Hiring Fell in March As Employers Watched Economy

Morning Coffee is a robust blend of links to news around the Internet concerning the Naval Air Station Patuxent River economic community. The opinions expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of the Leader’s owners or staff.

Pentagon contracts fell 52% in April from last month, 22% from a year earlier, Bloomberg Government reported.

Job openings were down, terminations up in March, reflecting employers’ “wait-and-see” attitudes on economic performance, says Labor Department report, according to Bloomberg News.

Salaries for government cyber experts are lagging private industry; brain drain feared, says study released Tuesday and reported by NextGov.

Robotic weapons should not have power over human life, says a draft United Nations report to be debated in Geneva later this month, reports the Associated Press.  The report specifically mentions the Navy’s Phalanx system for Aegis-class cruisers and the X-47B unmanned air system.

President Obama says  “no tolerance” for a 37 percent increase in military sexual assaults from 2011 to 2012 – most ever, reports The Hill.

Preparing for potential conflict in the Taiwan Strait appears to remain the principal focus of China’s military investment, according to the Pentagon’s China report released Tuesday, says Aviation Week.

Pentagon:  China’s fifth-generation J-20 and J-31 jets won’t be operational before 2018, FlightGlobal reports.

DoD narrowing request window from 90 to 30 days for periodic re-investigations of contractor security clearances, Defense News reports.

3D printers have introduced the age of DIY weapons – “WikiWeps,” Defense Update says.