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.

In April, the number of unemployed dropped by 173,000, but so did the number of people employed — by 169,000. That indicates that those people didn’t necessarily find new jobs, since the overall labor force declined by 342,000.

When people leave the labor force it could be due to discouragement of the long-term unemployed or by choice over retirement or child care. The labor force has dropped dramatically over the course of recession and recovery, and concerns have been raised it was due to discouraged workers.

To be sure, the moves in the household survey are volatile. This month’s numbers follow a similar move in March, but are a deviation from a trend earlier this year. January and February saw workers returning to the labor force, and strong growth in the number of people employed. This month could just be payback for recent strength in the survey.

Meanwhile, the broader unemployment rate, known as the “U-6″ for its data classification by the Labor Department, was unchanged in April. The U-6 figure includes everyone in the official rate plus “marginally attached workers” — those who are neither working nor looking for work, but say they want a job and have looked for work recently; and people who are employed part-time for economic reasons, meaning they want full-time work but took a part-time schedule instead because that’s all they could find.

Even though the broader rate dropped, there were more discouraged workers in April and the number of part-time employees who want full-time work also increased.

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.

Here’s how I did it:

I was a clinical psychologist in a community mental health center. It was professionally satisfying and financially unrewarding. I decided it was time to make more money. I would become a business consultant.

Imagine my surprise to learn that I could not find a single company eager to hire me. Apparently, they couldn’t see that my ability to counsel sexual offenders was a transferable skill!

I couldn’t get business experience without getting hired. I couldn’t get hired without business experience. What to do?

At a party, I met Dr. Charles Daily, an organizational psychologist and entrepreneur. Dr. Daily was trying to market a new product to help companies make better hiring decisions. He had a good idea and no money to hire someone to help him realize it.

I said to Dr. Daily, “I’ll do telemarketing cold calls for your new product. But I insist on being paid. The first payment will be a title appropriate to the job I will be doing – say, ‘Business Development Associate.’” The second payment, if I fulfill my end of the deal, will be a good reference and introductions to colleagues who might be able to help me.”

For the next two months, two days a week, I did my best to help Dr. Daily get traction for his new service. I made hundreds of calls – hating every one of them. I ultimately was able to set up two in-person appointments for Dr. Daily.

Neither of those led to new business. But Dr. Daily said my job had been to open doors; it was his job to close deals. I’d performed well and would get paid, in the form of introductions to some business associates. Those introductions, along with a resume that included my new title, eventually led to a job with a talent management-consulting firm.

How can you use such a strategy to get out of the no-win loop that circumscribes your professional growth?

Look for a company with a great idea and no money to execute it. Then:

1. Be specific about what value you will provide. I wanted experience in the sales and marketing of professional services. I said I would make phone calls and get appointments for Dr. Daily. I didn’t say I would generate sales because I didn’t think I could do that.
2. Be specific about what value you will receive. For me, appropriate compensation was a title I could add to my resume and introductions and a reference from Dr. Daily. Compensation is about value received for value given – and you’re thinking too narrowly if you define value only in monetary terms.
3. Be specific about time frame. I promised to work two days a week for two months. Be sure that your commitment doesn’t preclude you from actively continuing a job search – or performing well enough to keep your present job.

What? You’re too proud to offer your services at no charge? Get over it. If you choose the right opportunity, you’ll gain industry or functional experience that has immeasurable value – and will ultimately lead to a real paycheck.

Larry Stybel is co-founder of the global career management firm Stybel Peabody Lincolnshire. He also is Executive in Residence at the Sawyer School of Business at Suffolk University.

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.

Applications jumped sharply three weeks ago, a sign that employers had stepped up layoffs and added fewer jobs. Economists said the increase might have been inflated by temporary layoffs during the spring holidays, when many school employees are laid off.

But applications haven’t dropped back since then. Analysts predict that job gains of about 175,000 will be reported for April when the government issues the month’s employment report next week. That’s below the average of 250,000 jobs added per month from December-February.

The report “adds to concern about backsliding in job creation after faster employment gains earlier in the year,” said Jonathan Basile, an economist at Credit Suisse.

The increase in applications follows a report this month that hiring slowed in March, when employers added only 120,000 jobs.

Still, many economists suggested that weather might have distorted the March jobs report. A warmer winter likely pulled some hiring that normally would have occurred last month into January and February. They have noted that the economy has added an average of 212,000 jobs a month in the January-March quarter, well ahead of last year’s pace.

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke agreed Wednesday that weather has likely disrupted recent data.

The warm winter “made perhaps January and February artificially strong and March perhaps artificially a little bit weak,” he said at a news conference. “I wouldn’t draw too much conclusion from the March report.”

Despite the slowing improvements, the job market appears healthier than it did last year. The unemployment rate has fallen to 8.2 percent from 9.1 percent in August.

Part of the drop was related to people gave up looking for work. People who are out of work but not looking for jobs aren’t counted among the unemployed.

Economists note that unemployment benefit applications are lower than they were last year. The government’s report next week on April employment should help clarify the jobs picture.

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.

Employee morale is defined by the employee’s outlook, optimism, self-concept, and assured belief in themselves and their organization, its mission, goals, defined path, daily decisions, and employee appreciation. Faith in self and faith in their organization are both important factors in positive employee morale.

Improve Employee Morale

Factors that can contribute to positive employee morale include, but are not limited, to these. Almost anything you do that contributes to a positive work environment for employees helps to build employee morale. When you take care of factors such as these, employee morale can remain high even in turbulent, uncertain times.

• treating employees with respect
• providing regular employee recognition
• empowering employees
• offering open and regular communication about factors important to employees
• providing feedback and coaching
• offering above industry-average benefits and compensation
• providing employee perks and company activities
• positively managing employees within a success framework of goals, measurements, and clear expectations

You can measure your organization’s success in developing and fostering positive employee morale by using the methods described in measuring employee satisfaction. Building positive employee morale is not difficult, but it takes desire, commitment, and attention on the part of management and the organization.

Courtesy Ask.com

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,

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.

How well respected employees feel is also directly related to how enthusiastic they are about their jobs. Enthusiasm can make every aspect of your business more of a glowing success. When I was CEO of LifeUSA, many of our employees were very outspoken in their personal assessment of the company and its treatment of employees. In their phone calls, memos, personal conversations, and letters, they would frequently mention how proud they felt to be working for an organization that respected their accomplishments and treated them with the respect they deserved. This type of adulation is not important for the individual manager, but it is important for the overall success of the culture and is earned by a management with communication of respect that is consistent, concise, and constant.

Trickle-Down Effect of Respect

One of the surprising results of the Sirota survey-and one that supports the employee-as-major-asset theme of this post-is what I call the trickle-down effect noted in many businesses. The company executives at the top get the lion’s share of everything nifty a corporation has to offer, and the rank employees get the scraps-including respect.

Employees in bureaucratic cultures feel that non-management employees are treated with less respect than management (especially senior management). In fact, one recent study showed that while almost half of senior-level managers feel they are shown a great deal of respect, just one-quarter of supervisors and only 20 percent of nonmanagement employees feel the same way.

It does not surprise me to learn that the survey discovered that one out of every seven nonmanagement employees actually feels he or she is treated poorly or very poorly. Are you surprised? You shouldn’t be.  I wrote at length about employee respect and bureauracy in my recent book, Beat the System.

Most bureaucratic cultures treat their lower-ranking employees like cogs in an unfeeling machine, while top managers hog most of the salaries, bonuses, stock options, perks, and favorable treatment. Nothing is in parallel. Everything favors top management.

If you’re a smart manager, you’ll find ways to develop respect for all your employees and reward them — top to bottom. I think you’ll be surprised by the results to your bottom line.

Courtesy bobmaconbusiness.com

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.”

Or people who suffer due to negative social stereotypes.

The key to finding great talent at a price you can afford is to be a hiring contrarian. Go against the grain. Go against conventional wisdom. Then you can find your next superstar while giving someone deserving a chance to show what they can really do.

Here are some examples of great talent that are often hiding in plain view:

Career switchers
Teachers are a great example. Many love to teach but grow to dislike the relatively low pay. Teachers are excellent trainers, understand how to manage different personalities, and are great at motivating, encouraging, and nurturing other people.

While you can train skills, do you have the time and resources to “train” your employees to possess qualities like those?

Where career switchers are concerned, the key is to ignore their industry and look at the qualities the person possesses: Good salespeople are self-starters. Good police officers work well under pressure. Good mechanics are excellent troubleshooters.

With a little training, outstanding people excel in almost any job.

Athletes
I might be biased, but I think sports create an excellent training ground for business. A recent graduate who played a sport is self-disciplined, motivated, great at multitasking, able to overcome adversity, appreciates the value of teamwork… aren’t those qualities you want your employees to have?

Every year approximately 400,000 student-athletes graduate from college and enter the job market. Snap one up.

Military
This time I’m definitely biased. I hired hundreds of people and definitely made mistakes, but I never regretted a single ex-military hire.

Not one.

If you need a leader (and who doesn’t?)  the military is probably the only organization that puts as much or more emphasis on leadership training as it does on skills training.

If you need someone to see a task through, or to be able to follow as well as lead, or to be able to make smart decisions on the fly-and stand behind those decisions, go with a veteran.

You’ll be glad you did.

Not so impressive current job
You glance at a resume: The current job listed is telemarketing, or fast food, or stocking shelves. What’s your first thought?

Admit it. You think, “Well, if that’s all they’re doing now…” It’s easy to assume a person who currently has a less than wonderful job is only “worth” a job like that.

Wrong: The fast food kid probably has more customer service experience than you do, and the warehouse worker may possess the attention to detail of an accountant on performance-enhancing drugs.

Look past the job title and think about the duties and responsibilities; that’s what really matters.

Youth
Of course younger workers don’t have any experience. How could they?

You and I were young once too. Someone gave us a chance-and we worked hard to show that person they made the right decision. Make sure at least a small percentage of your new hires are young people just entering the workforce. Then you get energy, ideas, enthusiasm-and the chance to truly grow your own talent pool.

Courtesy Inc.com

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.

These rights are part The Civil Rights Act of 1964 and applies to freedom from religious discrimination, accommodation, and hostile work environment matters in both public and private workplaces.

EXAMPLES OF RELIGIOUS DISCRIMINATION IN THE WORKPLACE

In many cases, religion at work causes more problems than not in the workplace.  Practicing religion at the office or even sharing beliefs can touch on nerves, hurt feelings, and ignite high level of anger as well as passion.  Religion at work provides a veritable HR smorgasbord of workplace scenarios:

• Employee Bible Study.   As an HR Director, I arrived to the office early.  It was a Wednesday morning and was surprised to see so many employee cars in the office parking lot.  As I walked the office and facility floor, most offices were empty, so where we all the employees?  Upon further investigation I found a large group of employees in a meeting room facilitating a weekly morning employee Bible study.  I literally stopped in my tracks.  This is a problem because according to the act mention above, I need to create a workplace free from religious discrimination meaning if one religion has a Bible or religious study, all may be offered the same opportunity.

• When Employee Religious Beliefs Offend Other Employees. Picture an employee sharing their very public view and religious stance on abortion complete with a picture of a dead baby held in a woman’s arms as a screen saver on their work computer.  While he has right to his opinion and the freedom to practice his religion as he see’s fit, his office was in an open area and caused a slew of complaints from offended employees.

• When Religious Head Coverings Conflict with Dress code.  Having a great deal of experience working in a retail and customer facing setting, dress code is very important.  Muslim head coverings and other religious self-expression items like cross earrings and jewelry are allowed for employees to wear at work. To create employee rules that forbid religiously established forms of dress would be to invite a religious discrimination lawsuit. For example,  Muslim woman at a Disney-owned restaurant filed a discrimination complaint  in 2010 saying that she had repeatedly been sent home without pay for refusing to remove her head scarf at work.

DOES RELIGION BELONG AT WORK?

The holidays, preferably those of the more of the Christian variety, seem to be prime time for igniting conflict surrounding religion at work. Sometimes that’s okay; just observe the recent Rhode Island “holiday tree” controversy that grabbed the headlines  Of course, most the holiday season isn’t really about religion; it’s about vacation, family, and commercialism driving that capitalist machine where we live today.  So excuse me, if this HR hippie chick is a little jaded and not too enthusiastic about religion, specifically God at work.

I understand the power and importance of belief, community, and religion.  I happen to live smack dab in the middle of the Bible Belt here in Oklahoma.  Generally speaking, I don’t mind hearing about people’s thoughts and conversations surrounding their religion and beliefs.  I find the topic fascinating and happen to be a student of religion; constantly fascinated and reading about religion among different people and cultures.

Courtesy of guest blogger Marcy Mershaw

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.

3. Don’t take it personally. Recognize that this person is likely having difficulties with similar themes in many other professional and personal relationships. Remember that it’s not about you — it’s about this person’s prickly personality style; this will help buffer you from becoming emotionally reactive or stressed.

4. When “issues hit the fan,” focus on first on listening rather than on arguing. Use comments like, “It sounds like you’re very concerned about this aspect of the project.” Or “Do you mind filling me in on your thoughts on how we can better deal with this situation?” This lets the difficult, touchy person know you are really paying attention to his or her feelings and expertise. In turn, the employee will finishing venting sooner and then be more open to hearing what you or others have to say.

5. Ask for Clarification. Making sure you’ve heard the person correctly goes a long way in keeping communication clear. “So, if I’ve got this right, it sounds like you’re saying that we need to take another look at this quarter’s marketing communications strategy.” Or “Just to be sure we’re on the same page, are you saying that you think we need to change course in order for you to meet this deadline?” Using this technique gives the person you are speaking with a chance to confirm that you’ve heard them correctly, or refine the message. It will also mollify the employee sooner rather than later, thus giving you a speedier opening to get to your objectives.

6. In a stalemate, rely on the old standby, “We don’t have to decide this today.” Or, “Let’s sleep on it and get back to this later.” Or, “Hmm. Let me give that some thought and revisit the issue next week.”

7. Say your message in as few words as possible. The less you say, the more likely you are to be heard.

8. Don’t repeat yourself. Even if you don’t get an acknowledgment from this difficult person that he or she agrees, don’t try to “drive your point home” by saying it again a different way (you could say it 50 times and be there all afternoon, but a stubborn person won’t necessarily meet you half way.) Say it once and move on.

9. Periodically ask, “Am I making sense?” Asking for feedback as you are speaking lets the touchy employee know you are just as interested that person’s reaction and creative input than in being heard or being right.

10. Have an Open Door Policy. When people, and particularly difficult personality types, feel that you are approachable, they are more likely to keep the lines of communication flowing and less likely to let things simmer to crisis / boiling point. Conversely, employers who “table” every request to talk with , “Let’s schedule a meeting for this Thursday at 4:00” give the impression that they aren’t really interested in staying connected to their employees’ concerns, insights and ideas. People shut down communication under rigid guidelines (and are then more likely to act out in a passive-aggressive or hostile way) . On the other hand, when employers are available, people are less likely to take advantage of that policy, particularly if the employer practices good communication skills and skillfully gets the issue out on the table so that both can quickly get back to work (e.g., “Thanks for stopping by to let me know this information. Now, let’s get back to it!”)

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.

1. Go Paperless

This should be pretty obvious by now, but going paperless is a great way for a business to decrease both clutter and expenditures. You can store important documents in the cloud or on disks, sign all contracts electronically, and help save the environment as an added bonus.

You won’t have to pay for paper or ink cartridges. You can sell your printer on Craigslist. And if you back up all your paper files digitally, you might even be able to downgrade to a smaller (and cheaper) office space, saving even more money each month.

2. Splurge on an Accountant

It may seem counterintuitive to shell out big bucks for an accountant or tax service professional to do your bookkeeping. After all, these people generally charge a lot of money for their services. But if you have someone at say, H&R Block look over your taxes this April, the company’s policy is to pay any penalties or interest caused by an error on their part.

Best of all, tax and accounting professionals will be more likely to find deductions that you might have overlooked. It’s a big investment, especially for a small business. But it’s an investment worth making. You can’t put a price on peace of mind.

3. Evaluate Your Needs

Look around your office. Now, ask yourself, “What do I see here that I don’t use every day?”

Do you really need business cards in an age where you maintain a web site, a Twitter profile, and a Facebook page? How much are you paying for “premium” web hosting each month?

You shouldn’t be paying for anything you don’t need, whether it’s office equipment, supplies, or space. Which brings me to my next point…

4. Find the Perfect Space

Is your office currently in a location that makes good financial sense? Do you need to maintain a downtown storefront, or would you be better served by working from a smaller office? Do you even need an office/studio space? Could you work from home instead? How often do you need to interact with clients face-to-face?

The answers to those questions will vary depending on your industry, the size of your company, and your financial outlook for 2011. By securing a space that really suits your business, you will likely save time and be more productive.

5. Ditch Your Phone

There’s no reason you need to pay through the nose for phone service. Not in this day and age.

Again, how much you can cut back depends on the size of your company, how many employees you have, and what industry you are in. Between Skype and Google Voice, paying for phone calls and voicemail is a thing of the past, though you may still need to pay some money for international calling. Both services also have mobile apps, meaning you can stay connected on the go.

And if you need a “traditional” land line, consider VOIP over the standard offerings from phone companies in your area.

6. Make Smart Hiring Decisions

If you have to hire a new employee, hire someone who has multiple strengths. They don’t need to have a degree in Computer Science, but if your new sales rep also knows how to check your TCP/IP settings and craft press releases, that’s a huge plus. Investing in professional development for your employees is another way to keep them happy and promote long-term growth and success for your company.

7. Develop Brand Ambassadors

Advertising is expensive, and can’t guarantee consistent or impressive results. You might pay a couple hundred dollars to run a TV, radio, or print ad in your area, only to find that you drum up very little business.

A smarter idea is to get your clients to become brand ambassadors. Offer your current clients and customers incentives for talking you up, and for referring new business to you. Word-of-mouth is still a persuasive tool in our digital age, and one that people tend to take for granted. Get satisfied customers to tweet about you for discounted services, or offer current customers free services for every new client they refer to you.

The Bottom Line

It’s almost impossible to run a business without some overhead. But these operating costs can be minimized or eliminated in many cases, leaving you with more profits in your pockets. A business with streamlined operating expenses will have the best possible chance for success, so make sure you’re running a tight ship.

Resources:: Bankrate.com, Inc.com, WSJ.com