Aquatics Magazine Readers Vote Heat Siphon with New Temperature Probe 2017 Most Valuable Product
by Bill Bernardi - June, 2017
Posted - Los Angeles, CA
We are very proud and pleased to publish the following letter received from the Editor-In-Chief of Aquatics International Pool & Spa News:
"Dear Bill,
Each year the readers of Aquatics International select the 25 Most Valuable Products (MVP) from those featured in the January 2017 New Products Issue.
I’m happy to inform you that your product, Pool Heat Pump Models w/new thermometers, made this year’s MVP list. As one of the MVPs, your product will appear in a four-color editorial of reader-selected Most Valuable Products, which is scheduled to run in our June digital edition.
Again, congratulations! "
Joanne McClain , Editor-in-Chief
Aquatics International Pool & Spa News
Unemployment Hits 16 Year Low - Skilled Pay Up 10-25%
By Eric Morath - Wall Street Journal
June 2, 2017
WASHINGTON—The unemployment rate fell to its lowest level in 16 years in May, a fresh sign the slow and long-running U.S. economic expansion has entered a new stage that has left businesses struggling to find qualified workers.
At 4.3%, the jobless rate is at point it hasn’t seen since May 2001, the Labor Department said Friday, and is below the trough it reached in the previous economic expansion, from 2001 to 2007.
The drop in unemployment suggests the labor market is at or near full employment—a point where most workers who are seeking a job can find one in short order and those who are unemployed are part of the natural churn.
Some business say they are adding workers more slowly and accepting less growth than they might otherwise achieve, while others are adjusting pay scales, boosting overtime shifts or accepting higher turnover.
“Job openings are near all-time highs,” said Beth Ann Bovino, chief U.S. economist for S&P Global Ratings. “It suggests that businesses are struggling to fill these positions in an increasingly tighter market.”
Barton Malow Co., a Southfield, Mich., construction firm that builds big projects including schools and a new arena for the Detroit Red Wings and Pistons, can’t find needed labor. The company has responded by offering existing crews more overtime.
Nationally, the workweek for construction laborers rose by half an hour in April, and retained that level last month.
“There’s a real shortage of available workers, especially in skilled trades” such as carpenters and plumbers, said Barton Malow President Ryan Maibach.
Mr. Maibach said hourly wages have increased only a bit, but some workers are earning 10% to 25% more a week due to increased overtime hours as the company takes on more work.
“Trying to find an additional 15 or 20 people is no small feat,” he said.
In May, the share of working-age Americans who are either working or looking for workdropped 0.2%, a trend which was echoed in the population at large. The national tilt toward low-wage job growth now shows signs of shifting, which could lead to bigger increases in national pay raises. Employment in the retail sector has fallen for four straight months, in part because of the shift in the industry toward online retailing.
Meantime, the leisure and hospitality sector is adding jobs at a slower pace compared with earlier in the expansion. Better-paying work in fields including construction and health care continues apace, which could support firmer wage growth this year.
Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia President Patrick Harker said Friday he expects the unemployment rate to fall further. He expects that to translate into better wages, perhaps a 3% increase this year. “This is a very good sign,” he said in a speech. “It’s one of the things that’s been missing as the recovery has unfolded.”
BETTER DAYS ARE ON THE WAY
