recent survey by the Pest Management Association reveals 95 percent of exterminators encountered a bedbug infestation in the past year, compared with only 25 percent of respondents a decade ago.

Business owners, homeowners and apartment dwellers must move quickly once they discover bedbugs. Getting rid of them is a job best handled by professionals, according to Connecticut Better Business Bureau President, Paulette Scarpetti.

“Homes and apartments can be infested by any one of a number of insects, however the bedbug pandemic is spreading quickly and these infestations can be extremely difficult to stop.”

While it is important to move fast, consumers should do their research to ensure they are enlisting the help of qualified and trustworthy pest control specialists.

A variety of bedbug pesticides is available online, however not all are safe to use on mattresses and others may not be strong enough to get the job done thoroughly.

Better Business Bureau has some tips to help bedbug victims who are looking for a pest control company:

Get educated – Make sure you completely understand the extent of infestation as well as possible side effects of any chemicals used in the eradication process.

Start with trust – BBB maintains reports on exterminators – both good and bad – across North America. BBB’s Accredited Business Directory can help you find local exterminators that uphold BBB’s standards for ethical business practices.

Verify credentials – Make sure the exterminator has the necessary training and certifications and preferably, is a member of a national or local trade association.

Ask about liability insurance – Verify the exterminators – like any professionals who are hired to do work in your home – are covered and how you will be reimbursed in the event they damage your property or belongings when they are in your dwelling.

Read the fine print – Make sure that all verbal claims appear in the contract, and pay close attention to warranty or termination fees if you are entering into an extended retainer for monitoring or future extermination services.

Unicruit Partners is helping to create jobs in Connecticut by hosting a large career fair.

UBM Studios Unicruit today announced the Big East Virtual Career Fair (www.bigeastcareerfair.com) will bring together more than 40 industry leading employers and government agencies as well as students and alumni of 16 colleges and universities that represent the Big East Career Consortium. Participating schools include Cincinnati, Connecticut, DePaul, Georgetown, Louisville, Marquette, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, Providence, Rutgers, St. John’s, Seton Hall, South Florida, Syracuse, Villanova, and West Virginia. The virtual career fair, which is free to attend for college students and alumni, will open on November 10, 2010 at 10 AM Eastern and will be available on demand until November 19th.

Unicruit is partnering with the Big East Career Consortium to deliver the fully interactive, 3D virtual career fair. (more…)

Big Y Foods Inc., which recently agreed to acquire seven A&P Supermarkets in Connecticut, has announced they are on a hiring spree to recruit for cashier jobs in Connecticut for their new stores.

Big Y Foods is opening four hiring centers on Monday to fill full- and part-time positions at the stores, including one in the Cross Pointe Plaza at 799 New Haven Road in Naugatuck. The goal is to fill the open positions as quickly as possible.

The centers will be open for three weeks and will be located at: Homewood Suites, 2 Farm Glen Blvd. in Farmington; Sheraton Four Points hotel, 275 Research Parkway in Meriden; Omni New Haven hotel, 155 Temple St., and Holiday Inn, 380 Bayonet St. in New London.

The hiring for these new markets will take place for three weeks at the Holiday Inn, 380 Bayonet St., New London, and in the towns of Farmington, Meriden and New Haven.

Hours are Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Thursday from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. The sites will be closed Saturday, Oct. 16, and on Sundays.

CI has announced they are establishing funds to encourage the growth of IT jobs in Connecticut.

A new $4 million fund has been established to support the formation of very early-stage technology companies and jobs, Connecticut Innovations announced Monday.

Called the Connecticut Innovations Pre-Seed Fund, the pool of general obligation bonds can be used by start-up tech companies to cover expenses such as accounting and legal, intellectual property development, prototype development, business plan assistance and development, technology reviews, assessment or development, market analysis, market entry strategy development or hiring resources, consultants or employees.

CI is the state’s quasi-public authority that administers technology investing and innovation development. President and Executive Director Peter Longo said the fund was created in this year’s General Assembly session under Public Act 10-75, “An Act Concerning the Recommendations of the Majority Leader’s Job Growth Roundtable,” and replaces CI’s former Pre-Seed Support Services Program.

“This definitely helps accelerate the formation of these businesses,” Longo said. “This helps spurinnovationaspeoplebecome displaced. People become much more entrepreneurial.”

CI has a portfolio of about 50 active companies, valued at about $42 million. The number of businesses in the portfolio has grown over the past year, but the value remained flat, Longo said.

The authority invests in early-stage, state-based tech companies, university/industry research collaborations, technology transfer and clean energy initiatives through the Connecticut Clean Energy Funds.

The new terms raise loan caps to $150,000, and applicants now must show evidence of private matching funds equal to 50 percent of their loan request.

Longo said CI is accepting applications and more information about terms and conditions and the loan application may be found at www.ctinnovations. com/preseed.

CI also oversees the Eli Whitney Fund, which provides financing for later-stage companies that are beyond the steps of proving concepts and are involved in commercialization. Longo said the authority’s relationship with entrepreneurs goes beyond closing the loan. CI also provides coaching and mentoring services.