The Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) increased 1.0 percent in May, prior to seasonal adjustment. The May level of 212.788 (1982-84=100) was 4.5 percent higher than in May 2007.

The Chained Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (C-CPI-U) increased 0.6 percent in May on a not seasonally adjusted basis. The May level of 124.645 (December 1999=100) was 3.6 percent higher than in May 2007.

Real Earnings: May 2008. Real average weekly earnings fell by 0.4 percent from April to May after seasonal adjustment, according to preliminary data. A 0.3-percent increase in average hourly earnings partially offset a 0.7-percent increase in CPI-W. Average weekly hours were unchanged.

Average weekly earnings rose by 3.2 percent, seasonally adjusted, from May 2007 to May 2008. After deflation by the CPI-W, average weekly earnings decreased by 1.2 percent. Before adjustment for seasonal change and inflation, average weekly earnings were $601.10 in May 2008, compared with $583.01 a year earlier.

Workstream Inc., provider of on-demand compensation, performance and talent management solutions, announced that it terminated its February 2008Agreement and Plan of Merger with Empagio Acquisition LLC and SMB Capital Corporation, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Empagio.

Raet, an HR and payroll provider in Holland, and StepStone, a European provider of total talent management solutions, have joined forces in the Dutch e-recruitment market. Raet will extend its portfolio with the new Raet e-recruitment module based on StepStone Solutions' technology, allowing it to further optimise the recruitment process.

VirtualJobCandy.com "represents a new kind of interactive space for virtual job employers and seekers-where virtual employers can interface with the specialized types of knowledge and vision virtual job candidates bring to virtual world experiences."

Kenexa has been selected by Cincinnati-based Convergys Corporation to provide three on-line applications (Kenexa Prove It!®, Kenexa Interview Builder® and custom developed Kenexa Selectors) that scientifically assess employees for business-critical frontline positions.

The New York Court of Appeals rules in favor of Bernard Hodes Group, Inc. by defining what constitutes the payment of a commission to a worker. The Court clarified New York State Labor Law viz questions from the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in Elaine Pachter v. Bernard Hodes Group, Inc. Ms. Pachter, a former commissioned employee at Bernard Hodes, claimed business costs were improperly deducted from her earnings. New York Labor Law prohibits employers from making deductions from the "wages" of employees, except for specific, authorized deductions for insurance, pensions, union dues and a few other purposes. In Ms. Pachter's situation, she was paid commissions based on a formula in which finance charges, late fees, uncollectible bills to clients and part of the cost of her assistant were subtracted from a percentage of the sales she generated. The Court held that nothing in New York's Labor Law prevents employees and employers from agreeing to a formula that includes both the sales an employee produces and the costs involved in making those sales. The Court held that a company does not have to have a written agreement but can rely on an oral agreement or one implied by the course of conduct between the employer and the employee. The Court found "ample support for the conclusion" that Ms. Pachter had an implied contract in her 11 years with Bernard Hodes under which the final computation of her commissions depended on the deductions of work-related expenses.