The national unemployment rate was 5.0 percent in April, seasonally adjusted, down from 5.1 percent in the prior month but up from 4.5 percent a year earlier. Total nonfarm payroll employment decreased by 20,000 in April from the previous month but was 462,000 higher than a year earlier

CollegeRecruiter.com, job board for college students searching for internships and recent graduates hunting for entry level jobs and other career opportunities, announced that it will no longer offer resume searching to its clients. The change, which has been planned for months, took effect on May 18th when CollegeRecruiter.com re-launched with a minimalistic and completely new look-and-feel as well as brand new job search and resume database software.

Minneapolis-headquartered Arbita merges with JobMachine to further empower its customers to hire more and better people faster. The merger will give customers access to an integrated line of services, combining job ad distribution and recruitment solutions with alternative methods for candidate sourcing.

ElectrifyingCareers is the main apprentice recruiting website created by the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) and the National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA). [We applaud them on a very catchy name!]

Career Web site Vitruva released a next-generation digital dashboard for high-accuracy job matching. Job candidates have access to job matching power tools, strict privacy controls, and notification capabilities that puts them in the driver's seat of their careers.

Gas too expensive? The Visual Slide Revolution by Dave Paradi discusses the details involved in shifting from in-person to over-the-Internet presentations. He suggests that the three biggest differences between in-person and Internet presentations are: a need to use callouts on your slides to point out the important spot since you won't be able to physically point to a spot on the screen; the need for more interaction by asking questions of understanding because you can't see if they have a puzzled look on their face; and the need to use a second computer connected as a participant so you can see exactly what the other person is seeing in case there are delays or interruptions in the connection.

Lighthouse Consulting Partners, a global provider of training solutions, announces the expansion of a strategic partnership with technology staffing and services company TEKsystems. Through the alliance, U.S. and global businesses can access a complete range of training and delivery options needed to implement new technology and gain operational efficiency through improved workforce competencies from TEKsystems' Education Services, offering more than 1,300 courses across 45 disciplines.

TeamStaff, Inc., a national provider of healthcare, logistics and administrative staffing services, announced that it has received a letter from The Nasdaq Stock Market, indicating that the Company has regained compliance with the $1.00 per share minimum closing bid price requirement for continued listing on the Nasdaq Global Market. In the letter, Nasdaq advised the Company that this matter is now closed. The Company's common stock is currently trading under the symbol "TSTFD" to denote the reverse split. Commencing May 19, 2008, the trading symbol will revert to "TSTF".

Industrial employment in Indiana dropped 2.2% over the past 12 months according to the 2008 Indiana Manufacturers Directory, a compilation of state industry published annually by Manufacturers' News, Inc.(MNI). MNI reports Indiana lost 15,118 industrial jobs from March 2007 to March 2008 -- comparable to the 2.4-percent decline MNI reported for the state during the 2006-2007 period and matching the 2.2-loss loss experienced by the U.S. as a whole within the past 12 months.

Peopleclick, Inc., a global talent acquisition solutions provider, announced that three of its clients placed in the top 20 on Hire Strategies' Top 100 List of Retail Career Sites. The Body Shop was given the highest honor, as the winner of the best overall retail career website. T-Mobile placed fourth, while Vodafone was ranked 13 in the top 100 list.

FLMA Changes
President Bush recently signed into law the National Defense Authorization Act of 2008. This act amends the Family Medical Leave Act of 1993 ("FMLA") by creating two new qualifying events for which an employee may take leave. Both address leave to be taken by employees who are related to Armed Services members. First, the act authorizes a spouse, son, daughter, parent, or next of kin to take up to twenty-six work weeks of leave during a twelve month period to care for a member of the Armed Forces who: is undergoing medical treatment, recuperation, or therapy; is otherwise in outpatient status; or is otherwise on the temporary disability retired list for a serious injury or illness. Second, it allows an employee to take leave for a "qualifying exigency" arising out of the fact that the spouse, son, daughter, or parent of the employee is in the Armed Forces and is on active duty or has been notified of an impending call or order to active duty. By its express terms, this provision is not effective until the United States Secretary of Labor issues final regulations defining "qualifying exigency." These changes impact employment law and employers who are governed by the FMLA. Such employers should notify employees of the new leave entitlements and should review and update their FMLA policies and procedures to reflect these changes.