Unemployment Claims Down, but Still At Recessionary Levels

Erik Samdahl - Vice President, Marketing, i4cp

November 26, 2008

The U.S. government released four new reports today which further highlight the tough economic challenges the country is facing:

The number of people claiming unemployment insurance dropped by 60,000 to 3.96 million. Although there is speculation on the cause of the drop, the number of claims remains at recessionary levels.
Consumer spending decreased by a full percentage point in October, worse than expected.
There were significant declines in the manufacturing sector, as orders for durable goods fell 6.2%, more than double what was expected by economists.
New home sales also fell 5.3% to the lowest level since January 1991.

With the economy indicating that things are going to get worse before they get better, it is critical to take a look at your existing assets – most notably your human capital – and assess how to make them more productive and efficient. As employees are directly or indirectly impacted by layoffs, shrinking 401(k)'s or other anxiety stemming from the current economy, keeping them engaged and motivated is also essential to ensuring minimum disruption to your company's bottom line.

Erik Samdahl, Vice President, Marketing

As vice president of marketing at i4cp, Erik is currently responsible for all marketing efforts for the company and works alongside several departments to execute organizational initiatives. He also oversees web development projects. Located in Seattle, WA, he brings over 15 years of Internet marketing experience, most of which are in the research industry.

Prior to i4cp, Erik worked as Internet Marketing Director at market research panel company GMI, where he was responsible for global online marketing and panel growth in several countries. He also managed the graphic design team and worked extensively with other departments on process improvements and plan development. GMI experienced exceptional revenue growth - several hundred percent - during his tenure. Prior to GMI, Erik founded FilmJabber.com, a movie review and information website that continues to grow in popularity and traffic.

Erik received a B.A. in Business Administration with a concentration in Management Information Systems from Western Washington University.