The national unemployment rate was 5.1 percent in March, seasonally adjusted, up from 4.8 percent in the prior month and from 4.4 percent a year earlier. Total nonfarm payroll employment decreased by 80,000 in March from the previous month, but increased by 536,000 from a year earlier.

Congratulations to Shawn Boyer, a young lawyer, who recognized a business niche when a friend had trouble finding an internship. Boyer was named National Small Business Person of 2008 for turning his idea into a multi-million dollar job-posting web site,Snagajob.com.

New Internet venture Applicant Tree "offers a tremendous value to businesses looking to recruit top talent. The recruiting industry believes that the best candidates are the ones content in their current jobs, but whom statistics show would happily look at an attractive offer. The key has been to connect them with the right opportunity. Applicant Tree will encourage these people to post their resumes by offering to pay them whenever a company wants to look at their profile."

Honor Roll Online, a college-centric provider of professional careers services, announced a joint effort to connect top graduates from leading, smaller universities for internships at Shakespeare Squared, a full-service development company serving educational and trade publishers.

Survey Says
Close to three-quarters of executives (73%) are willing to sacrifice at least one percent of their salaries to fund their companies' "green" initiatives, according to the latest Executive Quiz from Korn/Ferry International, a global provider of talent management solutions. The greatest number of respondents (40%) would be willing to forgo between one and two percent of their salaries. Though a small minority, 3% of respondents would be willing to sacrifice upwards of 10% of their salaries. Meanwhile, more than one-quarter (27%) of executives would be unwilling to sacrifice any portion of their salary to support sustainability efforts.

InDepth
In the information technology (IT) industry, money talks, but it's not the only employee-loyalty tool, a new survey shows. When chief information officers (CIOs) were asked to identify the most effective ways to keep IT staff, compensation (27 percent) topped the list. Providing opportunities for professional development was close behind, cited by 21 percent of respondents; another 18 percent said flexible schedules helped to improve retention rates.

The survey was developed by Robert Half Technology, a leading provider of information technology professionals on a project and full-time basis, and conducted by an independent research firm. It is based on telephone interviews with 1,400 CIOs across the United States.

CIOs were asked, "Which of the following elements have you found most effective at improving IT staff retention?"

Increased compensation - 27%
Professional development or training - 21%
Offering flexible schedules - 8%
Telecommuting - 7%
Extra vacation days or time off - 6%
Granting company stock or options - 2%
Other - 1%
None - 7%
Don't know - 11%

Lee noted that IT workers, in particular, appreciate professional development opportunities that help them keep up with changes in the industry. "Offering employees options for building their skills enhances their effectiveness on the job and demonstrates an investment in their long-term career growth."

Effective Retention Programs
Robert Half Technology offers the following advice for improving retention rates:

-- Pay competitively.
Periodically benchmark employee compensation against industry-standard ranges to ensure your salaries are keeping pace. Robert Half Technology produces an annual Salary Guide with salary ranges for more than 60 IT positions.
-- Offer and promote training.
Provide IT staff access to the courses and certification programs they need to grow their careers. Make sure employees are aware of professional development opportunities.
-- Support work/life balance.
To prevent teams from burning out, ensure that workloads are realistic. Encourage employees to ask for help when they need it, and consider bringing in project professionals to help during peak periods.

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