Baltimore jobs : Buzz

College seniors graduating this May from area universities should consider staying put.

A recent study from the Business Journals places Baltimore No. 4 on its list of top cities for young adults on the East Coast. Washington, D.C., came in at No. 1, followed by Boston and New York.

The study factored the strength of the job market, cost of living and number of young, college-educated, employed adults to come up with its ranking.

In its national ranking of 102 cities throughout the U.S., Baltimore came in at No. 23. Austin, Texas, came out on top, followed by San Jose, Calif., and Washington, D.C.

You can read the entire story here.

America's new hotbeds of technology innovation are not in the major cities like New York, Los Angeles or Chicago, but smaller ones, according to Forbes. And ranking No. 4 on Forbes' list is the Greater Baltimore region, where jobs in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) grew nearly 18 percent between 2001 and 2012.

The Washington, D.C., metropolitan area got the top spot, followed by Riverside-San Bernadino, Calif., and San Antonio-New Braunfels, Texas. 

New York, L.A. and Chicago, in contrast, all lost tech jobs in the past decade, according to the data crunched by Praxis Strategy Group. 

"As the social media industry matures and consolidates, employment is likely to continue shifting to less expensive, business-friendly areas," Forbes writes.

You can read the rest of the story here. 

Forbes says Baltimore is the nation's 5th best city for tech jobs, citing growth in federal spending and STEM.

The magazine didn't even lump the city in with Washington/Maryland/Virginia, which was ranked No. 2 for job growth. No. 1 was Seattle and No. 3 was San Diego.

Forbes took a look at employment growth across a variety of sectors associated with the high-tech economy, including software, Internet publishing, engineering and math-related fields.

You can see the complete list here.

It may not be the fountain of youth, but folks who live in cities that are less stressful tend to remain more healthful and active. 

That is according to RealAge.com, which produces a test that asks individuals a number of questions to determine if they act younger or older than their numerical age.

And their data from 50 American cities shows that Baltimore ranks No. 9 on its list of top towns for staying forever young. Baltimore tied with Washington, D.C., for ninth place. San Francisco, Salt Lake City and San Diego were the top three cities in its ranking.

Cholesterol, employment levels, eating habits and smoking were all factors that RealAge.com considered. 

Baltimore nonprofit Humanim has redeveloped the former American Brewing Co. headquarters into a job training center in East Baltimore.

Fast Company highlighted the $24 million transformation in a slideshow and story on the magazine's website. The piece is featured in Co.Exist, a section devoted to innovative ideas and groundbreaking use of resources. 

Carnival Cruise Lines recently agreed to a deal that will keep it operating from the Port of Baltimore.

From the source:

Carnival Cruise Lines will continue to offer cruises year-round from the Port of Baltimore.

The line agreed to an extension, which was announced Monday and is effective Aug. 31, after the current two-year contract ends.

Read the full story.

In one of the more out-of-left-field examples you'll see of an "outsider's view" of Baltimore, BBC News recently visited Lexington Market to get a sense of how the US budget crisis is hitting home in Baltimore.

From the source:

This gritty, former port city is less than an hour away from the US capital by train.

But it feels a world apart from the glitz and power of the White House and Capitol Hill.

After weeks of partisan wrangling, Congress approved a plan that lifts the ceiling on how much money the US government is allowed to borrow in return for a likely 2.4 trillion dollars (£1.47tn) of spending cuts over ten years.

The worry for Baltimore is the debt deal heralds an era of government austerity that could reduce the flow of Federal funds to an already struggling local economy.

Read the full article here.

Sales -- and profits -- are surging at Baltimore's Under Armour.

From the source:

Under Armour Inc.'s net income surged 77 percent in the second quarter as the company sold more athletic clothing and footwear and benefited from soaring direct-to-consumer sales and from taking its previously licensed hats and bags business in-house.

The Baltimore clothing seller also increased its full-year revenue forecast Tuesday to a range above Wall Street's expectations.

Under Armour earned $6.2 million, or 12 cents per share, for the quarter, compared with $3.5 million, or 7 cents per share, a year ago.

Read the full story here.

Baltimore's own Grasmick Lumber has been chosen to provide wood planks for Ocean City's new boardwalk.

From the source:

The Town Council voted to heed a recommendation from City Engineer Terry McGean to contract with Baltimore-based Grasmick Lumber as the supplier of more than 56,000 pieces of wood for $602,650. The company has been supplying lumber to the resort for more than a decade.

The figure works out to 52 cents per foot of board, an amount McGean and Grasmick Executive Vice President Kirk Hammonds both called "historically low." In 2008, the town paid about 84 cents per foot for the southern yellow pine it uses on the Boardwalk.

Read the whole story at delmarvanow.com.

The groundbreaking ceremony has been held and now it's official: the GM plant in White Marsh will begin manufacturing electric motor components in 2013.

From the source:

"Chevy Volt fans with any lingering fears that the electric car might meet a similar fate to the GM EV1 should take comfort in General Motor's latest announcement: the automaker's plant in While Marsh, Maryland near Baltimore, is scheduled to build components for electric motors (for both plug-in electric and hybrid vehicles) starting in 2013. It will be the first of its kind for a U.S. automaker and should be a good indicator that vehicles like the Volt will be around for a long time.

GM broke ground yesterday for the planned addition to the White Marsh plant which currently builds transmissions for Heavy Duty and two-mode hybrid vehicles. GM reports a total investment of $269.5 million for the project."

Read more at Motor Trend.

Baltimore Magazine has released its annual list of the "Best Places to Work" in and around Baltimore.

Here's the list.

Despite the tough economy, according to a newly released index from Payscale.com, if you work in Baltimore it's likely that your salary has gone up in the past in the past year

Here's an excerpt:

"Did you know that PayScale has collected over 23 million salary surveys from people just like you? That means that we have a lot of salary data - gobs and gobs. And, while we like to use it to help you make decisions about your future career, we've decided to also use it to take a look back at salary trends from the past. We're happy to introduce you to The PayScale Index."

Read the entire post here.

The Marlin Steel Wire Products factory in Baltimore is part of a network of small businesses that are vital to the U.S. and it's economy.

Here's an excerpt:

"Small businesses have become a bellwether for the condition of the American economy. Indeed, to hear politicians talk, small business is�pick your favorite clich�the lifeblood, the backbone, the thunderously beating heart of the American economy.

Like most clich�s, these have some truth. America could truly not survive without operations like Marlin Steel Wire Products. Among other things, they produce specialized parts like that stand, in small production runs that would be uneconomical on the scale of an airplane or automobile plant. Even mighty industrial machines cannot survive without tiny cogs."

Read the entire article here.

Wondering where the top locations are in Maryland for young people just starting their professional careers?  There're Glen Burnie, Towson and, of course, Baltimore, according to Helium.com

Here's an excerpt:

"Maryland has so many different options available to every class of people that live in the state. Young professionals seem to be on the increase in Maryland and therefore, there must be some areas that are more suitable than others for this group of people to live. There are several cities that are good areas for young professionals to live in Maryland."

Read the entire article here.

If you're looking for a job -- any kind of job -- and you haven't checked out the Fed's job database website, you should.

Here's an excerpt:

"A federal website, www.usajobs.gov, shows more than 300 open positions in Greater Baltimore, including one with the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency for a supervisory project scientist. The Fort George G. Meade-based job pays between $123,758 and $163,275, and involves developing new technology focused on national defense, homeland security and navigation.