Unemployment Insurance Claims for Week Ending 2-4-12
As reported by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, initial unemployment insurance claims under all state programs for the week ending February 4 numbered 397,810, nearly 25,000 claims less than the prior week and about 43,000 claims less from the comparable in 2011. During the week ending January 28, the insured unemployment rate was 3.2 percent while the overall number of people claiming...
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A Big Bet on Human Capital: Oracle Buys Taleo
In a massive move into the human capital management space, Oracle has announced that it will acquire Taleo. Taleo is a market leader and the largest publicly held technology company in the recruitment and human capital management industry. About the acquisition, Thomas Kurian, EVP of Oracle said "Human capital management has become a strategic initiative for organizations. Taleo's industry...
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HR Data Management Correlates with Performance
Aberdeen's Human Capital Management Trends 2012 report has identified a striking relationship between key HR data management metrics and organizational performance. The study showed that organizations succeeding in metrics such as hiring, engaging, and retaining talent were most likely to improve performance. And best-in-class companies showed year-over-year improvement that was four times...
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Sendouts Releases Recruiting Software Update
The latest updated version of recruiting software Sendouts has been released with a new feature set that continues to expand the automation and simplification of the recruiting process. Program improvements include a 75 percent reduction in the number of steps required in the job order recruitment life-cycle. Regarding the improvements to the program, Sendouts President and CEO, Brian Hopcraft...
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Study Shows Many Employers Unprepared for Affordable Care Act Changes
HighRoads, the leading health care compliance and benefits management organization, has released its findings from its annual survey which polls U.S. companies about current and future processes and communications plans addressing health care compliance. Findings showed that 81 percent of companies plan to update their Summary Plan Descriptions (SPDs) to maintain compliance with the Affordable...
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The Wage Gap and Literacy: How Men and Women Compare
The Institute for Women's Policy Research, having recently analyzed data from the National Assessment of Adult Literacy, reports that low-literacy males earn more on average than their female counterparts. While the wage gap has long been known to exist between the sexes, it is most prominent between members with low literacy levels. The assessment discovered that low-literacy males have...
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Ignite your Employer Brand
Employer brand: bring this topic up at any gathering of recruiting and HR professionals and you'll either get a lot of nodding heads or someone rolling their eyes. But as recruiting and marketing come closer and closer together, more professionals are flexing their branding muscles. Employment branding has been lauded by several organizations, including CareerBuilder, as an almost foolproof...
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From Jobs to Roles: Who We are at Work is Changing
It hasn't happened yet, but folks are talking about it. Which means that it eventually WILL happen and some will prepared and some won't. What I'm referring to is, of course, the natural evolution towards role-based careers from the more traditional long-term J-O-B. Sure go ahead, screech and moan, and when you're done, take a look around at your friends. Not your parent's friends but the...
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Mobile Recruiting Trends and Stats
Researchers at the Aberdeen Group report that between October and November 2011, 73 percent of organizations use or are intending to use mobile technology to supplement their recruitment efforts. The question remains, however, as to which mobile solutions offer the greatest efficiencies in the realms of communication and candidate engagement. This is an especially relevant question today, as...
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Startup Employment Site Focuses on Stimulating Economy through Finding Local Talent
LocalWork.com, a project created by Phoenix, Arizona-based Internet marketing firm Local Work Marketing, is designed from the ground up to help stimulate local economies by creating connections between local employers and job seekers. The sites overriding goal is to help lower the unemployment rate, support local businesses, and raise the quality of life for people employed through its services....
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Number of Open Jobs is on the Upswing
As of the last day of December 2011, 3.4 million jobs were open for the month, up 0.3 million over November, as reported by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Both the rate of new hire (3.1 percent) and rate of job separation (3 percent) changed little for the month. The rate of job openings has been on the upswing since June 2009; the official end of the recession. However, the job openings...
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The Danger of Joking at Work: The Rise and Fall of Workplace Humor
The Canadian Television Network (CTV) February 4, 2012 headline served as a sad reminder of how solemn the world has become: "Man Says Workplace Quip Made Him a Terror Suspect". One variant headline for the same story reported the quip as a "joke" (which is part of the connotation of "quip"). It has to make us wonder what has happened to make workplace humor risky, where it is...
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Candidates are People too
It's been a tough year for jobseekers. Which means, in turn, it's been a tough year for the recruiters that help them. As unemployment numbers finally rebound, and attitudes from employees seemingly long trapped in companies or positions wherein they don't engage, are um...evolving, employees/candidates/applicants are starting to realize that they're people too. And survey says? They'd like to...
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Deloitte Survey Finds 401k Sponsors Not Optimistic About Employee Preparedness
While the bulk of employees and recent retirees remain confident that their 401(k) plan will provide for them well into the future, a newly released Deloitte poll found that most plan executives (84 percent) believe that only a select few percent of employees are adequately prepared for retirement. In fact, the survey found that the top goal of plan sponsors, for the second consecutive year, is...
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Global Recruitment Marketing Agency CKR Interactive Launches New HR Resource Site
CKR Interactive, an international recruitment marketing agency, has christened the New Year with the launch of a new HR resource designed to deliver information on new HR services and solutions, case studies, white papers, and other relevant research. A blog is also being planned for inclusion in the near future. The agency's expertise lies in interactive recruitment solutions, research and...
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Power Rangers Creator Inspires Office Productivity iPad App
The newly released Office Bleepster 1.2 for iPad, inspired by Power Rangers creator Haim Saban, seeks to make it possible for executives to more efficiently and respectably hand phone and office interruptions through silent interaction with assistants. The app itself transforms an iPad into a two-way Wi-Fi or Bluetooth communicator. The program includes over 25 pre-loaded instant messages...
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Recruitment Technologies a Primary Driver of Increased Productivity
Aberdeen Group, a leading third-party provider of business research, recently completed its Human Capital Management Trends report, co-sponsored by talent acquisition solutions provider iCIMS. The study discovered that best-in-class companies are boosting productivity, improving customer satisfaction, and motivating employees through the use of recruitment technologies. The efficient use of...
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Source of Hire Matters
Source of hire matters. It matters to you, it matters to your candidates and it matters to whomever in your company is the boss of ad spend. But for all the reasons it matters, it's remarkably hard to pin it down. Some would argue that source of hire is an intrinsically flawed metric because of our hyper-connected world and the constant influx of employee referral programs that have entered the...
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Job Growth Jumps in Jan
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that non-farm employment increased by nearly 250,000 jobs in January, resulting in a national unemployment rate of 8.3 percent; a 0.2 rate drop over December 2011. Private industry sectors experienced across-the-board job growth, led by gains in the professional and business services, leisure and hospitality, and manufacturing industries. Government...
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New Hire Turnover Reduced in Healthcare Firms Using Selection Assessment
Kim Lamoureux, Senior Director of Research Practices at Bersin Associates recently released a research report entitled "Selection Assessments for Acquiring and Developing Talent in the Healthcare Industry." The paper focuses on the healthcare industry on a global scale and catalogs the challenges undertaken by hiring managers within these organizations. The report reveals that about...
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Talent Management Software Firm Announces Cloud-based Employment Reference Checking
HealthcareSource, a leading provider of talent management solutions within the healthcare industry, has launched its HealthcareSource Reference Assessment; an automated, cloud-based reference checking program. The software allows jobs applicants to e-invite references to anonymously complete an online survey rating the applicant's behavior. Using an evaluation method developed using behavioral...
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U.S. Worker Confidence Increased at a Record-Breaking Pace
The Randstad Employee Confidence Index recorded its biggest jump in its history in January 2012 as it rose five points from 47.4 in December to 52.4 in January. The index measures the confidence workers have in their employment situation and estimates the level of optimism present in the labor force regarding the economic climate. Online survey company Harris Interactive, the company who...
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FOMC Demonstrates National Economy is Expanding
The meeting of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) and December 2011 revealed data suggesting that the national economy is expanding at a moderate pace, despite slowed global growth. Despite the recent improvement in labor market conditions, the national unemployment rate remains high, business fixed investment have declined and the housing market continues to lag. Other positive signs...
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Increasing Employment for People with Disabilities
In order to comply with Executive Order 13548, signed by President Obama to set a national goal to hire an additional 100,000 workers with disabilities in federal jobs before 2015, the Department of Labor has unveiled new resources being utilized to help reach this goal. New tools include: the introduction of a new website, eFedLink.org; the implementation of the Workforce Recruitment Program...
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DOL and Treasury Demand Transparency for Retirement Planning Tools
The Department of Treasury and Department of Labor are teaming up to help the nation's retired seniors economic security through granting access to more retirement planning options and information on investments. Specifically, the DOL is acting to make 401(k) plan providers make the nature and costs of their services more transparent. The Department of Treasury and IRS are moving to ease...
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Productivity and Labor Costs Announced for Fourth Quarter 2011
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that productivity within the nonfarm business sector increased at an annual rate of 0.7 percent during the final four months of 2011. The acceleration is a result of a 3.6 percent increase in output coupled with a 2.9 percent increase in number of hours worked. Productivity, output, and hours worked rose 0.5 percent, 2.3 percent, and 1.8 percent over...
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LinkedIn Connections Explained
LinkedIn connections were easy to come by when LinkedIn first started. There was a shiny, new feeling to connecting with people. A lot of professionals didn't think twice about connecting with people. Now it's 2012 and the environment is much different. LinkedIn and social networking is no longer shiny and new. The general idea of connecting with people online has been hashed out through...
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Unhappy Employees: Why You Need to Care
Employees aren't happy. There are so many studies out there that prove this it's almost a crime to link to anyone of them (but here's one). Whether it's an industry inside blog about employee engagement or a straight up op-ed piece with frightening statistics, the message is clear. Employees are just plain old dissatisfied and we are, as the old saying goes, really supposed to pay attention to...
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How (Not) to Argue for "the Right to a Job"
A campaign-trail pronouncement that "everyone has a right to a job" or a "right to a home"—like alleging that we all have the revolutionary banner rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness—sounds inspiring and reassuring if you're looking for or worrying about losing one. As a claim, either one would sound very compelling too, if it were a "God-given" or...
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DOL Re-proposes Changes to Child Labor Law
The Wage and Hour Division of The U.S. Labor Department has announced that it will re-propose its recent regulation changes to the "parental exemption" rule in its agricultural child labor laws. The re-proposal comes on the back of public outcry for more of an opportunity for public comment on the parental exemption section. The exemption loosens regulatory restrictions on allowable jobs for...
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Quarterly Job Stats Show Growth
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that 6.9 million private sector jobs were opened during the second quarter of 2011, up 554,000 over first quarter results. The same period saw private sector job losses amounting to 6.3 million, up 228,000 over the first quarter. The net change in private sector jobs for the quarter was +578,000. Job gains due to the expansion of existing employers...
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Job Trends for the Next Decade
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports the industries/professions predicted to have the fastest job growth between the years 2010 and 2020 are those related to health care, personal care and assistance, and construction. Employment within these areas is expected to grow by 14.3 percent, equivalent to over 20 million jobs. Over the next decade, entry-level jobs requiring a master's degree...
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Government Reports Lower Unemployment in Major Metros
The United States Office of Labor Statistics reports that of the 372 major metropolitan areas, 329 areas recorded lower unemployment rates over the year between December 2010 and December 2011. For the remaining 43 areas, 36 registered high unemployment rates while 7 had an unchanged rate. During December 2011, 10 metro areas recorded unemployment rates of at least 15 percent while 24 areas...
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Wake Up! Talent is Ageless
This doesn't seem to be a message that is getting through to corporate America. As recruiters and HR Professionals focus more and more on Millennials and even future workforce Generation Z, older workers seem to be getting the proverbial shaft. But is it because older workers can't adapt to what even analysts are calling a new "role-based" economy or because the new generation of workers are...
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The Brightest Brand Wins
Research from Careerbuilder has shown that organizations that possesses a strong Employer Brand will be "more effective at recruiting, have lower recruiting costs, have improved quality of candidates, possess more engaged employees and have lower employee turnover." Further research from Michigan State and University of Wisconsin-Madison showed that firms on the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work...
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US Exports on Track for Growth
The International Trade in Goods and Services report for November 2011, issued by the U.S. Census Bureau and U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, showed a decrease in U.S. exports of goods and services over the month. The $177.8 billion in exports, a 0.9 percent decline, came coupled with an increase in consumer goods exports; a record high $15.7 billion. Imports of goods and services increased by...
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GDP Grew in Fourth Quarter
The Bureau of Economic Analysis has reported that the national gross domestic product (GDP) grew at a rate of 2.8 percent for the fourth quarter 2011. The rate was further accelerated over the third quarter 2011 increase of 1.8 percent. The growth was a manifestation of positive private inventory investment contributions, personal consumption expenditures, exports, residential fixed investment,...
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Employee Compensation Costs Rise
The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the costs of compensation to non-military employees increased by 0.4 percent during the period between September and December 2011. Compensation costs primarily consist of wages and salaries (70 percent of costs) and benefits (30 percent of costs). During the three-month period ending in December, wages and salaries rose about 0.4 percent while benefits...
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Recruiting: Get It Write!
The written word didn't used to be part of everyone's job, at least not part of recruiting. Job descriptions were restricted by word count, ad space and expectation. But not anymore, as consultants, vendors and best practices all urge recruiting pros to get better at the written word. But is the pen really mightier than...well, the phone? Or any of the other fine tools at our disposal? Writing...
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DOL Creates Software Development Challenge to Raise Gender Pay Gap Awareness
In a creative attempt to address the gender gap in employment pay in the U.S. the Department of Labor and the National Equal Pay Task Force have revealed a software development contest that advocates the creation of software applications that promote equal pay for everyone. The issue of the gender payment gap continues to create discrepancies between the average salaries for men and women doing...
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City Area Unemployment Decreases
The 11 metropolitan areas with the largest populations are subdivided into 34 divisions identified as independent centers of employment. Collected in November 2011, the most recent employment data collected by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics indicate that the metropolitan area consisting of Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, California reported the highest unemployment rate in the country at...
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New SBA Course Aids Native Americans
The federal Small Business Administration (SBA) has recently launched a new business course designed to aid Native American small-business owners in getting started in the business world and in becoming informed of the programs and services offered by the U.S. government to assist in the success of American small businesses. The course, entitled Native American Small Business Primer: Strategies...
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Metro Area Unemployment Trends Reported
Recently determined unemployment rates in the 372 metropolitan areas reveal a general downward trend during November 2011, with only 16 areas reporting rate increases, and five areas remaining unchanged over the year. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics has reported that eight metropolitan areas experienced unemployment rates above 15 percent while 25 areas recorded rates below 5 percent. Nonfarm...
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Proposed FMLA Change Extends Support to Military Families
The federal Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) is scheduled for proposed updates regarding military and flight crew employees, Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis announced on January 30, 2012. The potential amendments to the act would expand current provisions and include special eligibility options for families not currently covered by the act. FMLA grants qualified employees the right to take unpaid...
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Social Media Recruitment Conference to be Held in April
According to Mike Taylor from Web Based Recruitment, recruiters who have not yet implemented social media to be included in their recruitment strategy can still do so with no ill effects. In fact, he thinks the timing may even be to their advantage. Taylor is one of the organizers of this year's Social Media in Recruitment Conference, which will be the fourth annual conference dedicated to help...
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Talent Management Trends
Talent management technology enables human resource departments to drive performance and meet the needs of business. Talent management is a strategic approach to recruiting and retaining the best talent and, though frequently existing in immature forms, is appearing in more and more organizations. However, Aberdeen's 2011 HR Executive Agenda report revealed that 39 percent of organizations...
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Labor Department Issues Union Membership Stats
The U.S. Department of Labor reports that 16.3 million waged and salary workers were members of a union in 2011. However, union members only accounted for 14.8 million of that number while non-union employees working for employers covered by a union contract numbered the remaining 1.5 million. About half of the 1.5 million non-union members were composed by government employees. During the...
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Automated Job Posting Now Offered by SmashFly
SmashFly Technologies is now offering Intellipost as part of their Recruitment Marketing Platform, which will help businesses save time and money when it comes to job postings. Leading the way in recruitment management technology, SmashFly Technologies is committed to providing quality recruitment marketing tools and resources to assist businesses hire the right candidates fast. Their platform...
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