Weekly News from COBRT - June 5, 2018
LEADERSHIP. REACH. RESULTS.
June 5, 2018
Friday's jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics shows the national unemployment rate is 3.8 percent, the lowest rate this century. Colorado's is even better at 2.9 percent. Even the best forecasters couldn't have predicted such a strong labor market six years ago when the unemployment rate was twice this level. Currently there are 6.6 million unfilled jobs across the nation, suggesting the unemployment rate could fall even further. 

The University of Colorado at Boulder ranks No. 50 among the world's top universities, according to a new list by the Center for World University Rankings. The list is compiled by the United Arab Emirates-bases CWUR, a consulting agency for governments and higher-education institutions. Factors include quality of education, quality of faculty, research output and other factors. 

Business Roundtable Warns Of Economic Harm From Steel And Aluminum Tariffs
The Administration's decision to end exemptions for U.S. allies from steel and aluminum tariffs threatens economic harm and foreign retaliation, Business Roundtable said Thursday. "While addressing global overcapacity of steel and aluminum is a worthy objective, using 'national security' agruments under Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 weakens the international trading system and encourages other nations to use 'national security' to place barriers against U.S. goods and services from entering their markets," the Roundtable said in a blog post. The post cited nine U.S. companies that would suffer direct harm from the tariffs. 

U.S. job growth surged in May, in a possible signal that last year's tax cuts are finally creating new jobs. The Labor Department reported 223,000 new jobs in May, and unemployment dropped to 3.8 percent, its lowest in 18 years. But wage growth remained a sluggish 2.7 percent over the previous year, up from 2.6 percent in April, indicating that the tight labor market remains insufficient to deliver a significant pay boost for most workers. 

Finding a job is never fun. In fact, it's about as fun as paying taxes or leaving the shower, so you should make it easier on yourself: Make sure you're looking in the right place. Lucky for you, WalletHub has just released a study that will tell you where to look. 

The study breaks down the best states for jobs in 2018 by surveying the local job market and economic environment. This is done by rating 29 indicators - like market strength, opportunity, and a healthy economy - out of 100. Based on those, the states got an overall score out of 100, which was then compiled in an overall ranking. 

Creating A Pathway To Career And Economic Prosperity
Representatives from across the nation came to Utah this week to exchange ideas about providing long-term economic vitality and well-paying job opportunities for residents in their states. This week, the Governor's Office of Economic Development partnered with the Global Pathways Institute to host the Western Pathways Conference running from May 30 to June 1 at the downtown Hilton Salt Lake City Center. The conference brought together over 400 stakeholders to discuss solutions to pressing problems in education and workforce development, explained Kimberlee Carlisle, director of Industry and Talent Initiatives for GOED. 

Colorado doesn't always come to mind when people think of America's space legacy. After all, no one ever said, "Denver, we have a problem." Meanwhile, our researchers and aerospace manufacturers are quietly shaping the state's economy, America's space future, and astronaut safety. 

Fidelity Investments is currently hiring for more than 100 open positions in metro Denver, Stacy Roode, general manager and Colorado region leader, told Denver Business Journal Thursday. "Fidelity is deeply committed to its presence in the Denver region," Roode said. The company is hiring in a number of departments including personal investing, customer service, IT, public affairs, audit, communications and legal/compliance. 

NASA has recently certified Xavier Sweeney as a Payload Rack Officer (PRO). Xavier is the first flight controller whose status obtained as a part of a Mentor Protege Agreement (MPA) between Teledyne Brown Engineering and Alabama State University. The MPA was signed under Teledyne Brown Engineering's Mission Operations and Integration (MO&I) Contract and allows the university and students participating in the program to receive assistance in developing multi-media training for the International Space Station (ISS) Payload Ground Support Personnel and Payload Developers. This agreement was put in place on July 27, 2015. 


Cybersecurity is a cost of doing business with government-but it doesn't have to be an unreasonable financial hit. The most important message about being compliant with the NIST 800-171 guidelines is simply "get started". Put your action plan together and work the plan! This workshop will walk you through the cybersecurity guidelines, talk you through a preliminary self-assessment, and offer templates to help you define and implement your security program. Questions addressed during the workshop include the following:
  • Why should we care about cybersecurity and NIST 800-171?
  • What is at risk (business and contractual impact)?
  • What are current and emerging supply chain threat exposure concerns?
  • Which areas did DOD identify in recent audits as the most common for noncompliance?
  • Where do we start?
Let Manufacturer's Edge help you boost your cyber (and business) resiliency and defend your competitive position within the aerospace and defense supply chain. Don't be the weak link!


Business Roundtable: Work With U.S. Allies To Counter China's Unfair Trade Practices
Ratcheting up trade tensions is the wrong approach to ending China's unfair trade practices, Business Roundtable said Tuesday following the Administration's announcement of limits on Chinese investments in the United States and tariffs on $50 billion of Chinese goods. "Instead, the U.S. should do more work with our allies, many of whom have also been harmed by intellectual property theft and forced technology transfers, to increase international engagement with the Chinese government to achieve reforms," a Roundtable statement said. "This will maximize the opportunity for negotiations to produce those reforms, rather than a deal that only temporarily reduces the trade deficit." The new 25 percent tariff is set to go into effect by June 15. 

Listen at KDMT 1690 AM Denver's Money Talk from 
4-5 p.m. Monday through Friday or  live stream online. Podcasts are available at  http://www.cobrt.com/radio-podcast and on your favorite podcast app the day after live airing.

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