CHICAGO – For the second straight year, United Airlines will donate one million MileagePlus miles to Make-A-Wish Illinois, a donation that will help children with life-threatening illnesses reach their wish destinations. The airline donated the miles as part of the annual Make-A-Wish Mileathon held last week.

United pledged to match up to one million miles donated by its MileagePlus members during the one-day Mileathon – part of the Make-A-Wish "Wishes in Flight" program. Several United employees also volunteered at the event, raising charity miles from Make-A-Wish supporters and MileagePlus members.

"United has been a proud partner of Make-A-Wish for more than 15 years," said Martin Hand, United's senior vice president of customer experience and a Make-A-Wish America board member. "We are grateful to our MileagePlus members for their generous donations, and we are thrilled to continue supporting this special program on behalf of all our customers."

United employees regularly collaborate with local Make-A-Wish chapters, helping fulfill travel wishes for children with life-threatening illnesses and their families. Make-A-Wish is one of United's top recipients for charity miles, with United employees and customers donating more than 500 million miles to date. Through these donations, the airline has helped fulfill more than 3,125 wishes for children with life-threatening medical conditions.

Visit Make-A-Wish at wish.org to learn more.

SCHAUMBURG – Experian Automotive last week announced that new vehicle leasing rose by 12.5 percent to achieve the highest level since it began tracking the data in 2006.

According to its State of the Automotive Finance Market report, lleasing accounted for a record 27.5 percent of all new vehicles financed, up from 24.4 percent in 1Q 2012. Additionally, findings from the report showed that the average monthly payment for a new vehicle financed in 1Q was $459, down from $462 in 1Q 2012.

"Consumers tend to shop for vehicles based within the limits of their budget, and leasing is often seen as a viable path to a lower monthly payment," said Melinda Zabritski, senior director of Automotive Credit. "Lenders have seen overall stability come back to the market since the recession, and leasing has gradually returned as a larger part of many lender strategies."

While leasing a vehicle can help consumers achieve a lower monthly payment, the report also showed a rise in loan term lengths (65 months in 1Q 2013, up from 64 months in 1Q 2012) and a decrease in interest rates (4.5 percent in Q1 2013, down from 4.6 percent in Q1 2012), which helped to keep payments low for new vehicles financed.

In Q1, the average loan amount for a new vehicle financed increased by $628, going from $26,020 in 1Q 2012 to $26,648 in 1Q 2013. The average used vehicle loan increased $461, going from $17,071 in 1Q 2012 to $17,532 in 1Q 2013.

The report also showed that consumers within all credit tiers were able to obtain financing. Most notably, loans going to consumers with credit outside of prime (nonprime, subprime and deep subprime) jumped to 45.2 percent of the overall loan market in 2013, up from 44.4 percent in 2012.

For new vehicles, the share of these loans jumped to 25.1 percent in 2013 from 23.2 percent in 2012. For used vehicles, nonprime, subprime and deep-subprime loans accounted for 57.7 percent market share in 2013, up from 56.8 percent in 2012.

In other trends:

• The average credit score for a new vehicle loan dropped to 755 in 1Q 2013, down from 760 in 1Q 2012.

• The average credit score for a used vehicle loan dropped to 657 in 2013, down from 659 in 2012.

• Finance companies had 15.5 percent market share, up 5.1 percent from 2012.

• Banks had 39.5 percent market share, down 1.7 percent from 2012.

• Captive finance companies had 17.3 percent market share, up 3.4 percent.

• Credit unions had 16.7 percent market share, up 0.4 percent.

About Experian Automotive: Experian Automotive provides information services and market intelligence that enables results-driven professionals to gain the fullest possible understanding of the market, the vehicles and the people who buy them. Its North American Vehicle Database houses data on nearly 700 million vehicles and, when combined with Experian's credit, consumer and business information, provides an integrated perspective into the automotive marketplace. For more information, visit www.experian.com/Automotive.

According to survey by Monster Worldwide Inc., 42 percent of employed job seekers are dissatisfied with their current job, with a surprising majority (81 percent) of the employed expecting to actively search for a new job in the next year.

Desire for higher compensation, seeking a better skills match, and personal fulfillment were listed by those currently employed as top reasons for seeking a new job. Conversely, over a third (36 percent) of participants are searching for a new job due to job loss.

The survey also indicated that job seekers, whether employed or unemployed, were generally confident of finding a job. In fact, 79 percent of the employed and 75 percent of the unemployed job seekers felt confident about acquiring a new job in the next year.

“Our survey revealed that an overwhelming number of job seekers are in search of a more fulfilling job experience,” said Jeffrey Quinn, vice president of Monster’s Global Insights. “Unemployed job seekers continue to visit Monster to identify their hiring opportunities, while employed job seekers appear to be expressing greater confidence in entering the job market in search of a fulfilling career.”

While many job seekers express confidence in finding a new job, many are also frustrated. More than half (56 percent) report they are struggling to find a job matching their salary, title and location preferences. In addition, a sizable amount (47 percent) cannot find jobs for which they are qualified. More than one-third (38 percent) of respondents indicate employers do not understand their skills and experiences.

About the survey: Monster’s “U.S. Workforce Talent” study surveyed nearly 6,000 job seekers who are currently employed or desire employment in the next 12 months via an online survey. The study was designed to be inclusive of all Monster job seekers who have actively used their My Monster account over the past 3 years. The survey ran from Jan. 4 to Feb. 18.

According to a recent study by the National Association of Colleges and Employers, nearly 1.8 million college graduates will enter the job market in 2013. To help recent grads land their first job, Cartridge World, the leading ink and toner retailer, is offering free résumé printing services.

To receive free printing of 15-25 copies of a résumé, Cartridge World
stores invite new college graduates to stop by in June with their résumé on a USB flash drive (two-page maximum length, one-color printing).

“A successful job hunt starts with a great résumé, and Cartridge World is
here to help local grads get the job done right,” said Tom McLaughlin,
marketing director, in a press release. “We have 600 locally-owned Cartridge World stores across North America who understand the value of local networking and community support. ‘Keeping it local’ is great place to start a job search – especially with the local chamber of commerce and business organizations.”

Cartridge World offers these résumé writing tips:

• Format matters. Limit your résumé to one page. Put references on a
separate page. Use a 1-inch margin on all four sides. Bullet-point skills
and achievements for easy identification.

• Online vs. print résumés. In today’s digital world, most employers will
receive résumés via email or on a job board. However, a hard copy sent by mail can grab an employer’s attention. Always bring a hard copy to a job interview.

• Choose a universal font. A traditional serif type font, such as Times
New Roman, is the easiest for employers to read. Avoid Arial, which can
look too plain and lose the reader’s attention.

• Cover letters are key. According to a survey by Creighton University,
more than 85 percent of U.S. employers said cover letters were “very
important” to include – even if the employer only spends one minute
looking at it. Use a cover letter to supplement facts and skills, and
express your personality and passion.

Area Cartridge World locations are at 3106 Three Oaks Road in Cary, 17E Crystal Lake Plaza in Crystal Lake, and 1809 S. Route 31, McHenry.

For more information visit www.CartridgeWorld.com.

The Chicago Booth/Kellogg School Financial Trust Index issued last week found that trust in America’s financial system has reached 27 percent, its highest level reported since 2008 at the beginning of the economic crisis. This is a five-point increase from the last Index issued in December 2012. Despite the increase in trust, the report also finds that half of Americans say they are angry about the current economic situation.

“The driving factor of this increase is trust towards the stock markets and banks,” said Luigi Zingales, co-author of the Financial Trust Index and Robert C. McCormack Professor of Entrepreneurship and Finance and the David G. Booth Faculty Fellow at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

Trust in banks soared to 40 percent in the latest survey from 28 percent in March, while trust in the stock market rose to 19 percent from 13 percent. However, 52 percent of people now consider the stock market overvalued, while 19 percent say it is undervalued.

“On the housing front, the survey also found 46 percent of people expect home prices to rise in the next 12 months,” said Paola Sapienza, co-author of the Financial Trust Index and the Merrill Lynch Capital Markets Research professor of finance at the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. “This is up from 40 percent in the December 2012 Index.”

The Chicago Booth/Kellogg School Financial Trust Index measures public opinion over three-month periods to track changes in attitude.

About the survey: On a quarterly basis, the Financial Trust Index captures the amount of trust that Americans have in the institutions in which they can invest their money. The survey is conducted by Social Science Research Solutions as part of its weekly national telephone survey. In the most recent wave, a total of 1,012 individuals were surveyed by live interviewers March 20-27. The institutions considered in the survey are banks, the stock market, mutual funds and large corporations.