While the unemployment rate in most of the United States hovers around 9% an unlikely sounding state is booming. The current unemployment rate in North Dakota of all places is just 3.5% according the September report of the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. (Nationwide, the rate is 9.1%). An oil boom has sprung up and immunized residents from the most severe recession in decades. Wages are up, and work is plentiful. It’s almost like being on a totally different planet. People are sending resumes and getting multiple job offers within a week. Why? [Read more…] about North Dakota Jobs Booming
World’s Most Weird and Wonderful Jobs
By Isabella Woods
As many of us are only too aware, we spend a lot of time at work. According to the Paris-based Organization for Economic Cooperation & Development, the average Brit spends 1,530 hours a year working, while the average American spends even longer – a back-breaking, finger-hurting 1,896 hours every year.
Things are not going to get better either, according to Paul Macro of the actuaries Watson Wyatt. ‘For a long time, it was a common belief that rising prosperity would allow each generation to retire earlier than their parents,’ he says. But reality has now bitten. It means saving more or working longer.
With these sobering thoughts in mind, perhaps it’s time that we started considering how we make all those years of slog a little more interesting. Do a little digging, and it’s easy to discover some unusual, if not downright bizarre, employment opportunities.
Banana gasser
Not quite as Nazi as it appears, banana gassing is a process to help ripen the fruit ready for sale. After being picked, bananas are shipped while they are still green to help reduce the potential for bruising. On arrival, they are taken to hermetically sealed chambers where they are surrounded with an ethylene gas to encourage their ripening. The process can take three to eight days, with the gasser using a computer program to determine the volume and amount of exposure needed. [Read more…] about World’s Most Weird and Wonderful Jobs
Compensation Costs Up in September 0.3 Percent
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics released the compensation costs for U. S. civilian workers on Friday October 28th. Wages and salaries are up 0.3% or roughly 1/3rd of 1% for the month. This represents 70% of the total of the cost of maintaining employees. The remaining 30% of the cost comes from benefits and they rose 0.1% over the month.
On an annual basis, employment costs have risen 2.0% for the 12 months ending September 2011. This is compared to an annual inflation rate of 3.87% based on the Bureau of Labor Statistics CPI-U. This is the most widely used measure of inflation. So even though costs rose almost 3.9% wages only rose 2% leaving the average wage earner 1.87% worse off than last year. This of course is not as bad as the nearly 10 of the working population that is currently unemployed.
OECD Unemployment Rate Hovering at 8.2% in July
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) released its report on unemployment in OECD countries today.
The unemployment rate for the entire OECD area was unchanged for the fifth consecutive month at 8.2% in July 2011. The Euro area unemployment rate was unchanged at 10.0% for the second consecutive month and has hovered around this level since December 2010.
Between June and July unemployment rates for OECD countries displayed very little movement. The single highest rise was for Luxembourg (up 0.3 percentage points to 4.6%) while the greatest fall was in Mexico (down 0.5 percentage points at 5.3%). New August 2011 data for the United States (unchanged at 9.1%) and Canada (up by 0.1 percentage point to 7.3%) confirm this current picture of broad stability in unemployment rates.
Countries where high unemployment rates continue to persist include Ireland (14.5%), Portugal (12.3%), the Slovak Republic (13.4%) and Spain (21.2%).
Around 44.5 million people were unemployed across the OECD area in July 2011, down 2.0 million from July 2010 but still 11.4 million higher than in July 2008.
OECD Unemployment Rates, s.a.
Percentage of labour force
| 2008 | 2009 | 2010 | 2010 | 2011 | 2011 | ||||||||
| Q3 | Q4 | Q1 | Q2 | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | ||||
| OECD – Total | 6.1 | 8.4 | 8.6 | 8.6 | 8.5 | 8.2 | 8.2 | 8.2 | 8.2 | 8.2 | 8.2 | 8.2 | 8.2 |
| Major Seven | 5.9 | 8.1 | 8.2 | 8.1 | 8.1 | 7.7 | 7.7 | 7.7 | 7.7 | 7.7 | 7.7 | 7.8 | 7.8 |
| European Union | 7.1 | 9 | 9.7 | 9.6 | 9.6 | 9.5 | 9.5 | 9.5 | 9.4 | 9.4 | 9.5 | 9.5 | 9.5 |
| Euro area | 7.7 | 9.6 | 10.1 | 10.1 | 10.1 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | 9.9 | 10 | 10 | 10 |
| Australia | 4.2 | 5.6 | 5.2 | 5.2 | 5.2 | 5 | 4.9 | 5 | 4.9 | 4.9 | 4.9 | 4.9 | 5.1 |
| Austria | 3.8 | 4.8 | 4.4 | 4.4 | 4.2 | 4.4 | 4.1 | 4.5 | 4.3 | 4.1 | 4.2 | 3.9 | 3.7 |
| Belgium | 7 | 7.9 | 8.3 | 8.3 | 7.9 | 7.2 | 7.3 | 7.1 | 7.1 | 7.2 | 7.4 | 7.4 | 7.5 |
| Canada(1) | 6.1 | 8.3 | 8 | 8 | 7.7 | 7.7 | 7.5 | 7.8 | 7.7 | 7.6 | 7.4 | 7.4 | 7.2 |
| Chile | 7.8 | 10.8 | 8.2 | 8 | 7.1 | 7.3 | 7.2 | 7.3 | 7 | 7.2 | 7.2 | 7.5 | |
| Czech Republic | 4.4 | 6.7 | 7.3 | 7.1 | 7.1 | 6.9 | 6.5 | 6.9 | 6.7 | 6.6 | 6.5 | 6.5 | 6.4 |
| Denmark | 3.4 | 6.1 | 7.4 | 7.4 | 7.7 | 7.6 | 7.3 | 7.6 | 7.6 | 7.3 | 7.4 | 7.3 | 7.1 |
| Estonia | 5.6 | 13.8 | 16.8 | 16.1 | 14.5 | 13.6 | 12.8 | 13.6 | 13.6 | 12.8 | 12.8 | 12.8 | |
| Finland | 6.4 | 8.2 | 8.4 | 8.3 | 8.1 | 8 | 7.9 | 8 | 8 | 7.9 | 7.9 | 7.9 | 7.9 |
| France | 7.8 | 9.5 | 9.8 | 9.8 | 9.7 | 9.7 | 9.7 | 9.7 | 9.7 | 9.7 | 9.7 | 9.8 | 9.9 |
| Germany | 7.6 | 7.7 | 7.1 | 6.9 | 6.6 | 6.4 | 6.2 | 6.4 | 6.3 | 6.2 | 6.2 | 6.1 | 6.1 |
| Greece | 7.7 | 9.5 | 12.6 | 13 | 14.1 | 15 | 15 | 15 | |||||
| Hungary | 7.8 | 10 | 11.2 | 11.1 | 11 | 11 | 10.1 | 10.9 | 10.6 | 10.3 | 10 | 9.9 | 9.7 |
| Iceland | 3 | 7.2 | 7.5 | 7.8 | 8.5 | 7.4 | 6.7 | ||||||
| Ireland | 6.4 | 11.8 | 13.7 | 13.8 | 14.3 | 14.2 | 14.2 | 14.2 | 14.1 | 14.1 | 14.1 | 14.3 | 14.5 |
| Israel(3) | 6.1 | 7.5 | 6.7 | 6.6 | 6.5 | 6 | 5.5 | ||||||
| Italy | 6.8 | 7.8 | 8.4 | 8.3 | 8.3 | 8.1 | 8 | 8.1 | 8.1 | 8 | 8.1 | 8 | 8 |
| Japan | 4 | 5.1 | 5.1 | 5 | 5 | 4.7 | 4.6 | 4.6 | 4.6 | 4.7 | 4.5 | 4.6 | 4.7 |
| Korea | 3.2 | 3.6 | 3.7 | 3.6 | 3.4 | 3.9 | 3.4 | 4 | 4 | 3.6 | 3.3 | 3.3 | 3.3 |
| Luxembourg | 4.9 | 5.1 | 4.5 | 4.4 | 4.5 | 4.3 | 4.3 | 4.2 | 4.3 | 4.3 | 4.3 | 4.3 | 4.6 |
| Mexico | 4 | 5.5 | 5.4 | 5.2 | 5.4 | 5.1 | 5.5 | 5.2 | 5 | 5.2 | 5.5 | 5.8 | 5.3 |
| Netherlands | 3.1 | 3.7 | 4.5 | 4.5 | 4.4 | 4.3 | 4.2 | 4.3 | 4.2 | 4.2 | 4.2 | 4.1 | 4.3 |
| New Zealand | 4.2 | 6.1 | 6.5 | 6.4 | 6.7 | 6.5 | 6.5 | ||||||
| Norway | 2.5 | 3.1 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.5 | 3.2 | 3.3 | 3.2 | 3.2 | 3.4 | 3.3 | 3.3 | |
| Poland | 7.2 | 8.2 | 9.6 | 9.5 | 9.6 | 9.4 | 9.5 | 9.3 | 9.4 | 9.5 | 9.5 | 9.5 | 9.4 |
| Portugal | 8.5 | 10.6 | 12 | 12.2 | 12.3 | 12.4 | 12.6 | 12.4 | 12.5 | 12.6 | 12.6 | 12.5 | 12.3 |
| Slovak Republic | 9.5 | 12 | 14.4 | 14.3 | 14 | 13.5 | 13.4 | 13.5 | 13.4 | 13.4 | 13.4 | 13.4 | 13.4 |
| Slovenia | 4.4 | 5.9 | 7.3 | 7.3 | 7.8 | 8.1 | 8.3 | 8.1 | 8.2 | 8.3 | 8.3 | 8.4 | 8.4 |
| Spain | 11.4 | 18 | 20.1 | 20.5 | 20.5 | 20.6 | 20.8 | 20.6 | 20.7 | 20.7 | 20.8 | 21 | 21.2 |
| Sweden | 6.2 | 8.3 | 8.4 | 8.3 | 7.9 | 7.7 | 7.5 | 7.6 | 7.7 | 7.4 | 7.7 | 7.4 | 7.4 |
| Switzerland | 3.2 | 4.1 | 4.2 | 4.5 | 3.9 | 3.9 | |||||||
| Turkey | 9.7 | 12.5 | 10.6 | 10.5 | 9.9 | 9.3 | 9.2 | 9.1 | 9.1 | 9.3 | |||
| United Kingdom | 5.6 | 7.6 | 7.8 | 7.7 | 7.8 | 7.7 | 7.7 | 7.6 | 7.7 | 7.8 | |||
| United States (2) | 5.8 | 9.3 | 9.6 | 9.6 | 9.6 | 8.9 | 9.1 | 8.9 | 8.8 | 9 | 9.1 | 9.2 | 9.1 |
Work Ethic Initiatives
The Importance of a Good Work Ethic
Employees with a good strong work ethic are critical to the success of a business. One of the key factors employers look for when hiring new employees is a good work ethic… it can be as important if not more important than experience or education.
What is a Good Work Ethic?
There’s a variety of factors that make up a good work ethic including:
Initiative:
Does the employee do things just because they need to be done rather than waiting to be told to do it?
Dependability:
Does he do what he says he is going to?
Honesty:
Can you trust him?
Responsibility:
Does he blame others or take responsibility for his actions?
Quality:
Does he take pride in her work or just do enough to get by?
Respect:
Does he respect others and can others respect him?
Teamwork:
Can he work with others and get the job done.
And finally…
Leadership:
Does he possess leadership qualities and are others willing to follow his lead?
An exceptionally good work ethic can even take an entry-level employee making less than $30,000 per year to full partner in less than three years as we will see…
OECD unemployment rate stable at 8.1% in May
The OECD area unemployment rate was steady at 8.1% in May, unchanged for the third consecutive month. The Euro area unemployment rate was also stable at 9.9% for the third consecutive month.
Most OECD countries confirm the general pattern of steady or falling unemployment rates although Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Italy, Luxembourg, Spain, Sweden and the United States recorded small increases in their May unemployment rates. New June 2011 data for the United States show a further rise of 0.1 percentage point to 9.2%.
Countries experiencing continuously high unemployment rates include Ireland (14.0%), Portugal (12.4%), the Slovak Republic (13.3%) and Spain (20.9%).
There were 44.0 million unemployed persons in OECD countries in May 2011, down 2.8 million from May 2010 but still 12.0 million higher than in May 2008.
Selected Unemployment Rates, s.a.
April 2011 – May 2011 (1)
(1) United Kingdom: February 2011—March 2011.
Methodological Notes:
For methodological reasons, harmonised unemployment rates may differ from those published by national statistical institutes. All rates and levels quoted are seasonally adjusted (s.a.).
More methodological notes are available at http://www.oecd.org/dataoecd/21/0/44743407.pdf.
Access data:
The latest unemployment rates for all OECD countries and geographic groupings, as well as historical data, can be downloaded from the OECD online data dissemination facility OECD.Stat Extracts at: http://stats.oecd.org/wbos/Default.aspx?QueryName=251&QueryType=View&Lang=en.
Contacts:
For further information readers are invited to contact the OECD’s Media Relations Division on
(33) 1 45 24 97 00 or e-mail news.contact@oecd.org
For technical questions contact stat.contact@oecd.org
Next release: Tuesday, 13 September 2011
Teen Employment Rate Plunges
Only 1 in 4 Teens is Employed
Teenage employment rates have averaged around 45% since the 1950’s but since 2000 the teenage employment rate has plummeted. Currently less than 25% of teenagers can find a job. But don’t worry the government has a plan to create 50,000 new jobs…
So what is this magic plan you might ask?
Almost 1 Million Unemployed Show up for 50K McDonald’s Jobs
Recently McDonald’s decided to have a mass hiring of 50,000 new employees for it’s US based hamburger restaurants some of which will be full-time and some part-time. They actually ended up hiring 62,000 new employees as a result of all the applications they received. Because many of the restaurants are owned by franchisees the wages are not controlled by the company but many of the jobs were estimated to be for more than the nationwide minimum wage of $7.25 / hr. and managers can make up to $50,000 per year. [Read more…] about Almost 1 Million Unemployed Show up for 50K McDonald’s Jobs
OECD unemployment rate remains at 8.2% in March
The OECD area unemployment rate, at 8.2% in March 2011, was unchanged from February following three consecutive monthly decreases. The Euro area unemployment rate was also stable at 9.9%.
For the first time since the start of the financial crisis in 2007, unemployment rates are showing a steady or declining pattern in most OECD countries. Italy, Luxembourg, Spain and Sweden were the only countries whose unemployment rates rose in March. New data referring to April 2011 also show a rise (by 0.2 percentage point, to 9.0%) for the United States.
Countries experiencing continuously high unemployment rates include Hungary (11.9%), Ireland (14.7%), Portugal (11.1%), and the Slovak Republic (13.9%). Spain’s 20.7% unemployment rate means that, since May 2010, over one in every five people in the Spanish labour force has been unemployed and seeking work.
There were 44.4 million unemployed persons in OECD countries in March 2011, down 2.6 million from March 2010 but still 13.6 million higher than in March 2008.
Selected Unemployment Rates, s.a.
February 2011 – March 2011 (1)
Unemployment Rate in OECD Countries Falls in February
OECD unemployment rate records fourth consecutive fall at 8.2% in February
The OECD area unemployment rate fell again in February 2011 to 8.2%, down 0.1 percentage point from January. This was the fourth consecutive decrease, following a period of stability of around 8.5% throughout most of 2010. New March 2011 data show further declines of 0.1 percentage point in the unemployment rates of both the United States (to 8.8%) and Canada (7.7%).
The February data show, for the first time since the recent financial crisis, a pattern of declining or steady unemployment rates for the majority of OECD countries. The unemployment rate fell in the Euro area to 9.9%, the first time back into single digits since December 2009. Austria, Korea, Mexico and Spain were the only countries recording rises in their unemployment rates. Countries still experiencing very high unemployment rates include Hungary (12.0%), Ireland (14.9%), Portugal (11.1%), the Slovak Republic (14.0%) and Spain (20.5%).
There were 44.9 million unemployed persons in OECD countries in February 2011, down 2.1 million from February 2010 but 14.3 million higher than in February 2008.
Selected Unemployment Rates, s.a.
January 2011- February 2011
