More Highly Educated People on Food Stamps and Other Forms of Welfare

Many people might not believe that college graduates with multiple degrees would have a hard time finding a job in their fields.  However, according to the following infographic, more of these graduates are having to settle for jobs not in their fields just to make it everyday. Continue Reading

Video: The Ultra-Flexible Hidden Corner of the Job Market

Plenty of people need jobs with very flexible hours — but it’s difficult for those people to connect with the employers who need them. In this Ted Talk, Wingham Rowan explains how the same technology that powers modern financial markets can help employers book workers for slivers of time.

Wingham is the Project Director of Slivers-of-Time Working, a U.K.-based, government-funded initiative that uses advanced (but easy-to-use) trading technology to help individuals who need to work on their own terms and at times of their choosing connect with employers who need their labor. Employers expanding their workforce in this new way include local authorities, housing associations, National Health Service Primary Care Trusts, retailers and caterers.

Rowan is the former producer and presenter of the UK’s longest running television series about the Internet, cyber.cafe, and the presenter of the children’s TV program Rowan’s Report. He’s is the author of two books about the social potential of online markets.

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Strengthening the American Workforce through Innovation

The following post explains a new initiative for career development to create a better prepared workforce in the U.S. for employment opportunities.

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Strengthening the American Workforce through Innovation

Despite Hurricane Sandy, Jobs Up 146,000 and Unemployment Down From 7.9 to 7.7%

Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 146,000 in November, and the unemployment rate edged down to 7.7 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Employment increased in retail trade, professional and business services, and health care.

Hurricane Sandy made landfall on the Northeast coast on October 29th, causing severe damage in New Jersey, New York, and other states. Nevertheless, the BLS survey response rates in the affected states were within normal ranges. Its analysis suggests that Hurricane Sandy did not substantively impact the national employment and unemployment estimates for November.
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We Should Help Prison Inmates Become Entrepreneurs Upon Their Release

Jeff Smith was once an up-and-coming star in the Missouri State Senate. He went to prison for a year for covering up an election law violation. Since his release, he’s created a new space for himself as a professor, writer, political commentator and advocate for those he was locked up with.

But what Jeff discovered inside wasn’t what he expected — he saw in his fellow inmates boundless ingenuity and business savvy. He asks: Why don’t we tap this entrepreneurial potential to help ex-prisoners contribute to society once they’re back outside? Continue Reading

118,000 New Private Sector Jobs in November Would Have Been 204,000 If Not For Hurricane Sandy

Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody’s Analytics

Private sector employment increased by 118,000 jobs from October to November, according to the November ADP National Employment Report®, which is produced by Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (ADP®), a leading provider of human capital management solutions, in collaboration with Moody’s Analytics. The report, which is derived from ADP’s actual payroll data, measures the change in total nonfarm private employment each month on a seasonally-adjusted basis. The October 2012 report, which reported job gains of 158,000, was revised down by 1,000 to 157,000 jobs.

Goods-producing employment rose by 4,000 jobs in November as gains in construction jobs of 23,000 more than offset the 16,000 decline in manufacturing employment. Continue Reading

Lessons Learned by Employers Impacted by Hurricane Sandy

Mark Mehler and Gerry Crispin of CareerXroads

By Mark Mehler and Gerry Crispin of CareerXroads

Four weeks after Sandy, life is getting back to normal – or is it? Walking the dog around a relatively unscathed block of homes in central NJ (miles from the shore), reminders are everywhere. Tons of debris in front of every home (more than 40 homes); the noise of still more 75-foot oak trees being cut while leaning precariously over homes rends the air; blue tarps draped over roofs (5 homes) that were speared with limbs weighing tons; and a flatbed truck finally easing up behind a flattened neighbor’s car (where my 75 foot oak fell). I check to make sure he doesn’t accidentally take the new car next to it.

Sandy was a storm that has little comparison even to Katrina although we can take some comfort that lessons learned from that catastrophic event seven years ago were likely responsible for preparations last month that saved lives – response speed and pre-positioning among them. Continue Reading

Employment Prospects Improving for Military Veterans

Brent Rasmussen of Careerbuilder

Despite higher than average unemployment rates, employment prospects for U.S. military veterans may be improving.

According to a new CareerBuilder study, 29 percent of employers say they are actively recruiting veterans to work for their organizations, up 9 percentage points from a year ago. Twenty-two percent are planning on adding members of the National Guard to their headcount, up 8 percentage points. Sixty-five percent said they would be more likely to hire a veteran over another equally qualified candidate. The survey was conducted by Harris Interactive^© of more than 2,600 employers nationwide from August 13 to September 6, 2012.

Where The Job Opportunities Are

Employers are looking to leverage the technical and leadership skills of military personnel, with 3 in 10 hoping to fill information technology positions with veterans. The most common areas for hiring U.S. service men and women are: Continue Reading

Should Unemployed Veterans Be Deployed for Hurricane Sandy Relief?

After months or years fighting overseas, 92 percent of American veterans say they want to continue their service; meanwhile, one after another, natural disasters continue to wreak havoc worldwide. What do these two challenges have in common? Team Rubicon co-founder Jake Wood gives a moving talk on how veterans can effectively contribute to disaster relief responses — and in the process, regain purpose, community and self-worth. Continue Reading

Top 4 Industries for Those With Associate’s Degrees

Photo courtesy of Shutterstock.

According to a recent survey of nearly 5,000 associate degree students, the overall top industries for this student group to begin their careers were government, human services, social services, and then education.

“The interest in government as a career option is particularly noteworthy,” writes NACE’s director of strategic and Foundation research Ed Koc. “However, when one considers the large percentage of associate degree students who are majoring in healthcare and social work [a combined 36 percent] and those who intend to pursue a bachelor’s degree in education, the result is less surprising.” Continue Reading