Futurestep, a company specializing in talent acquisition solutions, recently announced that it has hired Houston-based RPO expert Laura Eaton to serve as U.S. director of the company's RPO service delivery team.

Eaton has more than 20 years of experience in the recruiting industry and extensive knowledge in designing, implementing and managing RPOs and on-site client relationships. She has worked with such entities as Kellogg Company, Hershey's and Comerica Bank.

Laura previously worked for 11 years as the head of the recruitment process outsourcing division for the Bernard Hodes Group Recruitment Enhancement Services, where she also served as general manager of strategic staffing solutions.

"Quality execution and service delivery is essential to the success of any RPO relationship," Andrew Watt, chief operating officer and president of Futurestep North America, said. "Laura provides the expertise and experience to navigate the business needs that drive a successful RPO. She is a proven leader, and her addition to the Futurestep team underscores our commitment to excellence in all aspects of RPO delivery."

Futurestep is a Korn/Ferry company that provides global talent acquisition solutions to help companies build and implement strategies to improve their operations. The company focuses on talent acquisition consulting, recruitment process outsourcing, project-based recruitment and mid-level recruitment.

Futurestep currently has operations on four continents, allowing the company to provide the experience and expertise needed to address the most pressing talent acquisition challenges facing companies today.

Pilgrim's Pride Corporation, an American company that produces chicken, recently announced that it plans to cut about 230 positions during its effort to integrate with JBS SA, a Brazilian-based meat company.

Only corporate and administrative salaried positions will be eliminated, while no production jobs will be lost. Displaced employees will be offered severance benefits and outplacement services from an undisclosed company.

About 160 of the job cuts will take place at Pilgrim's Pride's headquarters in Pittsburg, Texas, and its nearby office in Mt. Pleasant. The remaining positions will be eliminated in about 12 states, including Atlanta, Dallas and Broadway, Virginia.

According to an article by Reuters, the company recently exited bankruptcy. As part of its reorganization plan, Pilgrim's Pride sold a majority stake of the company to JBS.

The company is moving forward with plans to consolidate most of its corporate functions with the Colorado headquarters of JBS USA. Both companies are still evaluating the needs of their organizations and are expecting to finalize consolidation plans within the next three to six months.

Aside from these recent job cuts, Texas's economy has continued to improve as of late. During November, the state's unemployment rate decreased from 8.3 percent to 8 percent, which is lower than the national unemployment rate of 10 percent.

Texas had a total non-farm employment of 10,375,800 workers during November, according to the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics. This is up from 10,358,500 workers during October, but a 2.6 percent decrease from last year.

Officials recently announced that all jails throughout the City of Houston will receive a technology upgrade allowing them to complete national criminal background checks, including fingerprint checks, and immigration background checks on all suspects booked into jail.

That upgrade will allow the city to participate in Secure Communities, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement program that completes biometric checks for the immigration history of a suspect when they are taken to jail.

According to an article by the Houston Chronicle, the Houston Police Department transfers suspects charged with Class B misdemeanors and above to the Harris County Jail, which has participated in Secure Communities for more than a year. However, until now, suspects charged with Class C misdemeanors were not subjected to the background checks because the city did not have the ability to send fingerprints to ICE or complete national background checks.

It is estimated that Houston police officers arrest an average of 58,000 people per year on Class C misdemeanors, and about 24 percent, or 14,000 people, are non-citizens. Many officials are hoping this new technology will help to cut down on the local illegal immigration problem.

"Non-citizens, if they commit a serious crime against people here, ought to be deported after they serve their time," Mayor Bill White said in the article. "There are some people here who have not been, and there are some people who come back (after deportation). And this allows us to identify those individuals and immediately transmit this information to federal officials."

Police officers began using the upgraded technology last week by checking the criminal and immigration statuses of 294 suspects over a two-day period. Of those suspects, nine turned up records that caused ICE agents to file paperwork to detain them.

During the last fiscal year alone, Secure Communities helped to identify more than 111,000 suspected illegal immigrants and remove 1,900 people classified by ICE as "aggravated felons."

The Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown area's education and health services industry employed 294,300 workers during September, according to the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics. This is up from 293,200 workers during August and a 2.5 percent increase from last year.

The Texas Medical Center, which is one of the more prominent medical institutions in Houston, currently has about 3,500 positions available. The downside, according to an article by KHOU, is that there seems to be a lack of workers to fill those open jobs.

The Texas Medical Center is home to the world's largest concentration of research and healthcare institutions, with a total of 47 institutions, all of which are non-profit. Together, they provide patient and preventive care, research, education and local, national and international community well-being.

The medical center employs a total of more than 73,600 workers at its 13 hospitals, two specialty institutions, two medical schools and four nursing schools, as well as schools of dentistry, public health and pharmacy.

In response to a high demand for workers, the Texas Medical Center recently partnered with Houston Community College in order to create a new hiring program. That program allows students to receive training and work in an entry level position at the medical center after attending school for only one semester.

Houston Community College has been adding about 100 students to its nursing program each year, setting it on track to soon become the largest nursing school in the country. Graduates from the program usually make a starting salary of $50,000 to $70,000 per year.

The University of Texas and The Texas Tribune recently released their annual poll, which found that the national economy tops the list of residents' concerns. The economy as a whole, unemployment and jobs, and federal spending and the national debt were mentioned more than any other worry.

Those three items together accounted to 53 percent of the worries mentioned by respondents. Healthcare, along with political corruption and leadership were the only other two issues mentioned by more than 10 percent of respondents.

When it comes to Texas specifically, 19 percent of poll respondents said they were worried about immigration, while jobs and unemployment, the economy, and border security were the only other issues mentioned by at least 10 percent of respondents.

National issues that were previously high on the list but seemed to be missing from this year's poll include gay marriage, taxes, gas prices and welfare. Local issues that were previously popular but lacking this year include abortion, transportation, insurance rates and taxes.

The number of respondents who think the state is on the right track is about even with those who think the state is on the wrong track, with each side coming in at 38 or 39 percent. About 32 percent of respondents think the country is headed in the right direction, while 59 percent say the country is on the wrong track.

Only 24 percent of respondents think the country is in better economic condition than this time last year, while 59 percent think things have gotten worse. About 17 percent said their personal finances are better off, 39 percent said things are the same and 43 percent considered themselves "somewhat" or "a lot" worse off than last year.

Lastly, 43 percent of respondents said the federal government is making it harder for the country to get out of the recession, while 28 percent said the government is helping. Another 43 percent said the state government's efforts are not hindering or helping the improvement of the economy.

Gov. Rick Perry recently announced that the State of Texas will invest $2.5 million through the Texas Enterprise Fund to help Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company expand its operations in San Antonio. The investment will help create 750 high-paying jobs and generate more than $94.8 million in capital investment throughout Texas.

"Nationwide’s expansion in San Antonio is a testament to the success of the TEF and Texas’ status as the best state in the nation to invest, work and raise a family,” Perry said in an article by the San Antonio Business Journal. "Companies like Nationwide will continue to create jobs in Texas because of our state’s low taxes, regulatory environment and educated and diverse workforce."

Nationwide, based in Columbus, Ohio, offers a range of insurance and financial services and operations throughout much of the country. The majority of the new jobs will be for sales and services positions to support existing business and generate new growth for the company.

"The Texas Enterprise Fund, combined with the attractive workforce in San Antonio, were key factors in our decision to choose San Antonio for expansion of our operations," John Raybuck, regional vice president of Nationwide's Texas operations, said in the article.

The Texas Legislature created the TEF in 2003 and the program was re-appropriated funding in 2005, 2007 and 2009. The program is meant to ensure the growth of Texas businesses and create more jobs throughout the state.

Any TEF projects must be approved by the governor, lieutenant governor and speaker of the Texas House of Representatives. So far, TEF has invested more than $383 million in projects generating more than 56,000 new jobs and more than $14 billion in capital investment throughout the state.

The U.S. Department of Energy recently awarded 100 grants totaling $3.4 billion for electric grid upgrade projects, and while other cities, such as Houston, were granted funding, Dallas did not receive any of the federal money.

Oncor, a power line operator in Dallas, would have used the funding to install advanced meters and create a smart grid, allowing customers to see their consumption in real time and help the company fix problems more quickly.

Unfortunately for local residents, the fact that Oncor did not receive any funding means that customers will have to fit the bill for their smart grid upgrades, according to an article by The Dallas Morning News. However, a fee on customer utility bills already covers the cost of installing advanced meters. Customers will pay about $2.21 per month for 11 years for the new meters. The total cost of the upgrade is $686 million.

About a total of 390 companies competed for the available grants. CenterPoint Energy, Inc. in Houston will receive a $200 million grant. That company attributed its win to the critical infrastructure the power line operator supports, such as pipelines and refineries that make and deliver fuel for the rest of the country.

Officials have estimated the smart grid initiative could save consumers more than $20 billion on utility bills during the next 10 years. Carol Browner, director of the White House Office of Energy and Climate Change Policy, said investments in smart grids would support "tens of thousands" of new jobs.

"The American taxpayers will get a very high return on these projects as we were able to select the very best projects," she said.

Yingli Green Energy Holding Co. Ltd. is considering Austin, San Antonio and a few cities in other states as the home base for the company's manufacturing hub for solar-electric panels. The operation could create up to 300 jobs in Austin.

The company currently has 4,700 employees and made $1.1 billion in revenue last year. Company officials have said they are close to choosing a site for the $20 million photovoltaic panel plant. If Austin is chosen as the site of the plant, according to an article by Austin Business Journal, it could serve as a catalyst for the city's ambitions to become a serious player in the solar energy market.

While the areas has had some success by growing local solar companies, such as manufacturer HelioVolt Corp., the city still hasn't been able to bring in an outside company. And even though HelioVolt Corp. has invested tens of millions of dollars to build a plant in Austin, the company has not yet began to manufacture any products.

"We need real companies with new jobs to say there is a wave that is actual and happening," Hector Aguilar, chair of electronics and advanced technology at Austin Community College, said in the article. "Getting 300 jobs is not a huge number, but it is a huge move. It is a huge mind-set change. If we win a company, hopes are up, proof is there."

The few hundred jobs would add to the Austin area's economy, which seems to be holding its own as of late, with employment increasing and unemployment remaining stable.

During September, the Austin-Round Rock area saw its unemployment rate remain flat at 7.2 percent, following a decrease from 7.3 percent to 7.2 percent during August. The current rate is lower than the national unemployment rate of 9.8 percent.

The area had a total non-farm employment of 775,200 workers during September, according to the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics. This is up from 769,800 workers during August, but a .7 percent decrease from last year.

The Houston-Sugar Land-Baytown area has a strong government industry that has managed to see an increase in employment on a monthly and yearly basis as of late.

The area's government industry employed 360,800 workers during September, according to the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics. This is up from 342,200 workers during August and a .3 percent increase from last year.

The City of Houston, which is a home rule city, has a strong mayoral form of municipal government and all municipal elections in the State of Texas are non-partisan. Houston's elected officials include the mayor, city controller and 14 members of City Council.

Bill White, a Democrat serving his third and final term, is the current mayor of Houston. Since 1991, the mayoral position in Houston has been a two-year term, with any one person able to serve up to three consecutive terms.

The mayor serves as the city's chief administrator, executive officer and official representative. The mayor is responsible for the general management of the city and making sure all laws and ordinances are enforced.

Since 1979, a U.S. Department of Justice mandate has dictated that the Houston City Council consist of nine district-based positions and five at-large positions, which represent the entire city. If the population of the city exceeds 2.1 million residents, the current nine districts will be expanded by adding two additional districts.

The city controller is elected independently of the mayor and City Council. The controller is responsible for certifying available funds before committing them, processing disbursements and performing financial and performance audits of city departments. Annise Parker, who is in her third term in office, serves as the current city controller.

Officials recently reported that companies and local governments throughout Texas have saved or created about 1,100 jobs through federal stimulus funding. Those jobs stem from 236 contracts throughout the state, which have been valued at $534 million.

Many of that funding was used to save the jobs of construction workers who otherwise would have been fired. Many other projects have yet to begin, including work on the two largest contracts in Texas, $102.5 million for a federal courthouse in Austin and $61 million for levee repairs in the Houston Ship Channel.

According to an article by The Dallas Morning News, Bell County, where Fort Hood is located, accounted for the largest number of jobs, with contractors creating or saving about 254 positions. Several more jobs are expected in this area next year when construction begins on a $621 million military hospital. Contracts in North Texas accounted for about 79 jobs.

The largest number of contracts in Texas have been awarded by the Air Force and the Army, which were awarded funding for renovations. Some of that work has gone to Dallas-based Leetex Construction, which has taken credit for creating about 120 jobs.

Many critics are claiming the federal stimulus is not doing its part to create the number of jobs needed to help the nation's faltering economy. The economy in Texas is no different, as the state has continued to lose jobs while its unemployment rate rises.

During September, the state saw its unemployment rate increase from 8 percent to 8.2 percent, which is lower than the national unemployment rate of 9.8 percent.

Texas had a total non-farm employment of 10,297,600 workers during September, according to the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics. This is down from 10,342,300 workers during August and a 2.9 percent decrease from last year.