Jim Latourelle has joined The Bank of Washington as a commercial loan officer. He works at their Issaquah branch located at1250 NW Mall Street, Issaquah.

Latourelle is a seasoned banker with expertise in the needs of medical professionals. The Bank’s senior vice president for community banking, Bob MacIsaac, says “Jim’s strong background in relationship banking for health care professionals adds strength to our business banking team. It will allow us to really focus on the financial needs of this growing segment.”

Latourelle has more than 11 years of experience in the banking industry. Before joining The Bank of Washington, he was a regional business development officer with Bank of America.

Congratulations on your new position Jim!

The Bank of Washington, headquartered inLynnwood,Washington, provides quality local banking at its six locations inEdmonds,Lynnwood, Mukilteo,Everett,Redmondand Issaquah.  The Bank of Washington should definitely sign up to be included in the Eastside Business Directory.

Max Steele

MulvannyG2 Architecture has announced the addition of Senior Associate Max Steele to the firm’s headquarter office in Bellevue, Wash. With 46 years in the field of architecture, Steele brings a wealth of credits and experience to MulvannyG2’s retail design team. He will serve as a lead designer on a variety of retail interior environments including mixed use projects, stores, and large master planning.

Prior to joining MulvannyG2, Steele was a Principal and Studio Leader providing holistic design services for retail, and brand identity to developers, retailers, and architects. His previous experience as a Design Manager on the client side allows him to see the big picture and truly understand business needs and goals. His work in mixed-use, entertainment, and retail venues has created and enhanced business value for clients such as Disney, China Resources, The Renaissance Corporation D.R., IKEA Properties Russia, The Koll Company, Crosspoint Properties, CLC Communication Brazil, The Rouse Company, The Mills Corporation, Federal Realty Investment, Pacific Malls K.K., Gulf Development Real Estate, Reliance Group, and Ivanhoe Cambridge.

An exceptional, market-driven designer, Steele successfully integrates architecture, interiors, and graphic design viewpoints to affirm a clear and strong identity for each project. His current projects include Nanjing Xuzhuang Suning Shopping Mall interiors in Nanjing, China; Wuxi Chong’an Retail Center interiors in Wuxi, China; Suning Nanjing Mixed Use Master Planning in Nanjing, China; and Suning Nanjing Xuzhuang Shopping Center Interiors.

A registered architect in Colorado, Steele holds a Masters of Architecture from the University of Washington and a Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Illinois.

About MulvannyG2 Architecture

MulvannyG2 Architecture designs retail, mixed-use, and corporate offices and interiors for clients and brands of global significance. MulvannyG2 is among the world’s 40 largest architecture firms and consistently ranks among the world’s top three retail designers.

The purpose of the meeting is to educate employers about how to diversify the job applicant pool and  increase diversity in the workforce. Employers will provide information on current and future job openings and job seekers will have a chance to network with employers and receive tips on how to find employment.

Guest speaker for the program is Fancy Frenchwood, a talent acquisition manager in the tech industry. Frenchwood is a former member of the Boeing Co. diversity council and will talk about social networking and social media as a means of recruiting diversity to the workforce.

The types of job openings presented by employers range from unskilled, entry-level positions to upper level management jobs, and include part-time, full-time, temporary, temp-to-perm, and permanent positions. Those attending the meetings represent small, medium and large size companies and include both public and private sector employers. Staffing services are also well represented at these monthly meetings.

This event is free but reservations are required by March 22. RSVP to khenry@bellevuewa.gov

In the spirit and intention of full disclosure, I am hoping to work with @Spreecast – I just love this technology and the way it is going to help businesses.  #HelpRon #HelpJoeConnect

Until then, I will be hosting Spreecasts with members of the Eastside Business Directory on an ongoing basis.  Be sure to join us for the Eastside Entrepreneurs First Ever Virtual Networking Party Spreecast Live tomorrow night at 6pm.  Everyone is welcome and thanks to Spreecast, it is absolutely FREE.  Make sure to RSVP and set up your account today, and test your camera and mic before the big event.

Preface:  It should be noted that this is a very convervative estimate.  It does not include the value and impact of construction for the two sites, nor does it include management and part time workers.

Conclusions:

The new Walmart stores will have an immediate direct impact on the economy by creating jobs.

Walmart projects that the two new stores will combine to employ a total of approximately 220

people. This new employment will cause more money to flow through the economy, creating an even stronger impact that can be estimated using IMPLAN economic modeling.

By employing approximately 60% of its workforce as full‐time, or about 132* employees working at an average wage of $12.79 per hour, an estimated of $3,511,622 per year in wages will be paid to local consumers. The majority ($3,450,010) of this money will be spent in the local market. This will create an indirect effect of $1,328,446 per year from inter‐industry purchases stimulated by the increased consumer demand. This additional money in the economy will cause increased household income and associated increases in spending, creating an induced effect of a further $1,210,125 million per year.

In total, the jobs created by the Bellevue Walmarts will add an estimated $5,988,581 per year to the local economy.

Walmart’s two new Bellevue locations will also have additional impacts on the local economy. Indirect effects will create 8 more jobs, and induced effects will employ another 9 people. This amounts to another 17 jobs.

Combined with the direct employment of workers at Walmart, the two new Walmart stores will create a total of 149 jobs in the Bellevue area, a significant step forward in otherwise harsh economic times.

The data for this study came from several sources.

1. Washington State Departments of Employment Security, Revenue, and The Washington State Auditor

2. Neilsen Claritas

3. U.S. Census Bureau

4. Walmart Corporation (for square footage of facilities, number of employees, and retail offerings)

The past 15 months have been a period of great growth for the electronic communication compliance and archiving firm and they will be adding roles in Web Development, Administration, Accounting, Customer Service and Tech support.  Employment will vary from part-time to full-time depending on the position and work load.

CEO Craig Brauff is very happy at the prospects of hiring more local workers and helping our local and Eastside economy, as Erado continues to experience growth.

To apply for open positions, visit the Erado Career Page.

Please send resume and letter of interest to JoeConnector(at)gmail.com if you are interested.

These are among the results of the latest update of the Intuit Inc.(Nasdaq: INTU) Small Business Employment Index, covering the period between Aug. 24 and Sept. 23.The monthly report found that small business employment grew by 0.3 percent in September, equating to an annual growth rate of 3.3 percent. Hours worked and compensation both increased by 0.3 percent.  Since the hiring trend began in October 2009, small businesses have created 720,000 new jobs. The Index is based on figures from small businesses with fewer than 20 employees that use Intuit Online Payroll.

Based on these latest numbers and revised national employment data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Intuit revised upward the previously reported growth rate for August to 0.3 percent from 0.18 percent. This equates to 65,000 jobs added in August, up from a previously reported 35,000 jobs.

“September’s small business employment figures are a big relief,” said Susan Woodward, the economist who worked with Intuit to create the Index. “After all the uproar over the threatened European financial meltdown, good news is very welcome. Unlike in August, there is no softness in September’s numbers: employment is up, hours worked are up and compensation is up.

“These solid numbers may be due to the fact that residential property prices have increased for five months in a row. There are all kinds of small businesses linked to property, such as construction contractors, real estate agents and brokers.”

Increase in Hours Worked, Compensation

Small business hourly employees worked an average of 110.4 hours in September, making for a 25.5-hour workweek. This is a 0.3 percent increase from the revised August figure of 110.0 hours.

“In this recession,these smallest businesses have tended to cut back on employee hoursrather than lay people off, so it’s good to see hourly people working more,” added Woodward. “A substantial fraction of the people who work part-time do so because they cannot find full-time jobs or because their hours have been cut back, so I’d guess that employees themselves are pleased to have hours rise also.”

Average monthly pay for all small business employees was $2,694 per month in September. This is a 0.3 percent increase compared to the August revised estimate of $2,685 per month. The equivalent annual wages would be about $32,300 per year, which is part-time work for many small business employees.

“Another welcome change is that compensation is up by a healthy amount and equivalent to an annual growth rate of more than 3 percent,” added Woodward.  “This is very good considering that over the last 30 years real income has grown at a rate of about 1.5 percent per year. We have some distance to go to make up for growth that didn’t happen during the recession, but this is a good start.”

Small Business Employment by Geography

The Intuit Index also breaks down employment by census divisions and states across the country.

“Small business employment at the division and state level also looks more positive,” said Ginny Lee, senior vice president and general manager of Intuit’s Employee Management Solutions division.“The Pacific division posted the greatest increase of 0.5 percent while the East South Central division showed a slight decline but one that’s statistically insignificant. At the state level, California, Florida and Maryland all showed the highest growth with an increase of 0.5 percent. Oregon and New York were the only states to show slight declines but again these were  statistically insignificant and therefore not worrisome.”

Small Business Employment by U.S. Census Division continues to grow in all parts of the country except for a slight decline in the East South Central divisions. The data reflects employment from approximately 70,000 small business employers who use Intuit Online Payroll. The month-to-month changes are seasonally-adjusted and informative about the overall economy.

Small Business Employment by State is up for most states in which Intuit Online Payroll has more than 1,000 small business firms represented. The month-to-month changes are seasonally adjusted and informative about the overall economy.

About the Index
The Intuit Small Business Employment Index is based on aggregate and anonymous online employment data from approximately 70,000 small business employers, each with fewer than 20 employees. These small businesses use Intuit Online Payroll from Intuit, theNo. 1 payroll provider with more than 1 million customers. These smallest employers are important to the economy as they comprise 87 percent of the total U.S. private employer base and employ nearly 20 million people. More information is available at: index.intuit.com.

Intuit reports data for three categories: small business employment, compensation and hours worked. Intuit analyzes and publishes the data at the beginning of each month. The Index also includes employment data broken down by geography. As with the government data, there may be revisions to the Intuit Index numbers. These revisions are partly due to calculations using the latest month of new Intuit data. These calculations include recomputing seasonal factors and the moving average process used to obtain the curve, which can change the values for previously reported months. Changes to the data are also due to revisions to the government employment data, which is used to calculate the Intuit Index.

While the Intuit Small Business Employment Index offers macroeconomic insight about the economy generally, it does not indicate or represent changes in Intuit’s business results for any period.

The Index data reflects monthly employment activity in small businesses, and is adjusted to account for changes in Intuit’s Online Payroll customer base. The percent change is measured monthly using the change in employment for existing Intuit Online Payroll customers from one month to the next. The set of customers changes each month so the measurement is the change, for each pair of months, for customers who are present in both the earlier and the later month.

For the 2011-2012 service year, Ecology will hire 150 WCC AmeriCorps members using a $2 million AmeriCorps grant from the Washington State Commission for National and Community Service. AmeriCorps Education Awards received through the Corps Network, a national service partner, will support the remaining positions.

WCC’s AmeriCorps members sign on for a year of service that starts in October 2011 and ends September 2012. Ecology WCC members work on environmental and community service projects and disaster response.

Members earn $8.67 an hour and receive a $5,550 AmeriCorps education award upon completing their service year. The award may be used for student loans or future tuition expenses.

The WCC was created in 1983 and has provided jobs and work training for about 1,600 young adults. In 1994, WCC started received federal AmeriCorps funding, allowing crews to carry out on-the-ground projects across the state. Local communities rely on WCC to complete environmental projects by forming cost-share agreements with Ecology.

Since 1994, WCC crews have:

* Planted more than 7.5 million native trees and shrubs.

* Improved or restored 15,800 acres of new habitat for fish and wildlife.

* Constructed or repaired nearly 3,000 miles of trails and boardwalks – enough to cover the distance between Seattle and Boston.

* Built almost 2 million feet of fencing for agricultural landowners to help keep animals out of creeks and rivers.

* Opened about 240 miles of habitat in salmon-bearing streams.

* Provided 133,500 hours of emergency response service to communities in need.

* Recruited and managed more than 65,000 community volunteers working on environmental projects.

* Taught environmental classes for some 191,000 students

When WCC members are not working directly with local organizations, they are called upon for disaster response. In 2011, WCC crews assisted with emergency response efforts in Washington, including flood response in Ellensburg and shelter operations after the White Swan fire near Yakima. As part of the interstate compact associated with the federal funding, crews also worked to help communities in Alabama and Missouri that suffered extensive tornado damage earlier this spring.

“In a tight economy, the WCC is making a critical difference for our young adults, our communities and environment,” said Nick Mott who oversees WCC activities across the state. “By providing practical job experience and critical professional training, more than half of our members continue on to full-time employment or go on to further their education.”

Last year, Ecology used federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding to add 10 new WCC crews, employing 50 young adults. The remaining recovery act funding expires in 2012.

In 2011, the Washington Legislature created the WCC “Puget Sound Corps” as a partnership of Ecology and the state Department of Natural Resources. The new legislation means new opportunities for WCC crews, including veterans. The Puget Sound Corps will support the Puget Sound Partnership’s Action Agenda to restore, protect and preserve the Sound by 2020, Mott said. The official rollout of the WCC Puget Sound Corps will occur this fall.

Cover Letter Review (Tues. Oct. 19th, 10:30-11:20 a.m.)

Join this workshop to learn what cover letters, letters of inquiry and marketing letters should contain to improve your competitiveness in the job market.

Understanding the Labor Market: How to Plan for Your Career (Wed. Oct. 20th, 1:30-2:20 p.m.)

Join this workshop to learn about current trends in the job market, how to find that information on your own in the future, and how to use it to plan your career path and job search.

Are You LinkedIn? (Thurs., Oct. 28th, 1:30-2:20 p.m.)

More than 75 million people are using an on-line networking resource called LinkedIn for business development, career management, job searches and recruitment.  Learn how you can get LinkedIn!

How do employers use LinkedIn? (Wed., Nov. 17th, 1:30-3:00 p.m.)

An interactive discussion with employers about how you can use LinkedIn to reach them and others who may be hiring.

Networking & the Hidden Job Market:  Tapping into Unadvertised Jobs (Wed., Nov. 3^rd, 1:30-3:20 p.m.)

Did you know that nearly 80% of job openings are not advertised? Learn how to use networking strategies to help find them.

Salary Negotiation (Tues. Nov. 9th, 12:30-2:00 p.m.)

Learn non-confrontational strategies that can add significantly to your lifetime earnings. Instructor Allan Hay is a published author and one of the Pacific Northwest’s leading authorities on the subject of salary negotiation.

To register for any of these workshops call Bellevue College’s Center for Career Connections intake desk at (425) 564-2279, email careers@bellevuecollege.edu, or stop by the Center’s office on the second floor of the college’s Student Services Building (Building B).

Bellevue College’s Center for Career Connections provides a wide range of free and paid career resources for BC students, alumni and the general public. More information about its services and learning opportunities is available at http://bellevuecollege.edu/careers/.