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BEIJING, June 13, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — China’s eastern Zhejiang province is expected to make substantial progress in building a demonstration zone for common prosperity through high-quality development, according to a guideline released by the Communist Party of China Central Committee and the State Council on Thursday.

The guideline rolled out multiple measures to guide the province in setting an example for promoting common prosperity.

CGTN: China to build Zhejiang into demonstration zone for common prosperity
CGTN: China to build Zhejiang into demonstration zone for common prosperity
By 2025, Zhejiang should achieve solid progress in building the demonstration zone, with its per capita gross domestic product (GDP) reaching the level of moderately developed economies, while a social structure with a middle-income population as the majority should be generally developed by then, the guideline said.

And 10 years after that, the province will achieve greater success in high-quality development, achieving common prosperity on the whole, according to the guideline.

Promoting the common prosperity of all Chinese people is an arduous and long-term task that cannot be fully implemented in a short time. Thus, the urgent need is to select some areas with relatively sufficient conditions as a pilot, the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) said in response to reporters’ question on China’s plans in Zhejiang.

Zhejiang’s pioneering role

Building the demonstration zone in Zhejiang is conducive to promoting more coordination between urban and rural income distribution, boosting industrial development and optimizing public services, according to a research from Bank of China Research Institute.

As China is now the second-largest economy in the world, more attention should be paid to the coordination between urban and rural income growth and economic growth to narrow the income gap and strengthen middle-income groups. Zhejiang demonstration zone will broaden the income channels of urban and rural residents, and explore ways to increase the income of low-and middle-income groups, as well as improve the salary distribution policy for skilled talents, the research said.

Zhejiang has a developed economy, a strong sense of reform and innovation, and enjoys the foundation and advantages for the building of demonstration zones. The guideline said Zhejiang should build a coordinated advancement of industrial and consumption upgrading, to better meet people’s diversified needs, which requires high-end, intelligent, and market-oriented development in the industry, and promote the vitality of labor, technology, state-owned and private capital and other factors, according to the research.

Why was Zhejiang selected?

Zhejiang Province has achieved obvious results in exploring and solving the problem of unbalanced and insufficient development; the fruits achieved through reforms there will provide experience for other parts of the country, China’s state planner said.

Zhejiang is a comparatively wealthy province. Its residents’ per capita disposable income stood at 52,400 yuan (about $8,199) in 2020, second only to Shanghai and Beijing.

The development there is also well-balanced as rural residents account for half of its total population, but the income differential between urban and rural residents is 1.96, much lower than the national 2.56.

All parts of Zhejiang generally show a relatively strong sense of reform and innovation, offering various advanced reform experiences such as quick and easy one-stop services. Despite all these services, the potential for further growth and prosperity remains strong in the province, for instance, in anti-monopoly management and preventing disorderly expansion of capital.

According to the NDRC, the problem-oriented guideline focuses on the weakest link hindering common prosperity and puts forward key measures to narrow the gap between urban and rural regional development and income distribution among different groups.

https://news.cgtn.com/news/2021-06-10/China-issues-measures-on-building-common-prosperity-demonstration-zone-10Z2gdPHHCE/index.html

SOURCE CGTN

CONTACT: cgtn@cgtn.com

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NEW YORK, June 7, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Fedcap Employment UK, a subsidiary of The Fedcap Group, has been awarded two major contracts by the UK Department for Work and Pensions to deliver the country’s Restart Scheme in the South Central and North West areas of England. Fedcap Employment was the only non-profit to be awarded these contracts, which have a 4.5-year term.

Announced last year under the Commercial Agreement for the Provision of Employment and Health Related Services (CAEHRS) framework, the service provides support for people who have been directly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and have been unemployed between 12-18 months.

Fedcap will offer an individualized mix of face to face and virtual support to assist 132,100 individuals develop their employment skills, obtain training in high growth sectors and secure employment.

Christine McMahon, President and CEO of The Fedcap Group said, “The Fedcap Group believes in the importance of work, seeking to create opportunities for individuals to achieve economic wellbeing. We are pleased to have this opportunity to leverage the skills and experience we have developed over our 86-year history to assist governments as they rebuild and transform their economies and the lives of citizens impacted by the pandemic. We are honored that the UK Department for Work and Pensions has chosen us as a partner, and we will work diligently to meet and exceed expectations.”

Grant Collins, President, Workforce Development for The Fedcap Group noted, “The Fedcap Group is one of the highest performing employment support providers, helping 250,000 people annually advance–through education, jobs, career training and coaching. We are committed to assisting individuals achieve societal inclusion and economic wellbeing and look forward to working on this innovative scheme to support those whose livelihoods were lost or impacted due to the pandemic.”

About Fedcap Employment UK
Fedcap Employment delivers services across England and Scotland helping people find suitable and sustainable work. The organization delivers an array of employment schemes including the Intensive Personalised Employment Support and Links to Work. Fedcap Scotland is the majority owner of StartScotland, which delivers Fair Start Scotland.

About The Fedcap Group
For 86 years, The Fedcap Group has developed innovative and scalable solutions to some of society’s most pressing problems. Serving over 250,000 people each year in the US, the UK and Canada, The Fedcap Group provides education and training, workforce and economic development and necessary supports—all targeted to helping people achieve economic wellbeing.

SOURCE The Fedcap Group

CONTACT: For more information, please contact Rose Anello at 646.830.9008 or RAnello@fedcap.org

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LONDON, June 7, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — CFOs across the UK warn that cashflow and overspending are the main barriers to their organisation’s financial recovery. The research, commissioned by Soldo, a European pay and spend automation platform, found that 60% of CFOs are forecasting that their business will not recover to pre-pandemic levels until October 2022. 3% of CFOs that say their business has already recovered, while 2% forecast recovery is still over five years away.

Investment Spending Reduced in The Early Stages Of The Pandemic

60% of UK businesses cut their spending in response to the pandemic, with the average business reducing expenditure by 14% in the last financial year. Economists have modelled this data, suggesting that across the UK, business spending was reduced by £153 billion in 2020/2021.

Soldo’s research found that the average reduction in business spending in the last financial year (20/21) was as follows;

Small firms (up to 50 employees) – £417,553
Medium sized firms (51 – 500 employees) – £4,011,651
Corporates (501+ employees) – £17,251,279
Reductions in inventory and staffing costs (including contractors, reduction of permanent headcount and a freeze in the recruitment of new talent) were the main areas where business reduced their expenditure. Nevertheless, the majority of CFOs (60%) acknowledge that now is the time to re-start business spending to drive recovery as quickly as possible. Finance professionals acknowledge that there are numerous challenges associated with ramping up investment. The following were cited as the top 5 difficulties:

Cashflow issues (54%)
Managing overspending (51%)
Supplier relationships (44%)
Inability to forecast (37%)
Lack of insight around spending (26%)
Said Paraag Amin, CFO of dotdigital, said:

“The pandemic has focused businesses more than ever on continuing to grow through uncertain times, and digital transformation, including the shift to cloud, is one of the key enablers of this. Having access to real-time information, wherever you are, is of paramount importance. Add to this the scaling of processes, to drive cost efficiency, means that it is very important for CFOs/businesses to continue to reinvest, not just to survive the pandemic, but to thrive.”

Mariano Dima, President of Soldo, said:

“Business leaders are taking a deeper look at spending control and payment models, whether through the pandemic or the new norm. With spend management technology, the average UK business can save 2% of annual revenues and reinvest in market expansion.

“Many CFOs have doubled down on digital transformation and cash displacement. It is crucial to have the ability to forensically examine business spend, whether SaaS, retail or advertising.”

What do CFOs cite as the top challenges threatening recovery and growth?

Managing overspending – CFOs told us that overspending is the number one challenge when it comes to making investments. 50% of CFOs recognise that a digital approach to managing spend can solve overspending. Soldo gives business leaders the ability to set tight budgets and gives real time updates, helping to prevent overspending.

Cashflow issues – Poor visibility of cashflow and working capital acts as a drag on investment. Our research found that 63% of finance teams want better oversight of their working capital. Soldo enables finance teams to track spending against budgets in real time.

Lack of insight around business spending – The inability to analyse investment spending in real-time is a challenge for a significant number of finance leaders. Over a quarter of the CFOs Soldo spoke to said that they wanted more accurate and timely insights around spending. Founders and finance teams want to see spending in real time and see where and how money is being spent.

Soldo’s research found that an incredible amount was wasted across Europe due to ineffective spending controls:

€347 billion across Europe
€62 billion in Germany
€42 billion in France
€43 billion in UK (£37 billion)
€30 billion in Italy

Cloud Benefits – Making the shift to cloud accounting enables CFOs to manage and monitor investment spending more efficiently. Soldo’s research showed that an average sized company could save more than £2.3m annually. In short, tech-enabled businesses are much more confident in their ability to invest for future growth.

About the research
Soldo commissioned Coleman Parkes to conduct a detailed analysis on the impact of digital transformation on the finance function in small to large organisations in the UK, France, Germany and Italy. To achieve this objective Coleman Parkes designed and executed a highly targeted and representative quantitative research study surveying 950 senior finance decision makers (400 in UK, 400 in Italy, and 75 in each of France and Germany). The respondents were either owner/managers or finance directors as of November 2020.

Market representation was key in order to calculate the micro and macro impact of poor spending controls on businesses and economies as a whole. Coleman Parkes conducted all calculations in-house.

The report is available to download here.

About Soldo
Founded in 2015 by tech veteran Carlo Gualandri, Soldo is one of Europe’s fastest growing fintech companies. In 2019, the company raised a $61 million Series B round led by Battery Ventures and Dawn Capital with the participation of Accel and other existing investors – the largest round of funding ever secured by a pay and spend automation company. 

Before Soldo, tracking and controlling spending was a dark art: businesses created workarounds for payments and stifled staff with financial admin.

Soldo enables employees and departments to make purchases – from advertising to software, travel expenses to e-commerce. Control every cost with custom budgets and track transactions in real time. Connect accounting software to automate reporting and save hours, then use insights to grow.   Soldo combines smart prepaid company cards with a comprehensive management platform. The brighter way to manage business spending.

For more information, please visit www.soldo.com and follow us on Twitter @Soldo.

Contact:
020 7592 1200

DALLAS, June 4, 2021 — After a disappointing April jobs report, hiring is on the rise again, with 559,000 jobs added in May. While a move in the right direction, talent acquisition professionals and hiring managers still struggle to find and attract talent. As consumer demand continues to increase, specific industries are dealing with acute hiring challenges.

ThinkWhy, a labor market data and analytics firm, released its National Jobs and Industry Performance Outlook following an announcement from the Bureau of Labor Statistics that the economy added 559,000 jobs in May, with the unemployment rate at 5.8 percent. 

Of the 7.6 million jobs that remain lost from the pandemic, close to 2.5 million are in the Leisure and Hospitality industry, which includes restaurants, hotels, and entertainment venues. The biggest challenge persists in people’s willingness to return to work, as they receive equivalent to the industry’s average wage, depending on the state, in unemployment benefits and the additional $300 federal stimulus.

“The challenge to find skilled and service workers remains a real threat to company growth and productivity. The difficulty of filling both white- and blue-collar roles creates hardships to keep up with demand across industries – inevitably impacting a full economic recovery in those sectors and the local areas in which they operate,” says Jay Denton, chief analyst for ThinkWhy.

“While some policy issues focus on blue-collar jobs, the labor market is already incredibly tight for many occupations. As of May, jobs in management, technology, legal, architecture, and healthcare practitioners already had unemployment rates of 2.9% or less,” Denton explains.

Recruiting and hiring will require the right tools to source and win candidates. Most important will be refining compensation plans based on today’s competitive job market and shifts in talent availability.

Local Markets Adding the Most Jobs

While the U.S. employment recovery is widespread, the pace varies across the nation. The following labor markets recovered the total jobs year to date, through April 2021:

New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA (111,200)
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA (103,000)
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI (63,200)
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI (55,100)
Boston-Cambridge-Nashua, MA-NH NECTA (54,500)
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX (44,900)
Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI (42,600)
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA (41,600)
Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO (40,700)
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA (40,000)
“Economic demand will not be the challenge for sustaining robust hiring levels. Impacts from labor shortages, rising wages and limitations to how quickly goods can be produced will slow down the process of hiring talent, and make keeping them even more important,” continues Denton.

Many of these cities were among the hardest hit at the onset of the pandemic-induced economic fallout. Further, industry recovery will be based on varying economic influences. As a result, each city will be impacted differently. 

Industry Performance & Recovery

May’s jobs report indicates the most job gain was in Leisure and Hospitality, and Education and Health Services sectors.

The pace of recovery will vary across cities, dependent upon their respective talent supply and industry growth.  Here is a look at LaborIQ’s recovery timeline across the major sectors.

The Outlook

The outlook for the second half of the year remains strong, and it is still expected that the U.S. will add a significant number of jobs back to the economy. ThinkWhy’s talent intelligence software LaborIQ® estimates 5.4 million jobs will be added back to the economy in 2021.

The domino effect of people moving from one job to another is predicted to result in more than 73 million hires for the year, which will require a significant effort from talent acquisition professionals. The wave of hiring is just getting started.

To read the full National Jobs and Industry Recovery Outlook for May, click here.

About LaborIQ by ThinkWhy

LaborIQ is a SaaS solution providing HR and talent acquisition professionals with talent and labor market intelligence. LaborIQ by ThinkWhy reports, forecasts, and advises on employment conditions and the impact to jobs, industries, and businesses across all U.S. cities. Our machine learning and advanced data science deliver precise compensation, talent supply forecasts, retention tools and job market answers for more than 20,000 occupations.

Visit www.ThinkWhy.com to learn more or request a demo. Follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook.

SOURCE ThinkWhy

CONTACT: Paige Dawson, paige@mpdventures.com | 214-808-7341

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LONDON, May 26, 2021 — Recognized as the UK’s leading Amazon PPC ads advertising business agency, Clear Ads recently discussed the importance for businesses and online retailers to embrace new advertising strategies to overcome the ever-growing competition faced in today’s online marketplace. Clear Ads is recommending Twitch as a valuable tool in conjunction with Amazon DSP when exploring advertising opportunities to expand audience reach.

Learn more about Amazon ads at https://www.clearads.co.uk/.

Twitch is an American video live streaming service that focuses on video game live streaming, including broadcasts of e-sports competitions as well as music broadcasts, creative content, and more recently, “in real life” streams. It is operated by Twitch Interactive, a subsidiary of Amazon.com, Inc.

Amazon itself has been expanding its advertising means, venturing into the world of video and streaming ads for some time now. Recently, however, Amazon has extended its programmatic capabilities to include the live streaming channel Twitch. “While Twitch has previously managed its own independent advertising channel, parts of it are now being absorbed into the Amazon Demand Side Platform (DSP), sharing some functionality between the two and giving today’s advertisers more opportunities to utilize the best of both platforms to really engage with new audiences,” explains Clear Ads’ CEO George Meressa.

Meressa points to the business-focused site Quartz, which states, “Twitch, the Amazon-owned platform that live-broadcasts gamers playing video games, is the undisputed champion of its arena. It hosts 91% of all video game streaming, dwarfing competitors from YouTube and Facebook. In less than a decade, Twitch has become one of the most popular platforms on the internet, serving more than 2 million viewers at any given time of any given day.”

The most appealing factor to incorporating Twitch in an advertising scheme is the access Twitch provides to historically elusive and hard to reach audiences. Twitch is dominated by gaming demographics. “This younger demographic has long proven to be challenging for advertisers to engage with, with research from the IAB Tech Lab noting that men aged between 18-34 are statistically most likely to use ad blockers. This has made it very difficult for advertisers to get their ads in front of this particular demographic, resulting in a huge untouched pool,” Meressa says.

Amazon announced the following changes as a result of combining Amazon DSP and Twitch into an advertising powerhouse

Advertisers that purchase ads programmatically through the Amazon DSP will be able to show content through the Twitch video and digital display, increasing the number of channels Amazon advertisers can push their content across.
The integrated Twitch Audiences feature – a powerful audience builder utilized by existing Twitch advertisers – is now accessible to advertisers using the Amazon DSP. This allows Amazon advertisers to target audiences more closely using Twitch user behavior.
Advertisers already pushing campaigns through Twitch now have access to Amazon’s unrivaled first-party user data, including browsing, purchasing, searching, and viewing behaviors.
The move to online has been a gradual process over the last few years, but there is no denying that the COVID-19 pandemic has made it necessary to speed up the process. Not only have lockdowns required businesses and retailers to significantly alter how they operate, but the increase in people needing to stay home has resulted in a drastic increase in the amount of online content being absorbed daily. Amazon’s step to sharing functionality between Twitch and Amazon DSP offers a unique edge to advertising not seen on other platforms — the merger of hard-to-reach audiences with an immense customer data bank.

For additional information about the advantages of working with the Amazon advertising agency, Clear Ads, please visit the official company website.

Contact Name : George Meressa
Contact Phone: +442037474686
Contact Email: info@clearads.co.uk

About Clear Ads
Clear Ads is a paid advertising agency focusing on Amazon and Google for small and medium-sized enterprises around the world.

SOURCE Clear Ads

ORLANDO, Fla., May 11, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — KPMG LLP, the U.S. audit, tax and advisory firm, today announced the opening of its new Capability Center, located in the innovative Lake Nona community in Orlando. The KPMG Capability Center brings 350 new jobs to Orlando, with plans for additional jobs in the future. Equipped with the latest technology, the facility will enable the firm to deliver select, high-quality advisory and tax services to clients across the country.

Image courtesy of Lake Nona
Image courtesy of Lake Nona
KPMG Lakehouse, the firm’s learning, development and innovation facility also based in Lake Nona, boasts an advanced real estate design and breakthrough solutions. The Capability Center, located at 6820 Marwick Lane, will include the same innovations and will open in stages based on local data and guidance from authorities.

The firm’s ongoing commitment to both its extraordinary people and excellence in client service are demonstrated by its investments in KPMG Lakehouse and this new facility. As KPMG evolves to new ways of working, KPMG Lakehouse will serve as a cultural hub for ongoing connection, collaboration and training for all its people. The Capability Center is a cornerstone of the firm’s enhanced service delivery model that effectively addresses market demands and client needs.

A key driver for the firm’s continued expansion and investment in the region is access to top talent in the Orlando area.

Quotes from senior government officials in Florida
“Orlando is a place where we use the power of partnerships to foster one of the best business climates in the nation and where our quality-of-life amenities help attract the best and brightest talent to our workforce,” said Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer. “KPMG’s state-of-the-art Capability Center will create more than 350 new to Orlando jobs, resulting in these new employees further stimulating our local economy by shopping in our stores, dining in our restaurants and enjoying our abundant sports and entertainment amenities.”

“We are thrilled that KPMG has decided to further invest in Orange County by locating their state-of-the-art Capability Center in Lake Nona,” said Orange County Mayor Jerry L. Demings. “As we continue to work towards business recovery from the pandemic, 350 new jobs in our community will be a welcome opportunity for our citizens and a boost to our economy.”

“Today’s announcement is good news for Florida,” said Florida Secretary of Commerce Jamal Sowell. “KPMG is bringing hundreds of jobs to Orlando and Lake Nona, along with a reputation for delivering solutions and innovation. We wish them well as they expand their critical footprint in the City of Orlando and Orange County.”

KPMG Capability Center current offerings
The KPMG Capability Center will initially offer controls testing and documentation and managed services for Advisory, tax compliance processes that support its Business Tax service offering, as well as sales activities.

“We are very excited about the opening of the Capability Center, and further enhancing our partnership with Orlando and Lake Nona,” said Carl Carande, U.S. Vice Chair and Global Head of Advisory, KPMG. “To ensure we continue to deliver excellence in client service as the business environment continues to evolve, the ability to modernize our delivery model and become more digitally enabled are crucial. At the new center, our Advisory professionals will help us deliver exceptional service, quality, efficiency, and affordability to our clients, across a wide range of consulting services.”

“Tax and how it’s viewed, computed and operationalized is vastly transforming, perhaps at a more rapid pace than ever before,” said Greg Engel, Vice Chair – Tax, KPMG LLP. “At KPMG, we’re embracing new ways of working, making outsized investments in tax technology, and hiring and training our people to be technologists as well as tax specialists — all so that we can be one step ahead for our clients, navigating the way forward. Our new Capability Center is a physical manifestation of that objective, and we’re thrilled to better serve our clients through its innovative offerings.”

“We are delighted that KPMG has once again chosen Orlando and Lake Nona to establish a state-of-the-art home for their employees. KPMG’s continued investment in human capital and exceptional service demonstrates why they are consistently ranked among the best places to work. KPMG is an anchor tenant in Lake Nona’s living lab, where our goal remains laser focused on creating the most innovative and extraordinary environment that enables people to perform at their peak, enhancing their productivity, which is priceless,” said Rasesh Thakkar, Senior Managing Director of Tavistock Group, owner/developer of Lake Nona.

About KPMG LLP
KPMG LLP is the U.S. firm of the KPMG global organization of independent professional services firms providing audit, tax and advisory services. The KPMG global organization operates in 146 countries and territories and has close to 227,000 people working in member firms around the world. Each KPMG firm is a legally distinct and separate entity and describes itself as such. KPMG International Limited is a private English company limited by guarantee. KPMG International Limited and its related entities do not provide services to clients.

KPMG is widely recognized for being a great place to work and build a career. Our people share a sense of purpose in the work we do, and a strong commitment to community service, inclusion and diversity, and eradicating childhood illiteracy. Learn more at www.kpmg.com/us.

Contact:
Andreas Marathovouniotis/
Taylor Ovalle
KPMG LLP
(917) 957-1174/(201) 956-8737
amarathovouniotis@kpmg.com/
tovalle@kpmg.com

SOURCE KPMG LLP

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DALLAS, May 7, 2021 — April’s employment gain of 266,000 fell below expectations despite overall optimism in the U.S. economy. Upon the anniversary of the biggest job loss in U.S. history, more momentum in job creation was expected this month.

ThinkWhy, a labor market data and analytics firm, released its National Jobs and Industry Performance Outlook following an announcement from the Bureau of Labor Statistics that the economy added only 266,000 jobs in April, with the unemployment rate at 6.1 percent. 

While April BLS job numbers fell below expectations, LaborIQ predicts the recovery outlook for 2021 will remain strong.
While April BLS job numbers fell below expectations, LaborIQ predicts the recovery outlook for 2021 will remain strong.
Government and Leisure & Hospitality industries post greatest job gains in April.
Government and Leisure & Hospitality industries post greatest job gains in April.
“Maintaining March’s robust pace of job gain was going to be challenging at some point, but it was expected to be a few months away. We are seeing an earlier, more significant slowdown,” said Jay Denton, chief analyst for ThinkWhy.

One year ago, the U.S. lost 20.7 million jobs in April 2020 alone, equivalent to 13.8% of total employment at that time. Combined with significant job loss in March 2020, the U.S. suddenly found itself with 22.4 million fewer jobs in the blink of an eye. 

Fast forward a year, and the market had been on an upswing after 770,000 jobs were added in March, and unemployment insurance claims dropped during the month of April. Still, consumer confidence and GDP outlook continue to improve. Currently, the U.S. still has 8.2 million fewer jobs than before the pandemic. Given the BLS surveys during the first half of April, there is hope more jobs were created later in the month, which could boost the May numbers. Either way, this morning’s report missed the mark of expectations.

Denton continues, “The challenge remains for employers with almost 3.5 million fewer people participating in the labor force than before the pandemic. Without these people rejoining the workforce, the pace of hiring will slow simply due to a lower supply of labor.”

Recruiting and hiring will require the right tools to source and win candidates. Most important will be refining compensation plans based on today’s competitive job market and shifts in talent availability.

Local Markets Adding the Most Jobs

The level of job recovery varies across the nation. The list below shows which U.S. locations recovered the most total jobs during Q1 2021.

New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ-PA (95,500)
Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA (58,700)
Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI (52,200)
Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI (46,300)
Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN-WI (43,600)
Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD (36,200)
Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA (36,100)
Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX (34,800)
Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO (31,700)
San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA (23,900)
Many of these cities were among the hardest hit at the onset of the pandemic-induced economic fallout and remain 5% to 11% under their pre-pandemic employment levels. Further, industry recovery will be based on varying economic influences. As a result, each city will be impacted differently.

Read more on 10 top-performing job markets and the economic variables impacting their performance, according to LaborIQ’s proprietary Market Ranking Index.

Industry Performance & Recovery
April’s jobs report indicates the most job gain was in Government and Leisure and Hospitality sectors.

The pace of recovery will vary across cities, dependent upon their respective talent supply and industry growth.  Here is a look at LaborIQ’s recovery timeline across the major sectors.

The Outlook

Despite April’s numbers, the outlook for 2021 remains strong, and it is still expected that the U.S. will add a significant number of jobs back to the economy. After March’s jobs report, ThinkWhy’s talent intelligence software, LaborIQ®, estimated an additional 822,000 jobs would be added back to the economy in 2021, bringing the annual estimate to 5.4 million for the year.

While April’s number is disappointing, it will take another month of moderate growth to change that expectation. Consider, the real hiring wave was expected to hit during the second half of the year, and the second quarter will still show strong results compared to original predictions.

To read the full National Jobs and Industry Performance Outlook report for April, click here.

About LaborIQ by ThinkWhy

LaborIQ is a SaaS solution providing HR and talent acquisition professionals with talent and labor market intelligence. LaborIQ by ThinkWhy reports, forecasts, and advises on employment conditions and the impact to jobs, industries and businesses across all U.S. cities. Our machine learning and advanced data science deliver precise compensation, talent supply forecasts, retention tools and job market answers for more than 20,000 occupations.

Visit www.ThinkWhy.com to learn more or request a demo. Follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, or Facebook.

SOURCE ThinkWhy

CONTACT: Paige Dawson, paige@mpdventures.com | 214-808-7341

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https://www.thinkwhy.com/

BOSTON, May 7, 2021 — The upheavals induced by COVID-19 generally widened preexisting gaps between leaders and laggards across industries and regions in the 2021 Value Creators Rankings, released today by Boston Consulting Group (BCG). This is the 23rd annual edition of the rankings, which shed light on patterns and characteristics of the world’s top value creators.

“The widening gap in value creation trajectories raises the stakes for all companies going forward,” said Alexander Roos, a BCG managing director and senior partner. ‘Top performers must deal with record-high expectations and valuation levels, while underperformers face mounting pressure, including from activists ready to engage after waiting out the market turbulence.”

Since 1999, BCG has published annual rankings of the world’s top value-creating companies, measured on the basis of total shareholder return (TSR) over the previous five-year period. To compile the 2021 rankings, BCG analyzed TSR at approximately 2,400 companies globally (slightly more than one-third of them US-based companies) from 2016 through 2020. In addition to providing our large-cap ranking of five-year TSR at the world’s 200 largest companies by market valuation, we rank the top ten value creators in each of 33 industry sectors.

TSR measures share price gains and dividend yield for a company’s stock over a given period. It is the most comprehensive metric of performance in shareholder value creation. Average annual TSR is the amount of TSR that a company—or group of companies—delivered, on average, over the five years covered in the analysis.

Key findings:

The pandemic did not derail the strong capital market performance that characterized most of the preceding decade. In BCG’s 2021 sample of approximately 2,400 companies, the average annual TSR for the preceding five years was 10.3%, up from 9.6% a year earlier.
Assessed over the full five-year period, North American companies are reasserting their dominance over Asian and European companies as value creators. They are overrepresented among both global top performers (41%) and industry TSR leaders (37%) in the 2021 rankings.
Companies in technology-focused industries—technology companies as well as medtech companies, financial infrastructure providers, and green energy players—dominate the top of the rankings. The top echelon also includes traditional brick-and-mortar industries that have become more technology enabled or digitized in recent years, such as machinery, media and publishing, and health care services.
The year 2020 saw further widening of performance differences across industries. For example, technology companies delivered TSR of more than 50%, on average. In contrast, companies in the travel and tourism and oil and gas sectors lost significant ground in value creation during the global pandemic.
Looking ahead, capital markets’ strong rebound during 2020 sets up a challenging environment for value creation. “To meet or beat investors’ expectations for post-pandemic value creation, companies should focus on middle- to long-term performance by prioritizing the right investments,” said Hady Farag, a BCG partner and associate director. “Doing so entails developing key technologies and talent, making the right portfolio choices, and having a well-aligned sustainability strategy.”

BCG presents its 2021 BCG Value Creators Rankings in an online interactive format that allows users to delve deeper into the TSR performance of the top 50 large-cap companies—including examining how their performance has evolved since the firm initiated the Value Creators series in 1999—and into the TSR performance of companies across 33 industries. The interactive presentation also disaggregates the TSR performance of individual companies into its key components.

The 2021 BCG Value Creators rankings can be viewed here.

To arrange an interview with one of the authors, please contact Eric Gregoire at +1 617 850 3783 or gregoire.eric@bcg.com.

About Boston Consulting Group

Boston Consulting Group partners with leaders in business and society to tackle their most important challenges and capture their greatest opportunities. BCG was the pioneer in business strategy when it was founded in 1963. Today, we work closely with clients to embrace a transformational approach aimed at benefiting all stakeholders—empowering organizations to grow, build sustainable competitive advantage, and drive positive societal impact.

Our diverse, global teams bring deep industry and functional expertise and a range of perspectives that question the status quo and spark change. BCG delivers solutions through leading-edge management consulting, technology and design, and corporate and digital ventures. We work in a uniquely collaborative model across the firm and throughout all levels of the client organization, fueled by the goal of helping our clients thrive and enabling them to make the world a better place.

SOURCE Boston Consulting Group (BCG)

Related Links
www.bcg.com

NEW YORK, May 6, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — The Markle Foundation’s Rework America Alliance, a unique coalition of civil rights groups, nonprofits, private sector employers, labor unions and educators, today announced the first regions in which it will partner with local community-based organizations to deploy resources to help job seekers connect to good jobs.

The Alliance is opening opportunities for millions of unemployed and low wage workers to move into good jobs, particularly for people of color who have been disproportionately impacted by the current economic crisis, and those who have built capabilities through experience but do not have a bachelor’s degree.

The initial regions and organizations that will lead efforts locally are:

Atlanta, Georgia – Goodwill of North Georgia
Austin, Texas – Austin Area Urban League
Denver, Colorado – Mi Casa Resource Center, a UnidosUS affiliate
Finger Lakes region, New York – PathStone, in partnership with Rural LISC
Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota – Goodwill-Easter Seals Minnesota and Urban League Twin Cities
Indiana and Colorado – Markle will expand its relationships with the states of Colorado and Indiana by providing the full suite of Alliance capabilities and partners, building on previous successful collaborations in both states through its Skillful initiatives.
In these regions, the Alliance will work closely with community-based organizations that serve workers so they can help job seekers: identify the good jobs that are in-demand, transfer the skills they already have to new jobs and find effective, affordable training, if needed, for those jobs. The Alliance is also working to secure commitments from employers to hire talented workers with nontraditional education and experience. Training and resources will be provided to employers to drive the adoption of inclusive, sourcing and talent management practices that focus on skills rather than degrees and remove bias in hiring. This initial deployment will be scaled nationally by worker-serving partners through their extensive national networks in communities throughout the country.

This work will draw on the knowledge and resources of more than 30 organizations, bringing additional data, networks, commitments, tools, and technical support from this wider group of Alliance partners. These partners include: Markle Foundation, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta, National Urban League and McKinsey & Company, with AFL-CIO, CVS Health, Goodwill Industries International, Google, IBM, Microsoft, North America’s Building Trades Unions, Rural LISC, UnidosUS, Workday, Zurich North America and other leading businesses, training, and workforce organizations.

“Working with local organizations is key to connecting people to good jobs,” said Zoë Baird, CEO and President, Markle Foundation. “They understand the needs of their communities and have established trusted relationships within those communities that allow them to deliver support and guidance to those who need it most. They also have connections with employers, local government and other nonprofits, to help drive change across the labor market, with the backing of national bodies that can share this work more broadly in the future.”

“As we begin the work of rebuilding a post-pandemic economy that is diverse, equitable and inclusive, coalitions like the Rework America Alliance are essential,” said Marc H. Morial, President and CEO, National Urban League. “By creating economic opportunity in the communities hardest-hit by the pandemic, we enhance the resiliency of the nation as a whole.”

“These community partners bring exemplary leadership and innovative ideas to the Alliance. The Atlanta Fed is excited to contribute to finding real-world solutions to current labor market challenges,” said Stuart Andreason, Assistant Vice President and Director of the Center for Workforce and Economic Opportunity, Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta. “Though economic conditions are improving, we still see a ‘less-than’ recovery where many lower-wage workers and workers of color remain distressed. Efforts like the Rework America Alliance and the dedication of local organizations, like our hometown partners, can help make this a truly equitable recovery.”

The selection process for identifying this initial set of regions and partners considered several factors including the underlying economic landscape in these locations, and the organization’s commitment to creating a model to allow them to scale this work across their organizations nationally. The regions and partners selected reflect the first phase of deployment, with additional locations to be announced later in the year.

About The Markle Foundation
The Markle Foundation challenges itself and diverse partners to deploy their varied expertise to identify solutions to critical public problems and achieve systemic change. Today as advanced technology and automation change the very nature of work, Markle’s priority is advancing solutions toward a labor market that will enable workers in America to move into good jobs in the digital economy. Markle’s workforce initiatives include the Rework America Alliance, which draws on Markle’s Skillful and Rework America initiatives. This work follows Markle’s success in creating the policy and technology architecture that has enabled improvements in healthcare, national security, and access to the Internet. For more information, visit markle.org, follow @MarkleFdn and @ReworkAmerica on Twitter, and read our book, America’s Moment.

Note to the Editor

For media inquiries, please contact Carrie Gonzalez, cgonzalez@markle.org or 917-705-6531

For more information about the regional organizations named in today’s announcement, please visit https://www.markle.org/rework-america-alliance-local-partnerships

SOURCE Markle Foundation

Related Links
www.markle.org

Also from th

Home-based businesses are wonderful options for seniors looking to bring in income in a safe and comfortable environment. Most require only a small amount of capital upfront and pose little or no challenge for retirees with mobility issues. Whether you already know what kind of business you’d like to pursue or are open to options, you can be on your way to home business success by following a few easy steps courtesy of Cibunet.

1. Research Options
You may be surprised by the number of potential home-based businesses there are available to anyone with a quality internet connection and a decent computer. Working from home will almost certainly require both, so if you don’t have either of those, now is the time to acquire them.

A quick internet search will show there are numerous home business ideas out there for anyone willing to start, but you’ll want to choose something that’s right for you. If this business endeavor will be a second career, look to your first for ideas of what you might be well-suited to. If you were a teacher, you might be a good fit for businesses dealing in communications. If you have a highly specialized set of skills or knowledge, you might be a good fit for a consultant or coaching job. Think critically about what your strongest skills are and research how those might apply to a home business.

2. Form Your Business
Once you’ve finished researching, decide what your business will be and choose its name. Come up with a thoughtful business plan using one of the countless templates available online.

Decide what business structure you will use. There are many benefits to choosing an LLC, or limited liability company, including tax perks and less paperwork than other similar setups. An LLC also adds a layer of protection between you and your assets and those of your business. You don’t need a lawyer to form one, either; you can do it yourself using business formation services. Check your state’s regulations for filing an LLC as they can vary between states.

Finally, you’ll need to apply for any necessary licenses or permits per your state’s requirements so that you can operate legally. These vary widely between industries and locations, so do your research ahead of time to save yourself from being fined later on.

3. Get Online
To be successful in today’s world, a solid website for your business is absolutely necessary. Even if you won’t be selling wares or services directly from the website, it’s vital for potential clients or customers to be able to learn about you and your business, and it helps establish you as a verified and trustworthy business.

In addition to your website, social media pages for your business are also important tools for you to utilize. At a minimum, you should create a Facebook page for your business, and depending on the kind of business you’re running and the clientele you’ll be serving, you may also want to consider a business Instagram, Pinterest or other social media account as well.

Starting a home business is a big adventure, but it doesn’t have to be an overwhelming one. Research your options, form your business and take it online to get a good start. With some knowledge and effort, you will be reaping the benefits of your hard work from the comfort of your own home in no time.

Article is by James Hall

CHERRY HILL, N.J., May 3, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Small business owners (SBOs) report they are doing better than expected as the economy continues to gain steam amid the waning pandemic, according to the results of the 2021 Small Business Survey, released today by TD Bank, America’s Most Convenient Bank®. The survey polled more than 750 small businesses nationwide with less than $5 million in annual revenue, from sole proprietors with home-based businesses to professional services and retail. It showed that 41% of SBOs expect to grow their revenue in 2021 while only 9% anticipate a decline.

What’s more, 57% expect to expand hours and/or operations and 9% will add a business location in the next 12 months. Main Street may not see as many vacancies in 2021 as predicted: just 3% of SBOs anticipate closing permanently in the next year and only 2% plan to sell their business. Despite their cautious optimism, respondents identified the national economy (43%), COVID-19 and associated operational restrictions (41%) and a decrease in revenue or sales (39%) as their top challenges in the year ahead.

Eyeing Expansion Over Extinction
Most SBOs have not been deterred amid the pandemic, with 37% considering expanding product lines and services to grow business revenue or increase profits.

The future of jobs is also looking up, with nearly three-in-four (73%) respondents anticipating that their employee base will stay the same and 16% anticipating their number of employees will grow. This finding is aligned with national unemployment figures, which have recently dipped to 6%.

“COVID-19 required small businesses to adapt to new business operations and incorporate new revenue-generating strategies nearly overnight,” said Jay DesMarteau, Head of Commercial Distribution, TD Bank. “Entrepreneurs are incredibly resilient, though, and it is encouraging that they report a more positive outlook and do not anticipate losing their livelihood.”

Government Aid Helpful, But More Needed
When asked about the effectiveness of government programs like the U.S. Small Business Administration’s (SBA) Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) and Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL), two-thirds of SBOs (66%) stated that these programs provided necessary funding for small businesses or were helpful, but need more funding allocated to the programs to really make an impact.

Twenty-one percent of respondents took advantage of the PPP prior to March 2021, when the study was fielded, with nearly half of SBOs in Gen Z and younger millennials (ages 18 to 34) more likely to apply for these programs compared with just 11% of those 55 and older.

Cautious but Confident
The survey also highlighted some trends that provide a snapshot of how SBOs are running their businesses against the backdrop of the pandemic.

Although COVID-19 brought financial challenges, 78% of respondents are still most confident in handling the finances and accounting for their business. Other areas where business owners expressed confidence were:

Opting to use digital/online banking features (76%)
Managing their employees and human resources needs such as when to hire (74%)
Knowing when to seek additional credit or financing (66%)
Knowing how to grow their business (63%)
Despite the pandemic serving as a catalyst for the surge of contactless payment solutions and SBOs’ growing reliance on digital and online banking features, a surprising 66% of respondents still process payments by collecting checks and cash, making these physical transactions the most popular payment method. One-third of respondents use person-to-person payments like Zelle or Venmo, eCommerce/Online sites (28%) or electronic transfer such as ACH payments (28%.) Just 19% report using a traditional Point of Sale (POS) system.

The Facts on Future Finance Needs
When considering finances, 58% of respondents have no loan or line of credit needs, although one in three applied for a loan – including PPP – or line of credit in the past 12 months. This is higher than 2019, when just 20% of businesses had applied for a loan or line of credit and 62% had no credit needs, showing COVID-19’s impact on business owners’ need or desire to have access to capital when needed.

Looking ahead, only 14% said they would apply for a loan or line of credit in the next year. A majority of SBOs are saying “charge it,” however, with 60% reporting they have a credit card to cover business purchases and 42% use cash back or other credit card rewards to fund critical expenses.

“Although funding programs like PPP provided much-needed stimulus for small businesses, there is a sense of caution about taking on new debt this year. Business owners should speak with their banker to understand the benefits and risks related to various credit products and better understand how credit could potentially accelerate growth,” DesMarteau said.

Survey methodology
The study was conducted from March 12-19, 2021, among a representative group of 754 U.S. small business owners with less than $5 million in annual revenue. The survey was hosted by research company MARU/Matchbox.

About MARU/Matchbox
MARU/Matchbox is a professional services firm dedicated to improving its clients’ business outcomes. It delivers its services through teams of sector-specific research consultants specializing in the use of Insight Community and Voice of Market technology.

About TD Bank, America’s Most Convenient Bank®
TD Bank, America’s Most Convenient Bank, is one of the 10 largest banks in the U.S., providing more than 9.5 million customers with a full range of retail, small business and commercial banking products and services at more than 1,220 convenient locations throughout the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Metro D.C., the Carolinas and Florida. In addition, TD Bank and its subsidiaries offer customized private banking and wealth management services through TD Wealth®, and vehicle financing and dealer commercial services through TD Auto Finance. TD Bank is headquartered in Cherry Hill, N.J. To learn more, visit www.td.com/us. Find TD Bank on Facebook at www.facebook.com/TDBank and on Twitter at www.twitter.com/TDBank_US and www.twitter.com/TDNews_US.

TD Bank, America’s Most Convenient Bank, is a member of TD Bank Group and a subsidiary of The Toronto-Dominion Bank of Toronto, Canada, a top 10 financial services company in North America. The Toronto-Dominion Bank trades on the New York and Toronto stock exchanges under the ticker symbol “TD”. To learn more, visit www.td.com/us.

SOURCE TD Bank

CONTACT: Steve Bates, TD Bank, VP Senior Corporate Communications Manager, steven.bates@td.com, (609) 634-1207

Related Links
http://www.TDBank.com

NEW YORK, May 3, 2021–

Additional broadband coverage, adoption, and speed is accretive for incremental growth of U.S. jobs and GDP, making the case for investment.
A 10 percentage-point increase in broadband penetration in 2016 would have resulted in more than 806,000 additional jobs in 2019, or an average annual increase of 269,000 jobs.
More than 875,000 additional U.S. jobs and $186 billion more in economic output would have occurred in 2019 had there been a 10 percentage-point increase in broadband access in 2014.
Adding 10 Mbps to average download speeds in 2016 would have resulted in 139,400 additional jobs in 2019; however, the analysis also indicates diminishing returns with the rate of job growth slowing as speeds continue to increase.
Why this matters
The COVID-19 pandemic forced much of the U.S. population to trade classrooms, offices and conference rooms for at-home screens. Many Americans were left stranded by inadequate or unaffordable access to internet connectivity or mobile devices. This reality has resulted in a pivotal moment for the U.S. economy, with financial prosperity, educational opportunities and personal/professional productivity, depending on reliable, affordable and fast internet connectivity for all. More than $100 billion of infrastructure investment has been allocated by the U.S. government over the past decade to address this issue; however, the digital divide still presents a significant gap.

Deloitte today released a new report titled, “Broadband for all: charting a path to economic growth,” that uses economic models to evaluate the relationship between broadband and economic growth. It proposes a geographic segmentation that distinguishes the specific needs of different under-served geographies, better reflecting their unique challenges. The report also provides insights into the benefits associated with various broadband speeds and adoption rates in order to optimize economic and social benefits, while reducing inefficiencies.

Investment doesn’t always equate to outcomes
Optimism over the past 10 years that billions of private and public investment in underserved geographies for broadband access and adoption would help close the digital divide has waned as outcomes have often disappointed. Previous programs increased the number of people with access to the FCC’s definition of broadband by less than 1% (<1%; 1.6 million people) between 2014 and 2019, partially as a result of the changing definition of broadband. The report notes: Between 2010 and 2020, federal programs including USAC and Rural Digital Opportunity Fund, among others, spent approximately $107 billion. In 2014, the last year of the 4 Mbps downlink benchmark, 16 million Americans (approximately 5% of the U.S. population) did not have broadband services that met that standard. In 2019, after five years and approximately $54 billion, 14.4 million Americans did not have broadband that met the new FCC speed threshold (25 Mbps downlink). Key quote "The pandemic hastened the pace of a decades-long trend in which innovative applications are increasingly essential to enhancing educational opportunities, organizing our lives, connecting with colleagues and friends, improving workplace productivity and enriching the quality of lives. If large segments of our population lack the necessary communications infrastructure to participate, progress will be increasingly difficult." − Dan Littmann, principal, technology, media and telecommunications, Deloitte Consulting LLP The digital divide has significant economic impact For years government, industry and academics have discussed the societal impact produced by closing the digital divide. To better understand the relationship between broadband and the U.S. economy, Deloitte developed economic models using publicly available information. The report's economic models confirmed three hypotheses: Increased broadband penetration leads to economic growth: Deloitte's analysis indicates that a 10 percentage-point increase of broadband penetration in 2016 would have resulted in more than 806,000 additional jobs in 2019, or an average annual increase of 269,000 jobs. The report notes that broadband can allow for greater access to formal education, as well as expand the types of jobs available in a region, thereby raising the level of skills. Greater broadband availability leads to economic growth: Deloitte found a strong correlation between broadband availability and jobs, as well as GDP growth. The report notes that a 10 percentage-point increase in broadband access in 2014, would have resulted in more than 875,000 additional U.S. jobs and $186 billion more in economic output in 2019. That is an average of 175,000 jobs and $37.2 billion in output per year. Greater penetration of higher speed broadband leads to economic growth: Deloitte's analysis also shows that adoption of higher speeds drives noticeable improvements in job growth. Adding 10 Mbps to average download speeds in 2016 would have resulted in 139,400 additional jobs in 2019 or about 46,500 additional jobs per year. While the analysis shows that increasing speeds lead to greater job growth, it also indicates diminishing returns, with the rate of job growth slowing as speeds continue to increase. The report notes that this is a significant consideration. Diminishing returns should be considered when evaluating future speed mandates. Key quote "When it comes to the public or private broadband investments to close the digital divide, the economic benefits are clear, but will require stakeholders to navigate potentially competing priorities across emerging technologies that can meet needs in the near-term, the long-term desires for faster speeds, and financial support for devices and in-home equipment." − Jack Fritz, principal, technology, media and telecommunications, Deloitte Consulting LLP Connect with us on Twitter @DeloitteTMT, or on LinkedIn: @DanLittmann @JackFritz. About Deloitte Deloitte provides industry-leading audit, consulting, tax and advisory services to many of the world's most admired brands, including nearly 90% of the Fortune 500® and more than 7,000 private companies. Our people come together for the greater good and work across the industry sectors that drive and shape today's marketplace — delivering measurable and lasting results that help reinforce public trust in our capital markets, inspire clients to see challenges as opportunities to transform and thrive, and help lead the way toward a stronger economy and a healthier society. Deloitte is proud to be part of the largest global professional services network serving our clients in the markets that are most important to them. Building on more than 175 years of service, our network of member firms spans more than 150 countries and territories. Learn how Deloitte's more than 330,000 people worldwide connect for impact at www.deloitte.com. Deloitte refers to one or more of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited, a UK private company limited by guarantee ("DTTL"), its network of member firms, and their related entities. DTTL and each of its member firms are legally separate and independent entities. DTTL (also referred to as "Deloitte Global") does not provide services to clients. In the United States, Deloitte refers to one or more of the US member firms of DTTL, their related entities that operate using the "Deloitte" name in the United States and their respective affiliates. Certain services may not be available to attest clients under the rules and regulations of public accounting. Please see www.deloitte.com/about to learn more about our global network of member firms. SOURCE Deloitte CONTACT: Anisha Sharma, Public Relations, Deloitte Services LP, +1 201 290 9119, anissharma@deloitte.com Related Links http://www.deloitte.com

WASHINGTON, April 19, 2021 — Wowing a client on the first try with an amazing proposal sounds like the dream, but the best thing you can do for a client is let them tell you no, a lot.

That’s the advice of major sales consultant and business development expert Mason Harris, author of the book The Chutzpah Advantage: Go Bigger. Be Bolder. Do Better. (2021, Indie Books International).

The Chutzpah Advantage: Go Bigger. Be Bolder. Do Better.
The Chutzpah Advantage: Go Bigger. Be Bolder. Do Better.
“No one likes hearing objections, but listening is the first rule of communication,” says Harris. “It becomes more difficult to persuade, handle the inevitable complaints, and provide a solution that benefits all parties if you fail at this listening.”

Harris, known as The Chutzpah Guy, turned his decades of experience as an entrepreneur in emerging tech and sales to develop a model for success that he now teaches as a motivational speaker and listener. He advises clients on how to use objections to their advantage, rather than viewing them as a dead end.

“Sometimes we give up too quickly,” Harris explains. “For many of us, someone’s simple act of disagreeing, often without much thought, is enough to prevent our idea from moving forward.”

According to Harris, objections aren’t something to avoid, but rather guiding posts that point towards a client’s fears and needs. They’re also pretty much a guarantee, no matter how well prepared one may be.

“Suppose your idea is genuinely remarkable. Unless it’s presented exclusively to people who work for you and tend to agree with everything you say anyway, you should plan on objections.”

So how can people approach objections from clients in a way that progresses the meeting instead of ending it? Here are five tips from Harris about what to do when a client inevitably says no.

Never take offense at an objection. We should understand the objection. Ask good questions. Be polite with our response. Don’t tell or argue with the other person. No one likes to feel bullied or openly challenged. Instead, ask questions—lots of them.

Do not back down! Do we need a confrontation? Yes. Here’s why. The objection may not be well thought out. Some people just love to disagree. Others are scared of change. Customers may not want to agree too quickly; they’re unsure if your solution is worth overcoming the easy decision to stay with a current product, service, or company.

Be prepared for a lot of objections. Most mediocre ideas benefit from being challenged—by becoming a better idea or being abandoned. If you haven’t heard any objections and there hasn’t been adequate discussion, you’re doing something wrong.

The first objection may not be the real issue. Many of the objections we hear aren’t severe or even the real issue; they’re kind of a warm-up to the real objection, which you may never learn because people tend to give up too quickly. Every good idea has the potential to be accepted after it is challenged, and you have the opportunity to understand the basis of the rejection.

The more objections the better! Keep questioning and listening carefully. You can’t overcome an objection if you don’t truly understand its basis. When you feel you have uncovered most of the objections, you can move forward with a specific resolution or clarification.

Harris adds that even though handling objections one at a time may seem more straightforward, collecting as many as possible illuminates your client’s actual needs.

“By understanding the complete picture, you can adequately address concerns with the most meaningful solutions, not the benefits you assume are important.”

About Indie Books International
Indie Books International (www.indiebooksintl.com) was founded in 2014 in Oceanside, California by two best-selling business authors. Since then the company has released more than 100 titles. Similar to indie film companies and indie music labels, the mission of Indie Books International is to serve as an independent publishing alternative to help business thought leaders create impact and influence.

Contact
Henry DeVries
307759@email4pr.com
619-540-3031

HONG KONG, April 14, 2021 — Following a challenging 2020 – where many international businesses around the world focused on operational continuity, crisis management, and transformation issues at home – 2021 beckons with the promise of some new growth opportunities at home and overseas in Asia.

Asian countries are demonstrating remarkable attractiveness in 2021, stemming from high GDP growth expectations, burgeoning markets, booming technology sectors, and large new shifts in supply chains – resulting in new opportunities for trade, partnerships, and expansions for international investors.

Entering new markets in Asia successfully can be aided by a deeper, practical understanding of the focal country’s business and regulatory environment, expert advisory regarding the changes in Asia, identified areas of risk, incentive and opportunity, as well as the advised steps to prepare for and seize opportunities from entry to profit.

These and several other areas are covered in this guide series.

Designed to introduce the fundamentals of investing in ASEAN, China, Hong Kong, India, Vietnam and Russia, the Introduction to Doing Business guides are compiled by the experts at Dezan Shira & Associates, a specialist of foreign direct investment, providing corporate establishment, business intelligence, business advisory, tax advisory and compliance, accounting, payroll, due diligence and financial review services to multinationals investing in emerging Asia.

Each Introduction to Doing Business 2021 guide is free to download, and discusses:

Establishing and running a business
Tax, audit, and accounting
Human resources and payroll
Within the chapters, a range of different topics that affect doing business in the country of interest are discussed – including investment models, intellectual property considerations, key taxes applicable for foreign companies, and several types of employment contracts. Additionally, the guides examine how business practices have changed, such as new requirements and how to open bank accounts.

Download the reports free at AsiaBriefing.com:

An Introduction to Doing Business in ASEAN
An Introduction to Doing Business in China
An Introduction to Doing Business in Hong Kong
An Introduction to Doing Business in India
An Introduction to Doing Business in Indonesia
An Introduction to Doing Business in Russia
An Introduction to Doing Business in Singapore
An Introduction to Doing Business in Vietnam
Identifying Opportunities Within the Belt and Road Initiatives 2021
Other ways to access special reports and knowledge about Asia:

Download magazines and guides about various aspects of different Asian economies, business, and regulatory environments at www.AsiaBriefing.com/Bookstore,
For media enquiries please contact media@asiabriefing.com or download our Media Kit.
Subscription to Asia Briefing is free, and provides you with access to our reports, the Asia Briefing Weekly roundup of latest business and investment news from across the region, and invitations to webinars on in-depth business topics. Subscribe here.
Dezan Shira & Associates – Founded in Hong Kong in 1992, Dezan Shira & Associates is a pan-Asia, multi-disciplinary professional services firm, providing market entry, legal, accounting, tax, HR, technology, and operational advisory to international investors. The mission of the firm is to guide foreign companies through Asia’s complex regulatory environments and assist with all aspects of establishing, maintaining, and growing their business operations throughout the region.

Asia Briefing Limited – Asia Briefing is a wholly owned subsidiary of Dezan Shira & Associates, Asia’s largest independent foreign direct investment practice. Founded in 1999, Asia Briefing through its stable of titles including the ten ASEAN countries of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, as well as mainland China, Hong Kong, India, Russia, Vietnam and Silk Road Briefings which focus on the Belt and Road Initiative. These collectively provide business intelligence to foreign investors interested in or operating in these markets, together with regulatory updates, analysis and commentary on today’s real issues concerning the foreign investor in Asia.

Contact

Dezan Shira & Associates / Asia Briefing Limited

Rohini Singh
Group Media and Content
+91 11 4706 8058
Email: media@asiabriefing.com
Website: www.asiabriefing.com

Holly McCleery
US Desk Marketing & Communications
+1 801 833 6645
Email: usa@dezshira.com

TEL AVIV, Israel, April 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — This morning, the first UAE Ambassador to Israel, His Excellency, Ambassador Mohamed al Khaja, visited Start-Up Nation Central Headquarters in Tel Aviv to launch an official partnership to further advance the collaboration focused on innovation and entrepreneurship between the two nations. The plan is to create a joint task-force aimed at bringing people together, share ideas and generate economic value for both countries.

New UAE Ambassador to Israel and Start-Up Nation Central launch a joint task-force to advance technological innovation between the two nations. (PRNewsfoto/Start-Up Nation Central (SNC))
New UAE Ambassador to Israel and Start-Up Nation Central launch a joint task-force to advance technological innovation between the two nations. (PRNewsfoto/Start-Up Nation Central (SNC))
The Ambassador and Prof. Eugene Kandel, CEO of Start-Up Nation Central, discussed areas of collaboration, including joint events, conferences, as well as ongoing meetings and programs to help both sides learn about each other’s tech ecosystems. The teams from the embassy and Start-Up Nation Central also discussed ways of connecting Emirati and Israeli companies and entrepreneurs, especially in the fields of fintech, agri-food tech, education, cyber, education, digital health, energy, petrochimicals, cleantech and sustainability.

The parties agreed to leverage the UAE-IL Tech Zone community as a part of the new relationship. Launched in December 2020, the UAE-IL Tech Zone is an innovation community designed to enable practical collaboration between the two ecosystems. With already over 1,000 members, the UAE-IL Tech Zone invites entrepreneurs, senior business executives, government officials and technology companies to join this community and cultivate the talent and resources shared by the UAE and Israel.

His Excellency, Ambassador Mohamed al Khaja noted: “In terms of tech cooperation there is an avenue of opportunities between the UAE and Israel just waiting to be harnessed. We are here to identify what sectors can prosper in the field of technological innovation and bridge together key partnerships that will thrive in the world market with contagious success.

“Israel’s tech innovation ecosystem coupled with the future forward drive of the UAE government, are essential elements to accelerating the success of incubators through the formation of international partnerships”.

Prof. Eugene Kandel, CEO of Start-Up Nation Central noted, “We had the pleasure and honor to host His Excellency, Ambassador Mohamed al Khaja and his team at our offices. We are proud to partner with the Ambassador and the UAE government to help advance the collaboration between our two countries. Start-Up Nation Central is an objective gateway to Israeli innovation tech ecosystem, and we are excited to play a major role in taking advantage of the historic opportunity presented by the Abraham Accords to connect UAE and Israel around technological innovation and create an immense value.”

Established in 2013, Start-Up Nation Central is a non-profit organization that helps tackle global challenges by connecting Israeli technological solutions with multinational corporations, governments, investors, and NGOs from around the world.

Start-Up Nation Central’s flagship tool is the Finder – a free online platform for identifying and engaging Israeli tech organizations based on customers’ specific interests. This Innovation Discovery Platform is a comprehensive knowledge hub on Israeli startups, investors, acceleration hubs, multinational corporations, and technology- based innovation associated with academic research. The open-source platform provides up-to-date information and insights into thousands of active Israeli tech companies.

Photo – https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1485612/Start_Up_Nation_Central.jpg

SOURCE Start-Up Nation Central (SNC)

CONTACT: For more information please contact: Hadar Tzour, Debby Communications, Hadar@debby.co.il +972-3-5683000

NEW YORK, April 1, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — QBE North America is pleased to announce it has partnered with non-profit organization Leading Cities to launch the QBE AcceliCITY Urban Resilience Challenge for the third consecutive year. The global competition accelerates the growth of start-up companies transforming cities worldwide.

The Challenge is designed to harness and support technology innovations that create more resilient cities with solutions that address risk, equity, and sustainability.

“As an organization we are uniquely positioned to help people and businesses build resiliency against emerging risks. It’s evident that our cities are in critical need of more resilient solutions to react in difficult times,” said Todd Jones, CEO of QBE North America and President of the QBE Foundation. “The QBE Accelicity Resilience Challenge exemplifies our dedication to create meaningful change and provide needed resources to help people and communities successfully achieve their ambitions.”

The challenge comes with a total prize pool of $150,000 in funding for the winning entrepreneurs or ventures to further develop their ideas and benefit the broader community. Previous organizations to win the challenge include Bioo, who leveraged innovative technology solutions to address climate change, and DrugViu, which aimed to solve for greater health equity for minorities.

Michael Lake, President and CEO of Leading Cities, said the cities that will come to thrive in the post-pandemic era are taking advantage of the astounding innovation arising at this time.

“The QBE AcceliCITY program acts as the vehicle by which start-ups and municipal governments can work together with the goal of driving resilience, equity and sustainability in communities.”

Competition details
Submissions will close on April 30th, 2021
Semi-finalists will take part in six-week virtual accelerator program
Finalists will participate in a bootcamp and will present a live-pitch session
One winner will be awarded $100,000 and two runners up will each be awarded $25,000 in cash prizes, along with additional resources and access to valuable connections to help scale their initiatives
To apply or find out more about the challenge, please visit www.accelicity.com

About QBE
QBE North America is global insurance leader focused on helping customers solve unique risks, so they can focus on what matters most. Part of QBE Insurance Group Limited, QBE North America reported Gross Written Premiums in 2020 of $4.775 billion. QBE Insurance Group’s 2020 results can be found at www.qbe.com.

Headquartered in Sydney, Australia, QBE operates out of 27 countries around the globe, with a presence in every key insurance market. The North America division, headquartered in New York, conducts business through its property and casualty insurance subsidiaries. The actual terms and coverage for all lines of business are subject to the language of the policies as issued. QBE insurance companies are rated “A” (Excellent) by A.M. Best and “A+” by Standard & Poor’s. Additional information can be found at www.qbe.com/us or follow QBE North America on LinkedIn and Twitter.

About Leading Cities
Leading Cities is a non-profit organization that improves global sustainability, resiliency, and quality of life by helping cities achieve their needed transformation through developing Smart and Resilient City Ecosystems, implementing innovative solutions, and reducing the risk and cost of civic innovation.

Leading Cities partners with government leaders, corporations, startup companies, investors, and academics to keep cities evolving and working toward their potential, taking on challenges such as climate change, social justice, automation technology, cyber security, data analytics, accessibility, and global health.

AcceliCITY, a signature program, leverages the Leading Cities network of forward thinkers in the public, private, academic, and non-profit sectors to advance innovation in local governments. The program lowers the cost and risk of innovation for startups as well as cities and corporations by streamlining the innovation and sales cycles for Smart City solutions.

You can learn more at www.LeadingCities.org or by following Leading Cities on Twitter and LinkedIn.

SOURCE QBE North America

CONTACT: Amy Banek, amy.banek@us.qbe.com

NEW YORK, MUNICH, ARMONK, N.Y. and RALEIGH, N.C, April 1, 2021 /PRNewswire/ — Celonis, IBM (NYSE: IBM) and Red Hat today announced a global strategic partnership to help accelerate the adoption of the Celonis Execution Management System (EMS) and help deliver more flexibility and choice in how customers deploy the technology. The collaboration seeks to accelerate how customers apply process mining, intelligence and automation to the core enterprise system functions and processes that drive business execution.

The strategic partnership aims to help address many challenges business leaders face as they seek to digitally transform their operations. Despite trillions of dollars[1] invested in technologies, solutions, and transformation initiatives, businesses often execute below their full capacity because of system and technology complexity, broken or inefficient processes, and fragmented data that sits across various IT and cloud environments. Celonis EMS sits on top of core enterprise systems such as Enterprise Resource Planning and Customer Relationship Management, pulls real-time data from them, and applies process intelligence in order to help identify and unlock execution capacity across a business.

IBM Global Business Services (GBS) is bolstering its consulting approach by implementing Celonis software as part of its methodology, alongside the application of IBM data and AI solutions. GBS is also helping clients build new solutions using Celonis EMS. Clients across all industries and domains can benefit by accelerating their transformation and re-envisioning work with intelligent workflows. Additionally, Celonis is embracing an open hybrid cloud strategy by re-platforming on Red Hat OpenShift to deliver more flexibility and choice in how customers deploy their technologies.

“Through the strategic partnership with IBM and Red Hat, we plan to help power the shift from analog to intelligent business execution, helping many of the world’s largest companies with their transactional systems, boosting their business performance,” said Miguel Milano, Chief Revenue Officer and co-owner of Celonis. “It’s incredibly powerful for our customers to be able to combine the Celonis Execution Management System with Red Hat OpenShift’s hybrid cloud approach and IBM Global Business Services’ expertise.”

“This strategic partnership accelerates IBM’s billion-dollar partner ecosystem commitment and reflects our bold approach to expanding into high growth, emerging categories to help meet the evolving hybrid cloud and AI needs of our clients,” said Mark Foster, Senior Vice President, IBM Services. “The bottom line is our clients are looking to accelerate the transformation of their workflows and make them more intelligent. Through this powerful new global strategic partnership with Celonis, we’re adding to IBM’s suite of technology capabilities to unlock value and help propel our clients’ growth and innovation.”

Harnessing value through digital transformation

GBS is bringing deep consulting experience to complement Celonis’ execution management and process mining capabilities to help create intelligent workflows that are more responsive, accurate and predictive. GBS is embedding Celonis software into its services methodologies and is broadly deploying Celonis’ capabilities via 10,000 practitioners throughout its industry and domain practice areas, from consulting and business process outsourcing, to enterprise applications like customer care, to finance and supply chain.

“Working with IBM Global Business Services, we have analyzed our procure to pay processes across several countries in Europe and Africa by applying Celonis process mining tools to uncover and fix inefficiencies. Our finance business processes have benefitted from greater transparency and the identification of tangible improvement areas,” said Jens Knoblauch, Executive Director, Digital Business Services at Linde. “We will need to further develop our operational excellence and can benchmark best practices across all our countries to help each perform their best.”

The strategic partnership between Celonis and IBM GBS will initially focus on:

Advanced end-to-end consulting expertise: IBM GBS can deliver skills, capabilities and experience through a center of excellence that can accelerate customer enablement. IBM is integrating Celonis into its consulting work for clients across service line areas like supply chain, finance, procurement, HR, and customer experience including its application modernization work with leading independent software vendors.
Embed in IBM Garage: IBM is embedding Celonis intelligent execution management software into its IBM Garage methodology to help deepen workflow analysis and accelerate intelligent workflows for critical processes like production, customer service, distribution, manufacturing and logistics. IBM Garage is a methodology to help collaborate with clients, generate innovative ideas, and turn those ideas into business value, leveraging both IBM and ecosystem technology.
Business process outsourcing: IBM GBS is adopting Celonis across many of its business process outsourcing engagements to help them run more efficiently to drive better outcomes for clients.
Industry-specific intelligent workflows: IBM GBS is building applications and assets on Celonis EMS for key industries and domains, particularly focused on regulated industries, to help bring actionable data and more intelligent workflows to large enterprises.
A flexible, hybrid cloud platform for deployment

Additionally, Celonis is embracing an open hybrid cloud strategy using Red Hat OpenShift to deliver more flexibility for customers in where they deploy Celonis’ software – across any public or private cloud environment they choose. This flexibility is especially useful in highly regulated industries and enhances Celonis’ interoperability across customers’ existing systems, bringing another level of agility in how critical data can be moved and analyzed to drive new value.

Red Hat OpenShift technology and experience can also enable agility, speed, security and scalability. Celonis is in the process of adopting Red Hat OpenShift across its entire software portfolio.

“The collaboration between our three companies gets at the heart of what we often talk to customers about: how can they transform to enable new innovation and choice while maintaining consistency and the ability to scale,” said Dave Farrell, general manager, Global Strategic Alliances, Red Hat. “Just as Red Hat Enterprise Linux did at the operating system level, Red Hat OpenShift provides a consistent foundation to enable Celonis to deliver its powerful platform across multiple clouds. And by using Managed OpenShift, Celonis can take advantage of the power of the industry’s leading enterprise Kubernetes platform without the complexity of building and managing a Kubernetes environment, enabling them to keep their focus on serving customers and innovating its EMS offerings.”

“With our move to Red Hat OpenShift, we’re offering our customers a new level of flexibility and agility for how they deploy Celonis to help meet their requirements,” said Martin Klenk, co-founder and Chief Technology Officer at Celonis. “Giving them more choice fits with our belief as a company in living for customer value.”

About Celonis

Celonis believes that every company can unlock its full execution capacity. Powered by its market-leading process mining core, the Celonis Execution Management System provides a set of instruments, applications, and developer studio and platform capabilities for business executives and users. The Celonis EMS offerings help companies manage every facet of execution management from analytics to strategy and planning, management, actions and automation. Celonis has thousands of customers, including ABB, AstraZeneca, Bosch, Coca-Cola, Citibank, Danaher Corporation, Dell, GSK, John Deere, L’Oréal, Siemens, Uber, Vodafone and Whirlpool. Celonis is headquartered in Munich, Germany and New York City, USA and has 15 offices worldwide.

About IBM

To learn more about how IBM is working with Celonis to help enterprises transform with hybrid cloud technologies and services, visit https://www.ibm.com/services/business or engage with us on Twitter @ibm. For more information on IBM’s AI-powered Automation solutions, visit: https://www.ibm.com/cloud/automation

About Red Hat, Inc.

Red Hat is the world’s leading provider of enterprise open source software solutions, using a community-powered approach to deliver high-performing Linux, hybrid cloud, container, and Kubernetes technologies. Red Hat helps customers integrate new and existing IT applications, develop cloud-native applications, standardize on our industry-leading operating system, and automate, secure, and manage complex environments. Award-winning support, training, and consulting services make Red Hat a trusted advisor to the Fortune 500. As a strategic partner to cloud providers, system integrators, application vendors, customers, and open source communities, Red Hat can help organizations prepare for the digital future.

For more information contact:

Gabrielle Gugliocciello

IBM Media Relations

gguglio@ibm.com

MIAMI, March 31, 2021 – Sitel Group®, a global leader in end-to-end customer experience (CX) products and solutions, today announced it will open its first Greek contact center in Athens and will hire 1,000 positions to meet the needs of rapid client growth across the world.

This MAXhub in Athens is a hybrid coworking center, dedicated to in-person collaboration, training and development and employee engagement where associates will work both from home and in-center.

In an effort to reverse local unemployment in Athens, Sitel Group plans to designate a majority of the 1,000 openings for local, native-speaking candidates, while still offering positions to incomer applicants as well.

“We are so glad to open our first-ever contact center in Greece and are excited that it is a MAXhub, offering our associates more flexibility and a better associate experience through a hybrid working model,” said Olivier Camino, Global COO & Co-Founder, Sitel Group. “The Greek market is a strategic decision to serve as a multilingual hub for our clients, especially for the German and Nordic markets. This MAXhub represents our ongoing commitment to the employee experience by creating a place for our people, their families and the community to access the tools and resources needed to stay connected while meeting business growth objectives.”

“Entering Greece is a pivotal move for us and improves our current language hub footprint and scalability by 50%,” said Benedita Miranda, GM Portugal & Greece, Sitel Group. “We will support 24 languages from this site including English, Greek, German, Danish, Norwegian and more.”

After successfully transitioning more than 60% of its workforce to its Sitel at Home™ model during the COVID-19 crisis—with nearly 40,000 associates currently working from home in EMEA—Sitel Group is expanding its European footprint and language capabilities even further.

The Athens MAXhub will open in March 2021. The 550-seat, 6,000-square-foot site offers an innovative space where associates can work, learn, grow and connect. The center will feature coworking spaces, a gym, a children’s playroom, a cafeteria, a library and training rooms adhering to COVID-19 protocols and precautions. Associates and their families will have access to socializing areas, computers and wellness spaces enabling Sitel Group to be part of the local community.

As a physical extension of Sitel® MAX (My Associate Experience), the MAXhub is designed to deliver a consistent and connected employee experience for all employees, whether they’re on-site or working from home.

Interested candidates should apply at jobs.sitel.com. To learn more about Sitel Group’s MAXhubs, read more here.

About Sitel Group®

As a global leader in end-to-end customer experience (CX) products and solutions, Sitel Group® partners with the world’s best-loved brands, from Fortune 500 companies to local startups, to design, build and deliver a competitive edge across all customer touchpoints.

With 90,000 people working across the globe – at home, in contact centers and within MAXhubs – we securely connect brands with their customers over 4.5 million times every day in 50+ languages, driving our clients’ digital CX strategies forward. Powered by our global strength, local expertise and proprietary technologies, we deliver tailored solutions to fit clients’ needs through a consultative, customer-centric approach.

EXP+™, Sitel Group’s Enterprise Experience Platform, is a flexible solution with complete cloud capability, designed to simplify the delivery of end-to-end CX services, while boosting efficiency, effectiveness and customer satisfaction. EXP+ creates a robust ecosystem by harnessing the power of four connected product families: Empower, Engage, Explore and Evolve.

With our award-winning culture built on 35+ years of industry-leading experience and commitment to improving the employee experience, we improve business results by pairing innovative design thinking and digital solutions – including self-service, artificial intelligence (AI), automation and data-driven analytics – with the expertise, emotion and empathy of our people to Create Connection. Value Conversation.

PALO ALTO, Calif., March 3, 2021  — Next Insurance, the leading digital insurtech company transforming small business insurance, has signed a definitive agreement to acquire AP Intego, a digital insurance agency providing a suite of small commercial insurance products to some of the largest small business software ecosystems in the U.S., including Intuit, Gusto, Square and Toast. AP Intego’s platform provides an embedded insurance offering alongside its partners’ core products. With a foundation built around many of the leading payroll software providers, AP Intego delivers a digital buying experience for pay-as-you-go workers’ compensation insurance to tens of thousands of small businesses. Next Insurance and AP Integowill help streamline how small businesses shop for, purchase and pay for products that help insure their livelihoods, their employees and their assets.

“At Next Insurance, we’re modernizing a centuries-old industry to better provide small business owners  with convenience, value and choice,” said Guy Goldstein, CEO and co-founder of Next Insurance. “We’re excited to welcome the AP Intego team to Next Insurance. This acquisition marks an industry-defining  milestone in our efforts to build a market-leading one-stop-shop for small business insurance. The combination of AP Intego’s experience in insurance product distribution through partners and pay-as-you-go infrastructure combined with our approach to digital customized coverage, will provide more customers with seamless access to innovative insurance products.”

The insurance industry has been traditionally slow to innovate and for decades small businesses have remained an underserved and fragmented market, proving there is a need for a modern, digital-first insurance provider that better supports their needs. Next Insurance will offer its products on AP Intego’s platform alongside an established stable of carrier relationships. Next Insurance will provide AP Intego’s partners and customers with additional coverage, pricing options and a streamlined insurance experience. Together, through AI-driven pricing, instant purchasing capabilities and always-on, pay-as-you-go service that automatically adapts to a business as it changes, Next Insurance and AP Intego will offer a modern upgrade to small business insurance.

“As an integration partner with Next Insurance and AP Intego, we appreciate the great value they bring to our small business customers,” said Olivier Bartholot, Director Product Management Online Payroll at Intuit. “Next Insurance and AP Intego have created solutions that cater to the needs of small business owners and by teaming up, they will further our strategy of delivering Intuit customers an innovative insurance buying experience, offering more choice and flexibility, within the Quickbooks platform.”

“We built Gusto’s people platform to simplify the complexities of running a business by helping them to pay, insure, onboard, and support their teams. One of the most complex and difficult tasks of running a business is identifying and setting up all the types of insurance that are needed to operate,” said Tomer London, Gusto Chief Product Officer and co-founder. “AP Intego has been a fantastic partner for providing commercial insurance to Gusto’s customers, and by combining with Next Insurance, we’ll be able to deliver more choice to businesses so it’s even easier to find and implement the right solutions based on their needs.”

Next Insurance experienced record growth in 2020 further solidifying the company as the insurtech leader for small businesses. The company raised $500 million in venture capital over the last 16 months and acquired Juniper Labs in December, making AP Intego its first insurance distribution acquisition. The acquisition of AP Intego brings Next Insurance’s small business customers to over 200,000.

“This is a powerful combination and we are excited to become part of the Next Insurance team—a perfect match that accelerates our market leading embedded insurance offering through small business software providers,” said Steven Hauck, Co-Managing Director at AP Intego. “Adding Next Insurance to our platform enhances the overall value proposition we are delivering our partners and their customers and allows us to truly innovate within small business insurance. In order to keep up with our partners’ insatiable appetite for a superb customer experience, Next Insurance provides us digital product  flexibility for the benefit of both our partners and their customers. We’re thrilled about this new chapter in our history.”

AP Intego employs 160 people in and around Waltham, Massachusetts, Rochester, NY and other parts of the U.S., bringing Next Insurance’s headcount to nearly 600 team members across four major offices. As part of the agreement, AP Intego will retain its partnerships with leading US small business insurance carriers and its focus will remain on delivering choice, the right coverage and competitive pricing to its partners and their small business customers. The close of the transaction is subject to customary closing conditions.

About Next Insurance:
Next Insurance is transforming small business insurance with simple, digital and affordable coverage tailored to the self-employed. Next Insurance offers policies that are easy to buy in 10 minutes or less and provides 24/7 access to live certificates of insurance, additional insured, and more, with no extra fees. Revolutionizing a historically complicated insurance industry, Next Insurance utilizes AI and machine learning to simplify the purchasing process and drive down costs by up to 30% compared to traditional policies. Founded in 2016, the company is headquartered in Palo Alto, has received a total of $631 million in venture capital funding and has been recognized by Forbes Fintech 50, JMP Securities InsurTech 50 and Forbes Best StartUp Employers. For more information visit NextInsurance.com. Stay up to date on the latest with Next Insurance on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook and our blog.

About AP Intego
AP Intego is a leading digital insurance agency and one of the nation’s fastest growing insurtech companies. Through its platform, AP Intego offers a full line of best-fit, best-price property and casualty insurance to the small business customers of hundreds of tech, payroll and other affinity partners. In addition, the company provides award-winning customer service, flexible billing and a self-service, online customer dashboard to its more than 75,000 active customers. AP Intego places over $200M in premium with more than a dozen A-rated insurance carriers to provide choice to its customers and is licensed in 50 states. Please visit us at www.apintego.com.

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Secretary of Labor Eugene Scalia issued the following statement on the October 2020 Employment Situation Report:

“The strong economic rebound continues, with approximately 900,000 private sector jobs gained back in September and again in October, and the October unemployment rate dropping a full point, to 6.9 percent. Labor force participation increased, and Asian, Black, and Hispanic Americans all saw substantial decreases in unemployment. The unemployment rate for adult women is now lower than for adult men. As in September, job growth would have been even higher but for declines in government jobs. Teachers’ unions take note: School closures are bad not just for students, but for workers, too.”

In the week ending November 28, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claimswas 712,000, a decrease of 75,000 from the previous week’s revised level. The previous week’s level was revised up by 9,000 from 778,000 to 787,000. The 4-week movingaverage was 739,500, a decrease of 11,250 from the previous week’s revised average. The previous week’s average was revised up by 2,250 from 748,500 to 750,750. The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment ratewas 3.8 percent for the week endingNovember 21, a decrease of 0.4 percentage point from the previous week’s revised rate. The previous week’s rate was revised up by 0.1 from 4.1 to 4.2 percent. The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemploymentduring the week ending November 21 was 5,520,000, a decrease of 569,000 from the previous week’s revised level. The previous week’s level was revised up 18,000 from 6,071,000 to 6,089,000. The 4-week moving average was 6,194,250, a decrease of 425,500 from the previous week’s revised average. The previous week’s average was revised up by 4,500 from 6,615,250 to 6,619,750.