A page on Facebook was created, named “National Walmart Boycott Movement” where users can have discussions and link to news stories and videos relating to the chain store. Many use the page’s wall to voice their disapproval for large corporations in general.

In this Facebook page, critiques to Walmart include poor salaries, excessive corporate profit, suspicious tax practices, and its expansion across the nation. Walmart recently expanded to Chicago by opening an Express branch, which many are protesting. Progress Illinois published a post citing the boycott Facebook page, and local unions and advocacy groups who are urging residents to “keep a watchful eye over the treatment of workers at the establishment.”

This is not the first time that Walmart has been the target (no pun intended) of the public’s ire. In Michael Moore’s documentary “Bowling for Columbine,” the director and a shooting survivor go up to the local Walmart to protest their loose guidelines for selling guns and ammunition.

There is also a website called Walmart Watch that details all the negative ways in which the retail giant has impacted economy, the landscape, employment, and small businesses. All these protesters agree that the store needs to offer better pay, better schedules, better products, and review its environmental policies.  About its effect on small business, the website reads,

“Because Walmart has saturated rural and suburban America, the company’s new growth area in the U.S. is urban communities. Additionally, Walmart’s scale gives it unprecedented control over how suppliers do business.”

Photo courtesy of Brave New Films

The Latest on Unemployment

The Bureau of Labor Statistics released its Employment Situation Summary today.  Key points include:

• Unemployment rate remains at 9.7%
• Employment fell in construction and information, while temporary help services added jobs.
• Average hourly earnings increased by $0.03.

According to a Business Week report, the smallest businesses may be adding jobs.  “..data from payroll companies suggest that losses at the smallest businesses have stopped and those businesses are beginning to hire,” wrote John Tozzi.

*Have you hired new employees this year?

Tax Time

April 15 is the deadline for filing taxes and news related to taxes is abundant, from the governments’ cracking down on small business owners misclassifying workers as independent contractors, to tips on getting small business tax deductions and “loss carry back.”

What’s Your News?

What’s new with your small business?  Feel free to leave a comment below.

For the Month of January

• Businesses that have fewer than 50 employees lost 12,000 workers.
• Companies in the 50 to 499 employee range added a net of 9,000 jobs.

These statistics paint a picture of an economy that still suffers from some affects of the recession but is also en route to recovery.  Small business owners can take various avenues towards raising money to build up their businesses, hire new workers and be part of an economic recovery.

• Obama’s recent proposals, including a $5,000 per worker hiring tax credit

-          View an outline of proposed tax credits for small business owners here.

• Business Cash Advance

-          Get up to $500,000 in unsecured business funds and use the cash however you choose.

The last time the jobless rate dropped in Texas was in June 2008 when the rate fell from 4.5 percent to 4.4 percent.

Tom Paukin, The Chairman of the Texas Workforce Commission was quoted as saying “Job growth coupled with a lower unemployment rate indicate a movement in a positive direction”.

The biggest job increases came from mining and logging industries with 5,100 jobs. Hospitality and leisure jobs grew by about 4,800. Jobs in the finance sector grew 4,700, and education and health jobs grew by 4,600.

Although Texas’s jobless rate is below the national average; Ronny Congleton, the commissioner representing labor was quoted as saying “Job growth in the last two months has been encouraging, however, we know many Texans are still out of work.”

This past four weeks has seen fewer Americans sign up for jobless benefits as figures have shown that executives are becoming more and more confident about economic recovery.

This past 4 week average has declined to 473,750 from the previous 4 week average of 481,500, based on Labor Dept. figures. Since December 2007 (when the recession began), our economy has shed some 7.2 million jobs. This improvement is a pretty good indication that companies will begin hiring again soon, which will fuel consumer spending and lead to sustained economic recovery.

Another good sign came today from the Commerce Department which reported that the U.S. trade deficit unexpectedly shrank 7.6 percent in October and is much smaller than economist predicted.

Of course it is still too early to break out the party favors, but these signs could be a telling indicator that economic recovery may be gaining steam.