Reveille & Hyperbole
The Employment Situation: June 2008. Nonfarm payroll employment continued to trend down in June (-62,000), while the unemployment rate held at 5.5 percent, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor. Employment continued to fall in construction, manufacturing, and employment services, while health care and mining added jobs. Average hourly earnings rose by 6 cents, or 0.3 percent, over the month. The number of unemployed persons was essentially unchanged in June, at 8.5 million, and the unemployment rate held at 5.5 percent. A year earlier, the number of unemployed persons was 7.0 million, and the jobless rate was 4.6 percent.
The Monster Employment Index edged down three points in June, as U.S. online recruitment activity eased slightly following the typically elevated early-springtime hiring period. Online job availability rose in four of the Index's 20 industry categories and in six of the 23 occupational categories measured during the month of June. Despite the slight dip overall last month, the Index's year-over-year growth rate held steady at -12 percent, suggesting no further erosion in U.S. online job demand.
While data on the declining value of homes and soaring energy and food prices continues to fuel speculation that the US economy is on the brink of recession, executive search firms believe job growth at the top of the employment market will remain resilient, according to the ExecuNet Recruiter Confidence Index (RCI). The RCI, which increased steadily during the past four consecutive months, remained just off its highest levels in nearly a year in June. According to June's survey of 138 executive recruiters, 64% are confident or very confident the executive employment market will improve during the next six months - down slightly from 66% in May, which marked a 10-month high for the Index. Nearly four-in-five recruiters (78%) are expecting at least a 10% increase in assignment growth during the second half of 2008.
Global HR consulting firm, Buck Consultants has expanded its network in Europe by investing in Phenox Actuarissen, with offices in The Netherlands, in Amsterdam and Rotterdam, and in the Caribbean, in Curaçao and Aruba. These offices align perfectly with the Buck Consultants strategy for global presence and growth. Buck's global network includes professionals in more than 35 countries.
Korn/Ferry International, global provider of talent management solutions, has changed the name of its External Affairs Center of Expertise to the Corporate Affairs Center of Expertise to support its continued growth and success.
The Salary.com Salary Value Index looks at those US cities favorable for building personal net worth, taking into account local salaries, cost of living, and unemployment relative to the national average. This year's list also factored in qualitative measures including diversity of industry, education level of the cities' population, proximity to post secondary institutions, percent of population below poverty level, and median travel time to work, resulting in an interesting and robust list of top cities.
The Invisible Hand: The real liaison in a dot-com world.
Although, you may want to be real clear about just what it's holding.