Why Did The Unemployment Rate Drop?

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Courtesy WSJ.com 8:47am est

The U.S. unemployment rate dropped to 8.1% in April but a broader measure was unchanged at 14.5% and a separate survey noted that the economy added a paltry 115,000. Why the drop?

This month, the decline in the jobless rate wasn’t a positive sign, as it primarily came from people dropping out of the labor force. The unemployment rate is calculated based on people who are without jobs, who are available to work and who have actively sought work in the prior four weeks. The “actively looking for work” definition is fairly broad, including people who contacted an employer, employment agency, job center or friends; sent out resumes or filled out applications; or answered or placed ads, among other things. The rate is calculated by dividing that number by the total number of people in the labor force. When the unemployed no longer count as part of the labor force, both numbers decline and the unemployment rate falls.

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How To Get A Job Without Experience

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You know the Catch-22: “You can’t get a job without experience, and you can’t get experience without a job.”

Young job seekers have always faced this dilemma. In today’s shrinking job market, people with years of experience also struggle with it. Whether they face the reality of a layoff, or merely the threat of one, many older workers are trying to reinvent themselves in order to become marketable in a changed economy.

Whether you’re launching your career or trying to change its direction, you can get around this Catch-22 with some creativity and humility.

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US Unemployment Aid Requests Near 3-Month High

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US unemployment benefit applications little changed at 388,000, near highest level in 3 months
By Christopher s. Rugaber, AP Economics Writer | Associated Press –6:21am 4/26/12

WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of people seeking U.S. unemployment benefits remained stuck near a three-month high last week, a sign that hiring has likely slowed since winter.

The Labor Department said Thursday that weekly applications dipped 1,000 to a seasonally adjusted 388,000. It was little changed from the previous week’s figure, the highest since Jan. 7.

The four-week average, a less volatile measure, rose to 381,750, also the highest in three months.

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Company Morale:: How’s Yours?

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Want to boost employee morale in your organization? Here’s how you can bolster morale.

Employee morale describes the overall outlook, attitude, satisfaction, and confidence that employees feel at work. When employees are positive about their work environment and believe that they can meet their most important needs at work, employee morale is positive or high. If employees are negative and unhappy about their workplace, and feel unappreciated and as if they cannot satisfy their goals and needs, employee morale is negative or low.

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Positive Dialog For Evaluating Employees

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Are you a boss or supervisor and need some positive words for evaluating employees? If you are in charge of other supervisors, you may also need toevaluate their performance. We are going to look at some areas of competencyand positive words associated with them,

Positive Words for Evaluating Employees

If you are a direct supervisor or boss, you may have difficulty in assessing the different areas of an employee’s job. Some of the areas to assess are: dependability, computer skills, adaptability, people skills, personal qualities, dedication, creativity, personal development, and organizational skills.

 

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Respect:: Give It To Your Employees!

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Treating employees with respect and dignity is critical to retaining good workers, especially in a better job market. According to a survey conducted by Sirota Survey Intelligence and the authors of The Enthusiastic Employee, employees who feel they are not treated with respect by their employers are three times more likely to leave their jobs within two years than those who feel they are treated respectfully. And that’s money out of your business’s pocket.

If developing respect is not an important part of the management philosophy, a majority of employees in whom you have invested time and money to train will walk out the door after a couple of years. This may be just a blip on the bureaucratic human resources longevity chart, but the company has wasted all that time and money only to have to turn around and find, hire, and train new employees. In the meantime, company productivity lags because the employees who continue to put in their eight hours daily may have mentally quit, and their performance will show it.

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Where To Recruit GREAT Employees

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“To succeed, surround yourself with great talent.” Sounds great.

Also sounds expensive.

Hiring the best is really hard to pull off in practice, especially if your goal is to hire Lamborghinis and all you have is a Kia budget.

So what can you do? Try taking a contrarian investment approach to hiring.

People, just like stocks, are often underappreciated and undervalued, like people who have great skills but no experience in your industry. Or people who are well educated, but their education is in the “wrong” field. Or people whose current job lacks sufficient “status.”

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God At Work:: There’s No Desk Station Available

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EMPLOYEES RIGHTS TO RELIGION AT WORK

I understand that the law provides employees the opportunity for religious accommodation meaning employers should provide employee time off to worship, attend their church, and observe their religious holidays.  I have had my share of run-ins with management staff as I explained that employees can take time off to attend church and worship. To exclude any employees from practicing their religious freedom would be a form of religious discrimination.

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10 Tips To Dealing With Difficult Employees

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1. Separate, in your mind, the person’s professional role from his or her difficult personality. After all, you need this person for to contribute, but you don’t have to have to wake up or go to sleep to the obnoxious behavior day after day. Count yourself lucky not to be in a personal relationship with the employee and focus only on the professional contribution you need. Don’t engage on an emotional level (e.g., don’t get into arguments; don’t allow yourself to be goaded or your buttons to be pushed, etc.)

2. Use self-deprecating humor. This is very disarming, particularly to difficult personality types. The ability to laugh at oneself is a key indicator of emotional intelligence, or the ability to connect well with other people. Connecting and listening are the two key skills of good communicators. And being a good communicator is even more critical when you’re managing a high-demand employee.

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Tips To Reducing Your Company’s Overhead Expenses

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If you are self-employed or own a small business, you know all too well that out-of-control overhead costs can be crippling. Operating costs are a necessary evil– you need to spend money to make money, after all. But for businesses trying to weather tough economic conditions, or for start-ups just trying to break even, one month with too much overhead can be the kiss of death.

Overhead can include expenses like rent, utilities, office supplies, and advertising. And while all these expenses seem pretty normal, it doesn’t mean they are necessary. If you’re serious about cutting costs without cutting corners, the following tips can help reduce overhead in your business.

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