Five Career Predictions for 2013

In the following post, Dr. Tracey Wilen-Daugenti offers five career predictions for 2013 that identify workplace trends and job opportunities.

1.     Six sectors will offer on-ramps to career growth

Six career areas provide a snapshot of the new economy: business services, education, healthcare, IT, nonprofits, and manufacturing. Healthcare, the fastest-growing sector in the nation, offers obvious opportunities, but less intuitive choices such as nonprofits—which will need a projected 80,000 senior managers a year by 2016—also offer attractive prospects. Continue Reading

Good Job Report News: Private Sector Added 158,000 Jobs in October

Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody’s Analytics

Private sector employment increased by 158,000 jobs from September to October, according to the October ADP National Employment Report, which is produced by Automatic Data Processing, Inc. (ADP) 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. Continue Reading

Wellness Programs Reduce Medical Costs, Increase Productivity, and Reduce Absenteeism

In 2012, roughly two-thirds of manufacturing and distribution industry employers experienced increases to their medical insurance premiums, according to the 2012 Compensation Data Manufacturing & Distribution survey results. The average increase reported by these organizations was 10.2 percent, down from 11 percent reported in 2011. Despite the drop in the average premium increase, manufacturing and distribution organizations still contribute 10.5 percent of their total payroll costs toward providing medical insurance to their employees. Employers everywhere are looking for ways to curtail rising healthcare costs and as a result, many are turning to wellness programs.

For years, wellness programs have consisted of traditional options such as weight management, tobacco cessation programs or offering flu shots and immunizations. But over the last few years, some wellness options have shown a more accelerated rate of use. Biometric screenings, which measure an individual’s blood pressure, body mass index (BMI), cholesterol and blood glucose in an effort to identify risk factors, are a good example of this trend. In 2009, biometric screenings were offered at only 17.4 percent of manufacturing and distribution organizations surveyed, compared to 44.2 percent in 2012. Physical fitness facility access, on-site health clinics and offering rewards and incentives have also increased over the last few years. Continue Reading