Posts filed under 'Statistics'
April 4th, 2008
Times look tough for hiring in a number of industries, but there’s one profession expected to continue growing; one that everyone wants to see more of: Lawyers.
<insert canned laugh track here>
But seriously folks, a recent survey of 300 attorneys in the U.S. and Canada found that 45 percent of law firms and corporations plan to hire new attorneys in the next several months, according to lawyer staffing agency, Robert Half Legal.
Half of those surveyed said staff at their firm or legal department would stay the same during the next year and only 3 percent expected a drop. Of course, the legal world is somewhat insulated from downturns in the economy, but previous market catastrophes — the savings and loan scandal of the early ’90s and the dot-com debacle earlier this decade — have put attorneys out of work.
Still, the reasons for legal hiring confidence are clear in this survey. Most respondents think that there will be growth in bankruptcy law (25 percent), litigation (24 percent) and ethics and corporate governance practice (17 percent).
So I guess somebody benefits when the economy tanks as businesses go under, people sue each other and new government regulations are proposed.
February 28th, 2008
I hope you’re not reading this while you’re at work.
Because if you are, your employer could be watching. Actually, there’s a two-in-three chance your company is looking over your shoulder. Sixty-six percent of employers say they’re monitoring workers’ Internet connections and 65 percent say they block access to certain Websites, according to an annual electronic surveillance survey by the American Management Association and The ePolicy Institute.
It’s no surprise that 96 percent of employers who block content are concerned about employees visiting adult sites. Other concerns include game sites (61 percent), social networking sites (50 percent) and entertainment sites (40 percent). Only 27 percent were worried about online shopping or auction sites and one in five cared about sports sites.
The poll of 304 U.S. companies also found that 28 percent of employers have fired workers for email misuse. Violations of company policy led to 64 percent of dismissals and inappropriate or offensive language was included in 62 percent of firings. Using company email too often for personal messages led to only a quarter of terminations, so most employers don’t care much if you’re corresponding with buddies.
To read the entire release, visit here.
February 5th, 2008
Lots of companies are making it easier to work while raising kids, according to a survey commissioned by a staffing agency.
More than three in five companies surveyed have made policy changes in the last five years to accommodate working parents, according to OfficeTeam.
The survey was given to 150 randomly selected senior executives at largest 1,000 U.S. companies: 62 percent said their companies had made changes, 33 percent said no and 5 percent weren’t sure.
These kinds of perks — telecommuting, flex time, extended family leave — are fast becoming industry standards as more folks demand a “work-life balance.” It’s a buzzword that’s getting tossed around HR circles a lot lately, but it basically seems to mean that the incoming generation of professionals just won’t work 60 hours a week to accumulate toys. In fact, when people say that this next generation won’t make as much money as its forebears, I sometimes wonder whether that will be as much a sign of economic instability or a conscious choice of individuals.
Here’s an example: I have a old friend right now who quit his stable government job last year and is now traveling through Africa. He just doesn’t see work as an end in itself; he’d rather just work for a while, then do what he wants to do, then come back to work only when finances require it.
January 25th, 2008
Buoyed by union growth in California, national membership in organized labor groups grew in 2007 as a share of the work force for the first time since the Bureau of Labor Statistics started tracking union rolls. From The Center for Economic and Policy Research, a progressive think tank in Washington, D.C.:
Unions added about 310,000 members last year, raising the unionized share of the workforce to 12.1 percent from 12.0 percent in 2006.
The increase is small, and may well reflect statistical variation rather than an actual increase in the union membership share, but the uptick is striking because it is the first time since the BLS began collecting annual union membership rates in 1983 that the union share has increased.
Read the whole news release here.
An interesting side note is that the Rockford metropolitan area has bucked the trend against unionization over the last two decades, according to data from UnionStats.com.
In 1986, just 12.1 percent of employed workers here were union members. By 2006, that share had grown to 15.3 percent of the workforce. But the reason for the growth was the robust expansion of public sector unions; private sector membership declined as a share of the work force. Union workers made up 28.6 percent of public employees here in 1986, but by 2006 half of all public employees were unionized.
January 8th, 2008
Think you’re overworked? Well, you’re not alone.
Most executives and professionals say they can’t escape their work demands, and log hours on their commutes, at night and even weekends, according to a poll by a major search firm. Seventy percent of the 500 polled by MRINetwork said their company does not do a good job of letting them balance their work and personal lives.
In fact, 65 percent said they worked “frequently” after hours, while 19 percent worked “sometimes,” 9 percent “occasionally” and only 5 percent said “never.”
While working like sled dogs may be common to mid- and upper-level managers, this workflow pattern is fading as as baby boomers head toward retirement. Researchers say Generations X and Y are often more interested in balancing work and personal pursuits than “getting ahead,” like their parents.
“This will inevitably lead to a reevaluation of the performance requirements of individual positions within many companies, especially as the younger generation moves into higher management levels,” said Michael Jalbert, MRINetwork president, in a written statement.
October 26th, 2007
Once a month, I write a story reporting the local unemployment rate for the previous month. And almost as often I get a call from a reader who disputes the percentage of jobless workers reported by the Illinois Department of Employment Security.
Some people believe that the rate comes from the number of people filing unemployment claims. But that number’s usefulness would be limited because eventually those benefits run out, even if the recipient is still not working.
But the local number is actually gained from a national survey of about 60,000 people by the Census Bureau. Every month, the bureau conducts interviews with people in this sample group. They’re asked if they’re working (employed), not working and looking for a job (unemployed) or not working and not looking for a job (not in the labor force). They’re also asked about everyone else in their household who is over 16 years old.
The bureau builds continuity into this sample so that respondents stay in it for several months before they’re removed.
The rate for the Rockford region is determined by algorithms that factor in the particulars of the local job market, such as the Rock River Valley’s heavy reliance on manufacturing employment, and weight the national data based on local demographics, such as ethnic identity.
For a full explanation of the unemployment rate from the federal agency that determines it, visit this site.
October 25th, 2007
Everything you ever wanted to know about the Illinois labor force but were afraid to ask is right here.
This is a Web site by the Illinois Department of Employment Security that I go to to dig up statistics on the local workforce. It has data like the unemployment rate over time, average wages, job employment by sector, you name it.
