The Employment Situation in December 2012 (in USA)

While more work remains to be done, today’s employment report provides further evidence that the U.S. economy is continuing to heal from the wounds inflicted by the worst downturn since the Great Depression. It is critical that we continue the policies that are building an economy that works for the middle class as we dig our way out of the deep hole that was caused by the severe recession that began in December 2007.

With the passage of the American Taxpayer Relief Act earlier this week, more than 98 percent of Americans and 97 percent of small businesses now have certainty that their income taxes will not rise. Additionally, unemployment insurance was extended for two million Americans who are searching for a job, and companies will continue to receive tax credits for the research that they do and continue to have tax incentives to accelerate investment in their businesses. By allowing income tax cuts for the top two percent of earners to expire, this legislation further reduces the deficit by $737 billion over the next decade. It is important that we continue to move toward a sustainable federal budget in a responsible way that balances revenue and spending while protecting critical investments in the economy and essential support for our most vulnerable citizens.

Today’s report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) shows that private sector businesses added 168,000 jobs in December. Total non-farm payroll employment rose by 155,000 jobs last month. The economy has now added private sector jobs for 34 straight months, and a total of 5.8 million jobs have been added over that period, taking account of the preliminary benchmark revision. In 2012, private businesses added two million payroll jobs, taking account of the preliminary benchmark revision.

The household survey showed that the unemployment rate was unchanged at 7.8 percent in December. The unemployment rate in November was revised from 7.7 percent to 7.8 percent as a result of BLS’s annual update of seasonal factors. The labor force participation rate was also unchanged at 63.6 percent in December. Over the last 12 months, the unemployment rate has decreased by 0.7 percentage point as a result of growing employment, and the labor force participation rate has been essentially unchanged.

According to the establishment survey, in December employment rose notably in the health care and social assistance industry (+55,000), restaurants and bars (+38,000), construction (+30,000), and manufacturing (+25,000).  The manufacturing sector has added jobs in 30 of the last 35 months, gaining half a million jobs over that period, the most for any such period since the late-1980s.  Payrolls rose in both residential and non-residential construction jobs.  Retail trade lost 11,300 jobs, following gains totaling 161,300 over the previous four months. Government lost 13,000 jobs in December, mostly in local government education, which lost 11,500 jobs.  The local government education sector has now lost 294,400 jobs since its recent peak in November 2009.

As the Administration stresses every month, the monthly employment and unemployment figures can be volatile, and payroll employment estimates can be subject to substantial revision. Therefore, it is important not to read too much into any one monthly report and it is informative to consider each report in the context of other data that are becoming available..

Alan B. Krueger is Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers

3 Tips to Always win the salary negotiation game

'X' was about to step in the industry and had been a dreamer for most of her life. Her plan was simple: state an amount and if the company did not agree, take up the first job that comes across. She was never given a decent paycheck but she produced a miracle nonethless. 

And her 'real' name was Cindrella! 

Sorry, just wanted to nudge you a little, before we discuss the serious subject!

1) Rule no 1: Candidate should never mention a number.Most companies usually ask for previous salaries, just write, "Competitive" in the box. In the desired salary category, write "negotiable". Yes some hard hitting applications, come with all caps mentioning that the candidate must provide full details. However, it is really important not to mention a number.

If you like many do not have a inside connection to put your resume in the hands of the hiring manager, memorise the few small answers from the next paragraphs.

2) The dreadful interview

During an interview, candidates are under pressure again, to discuss their previous salaries. So when the ball is in your court, you will be expected to answer the desired salary question again. Say, "Through my research, I have realised that industry average seems to fluctuate a lot depending on the job requirement ....once I am aware of the full picture, I can give a better answer to this question"

"I am currently employed at XYZ and it would be a breach of my contract to mention details about my employment." As we all know, most company policies usually prohibit employee from discussing their salaries.

And follow it with the Hmmm...

This may sound silly but would become priceless in during the negotiation process. So if you are told, the position is budgeted at $35000, just repeat the number followed by hmmmm..Go ahead and try a serious face in front of your mirror, say the number without converting it into any currency and follow it with hmmm...

So your next interview answer might be, "$35000,hmmm." 

It is really important to try to raise the given number but may do so with and only with your achievements and raising the number also means negotiating benefits, title, periodic salary reviews and of cource, vacation if you are interested!.

 3) Research the larger picture 

Candidates should collect data from various websites such as salary, payscale and from personal networking. I think it is must that you have concrete documentation of your research which would graph the salary range for a position from low to high and add details to the about achievements, the nature of proposed work (manage a team of) and finally information sources. 

This third tip is usally mentioned in the beginning, but I mentioned it at the end so hopefully we can have a discussion about good research techniques and methods. Dear experienced ones, please share your wisdom for the benefit of all!

Indian internet boom will create 22 million jobs

Lots of good news coming India's way! 

According to a report by McKinsey & Company, Internet services and devices would contribute 3.3% to Indian GDP by 2015. This is an increase of almost $30 billion dollars. In addition, It is also expected to create 22 million jobs by 2015.

This is a good news for the country which seems plagued by the news of corruption, slowing of the manufacturing industy and GDP. 

The good news is a prediction based on the fact that India currently has 120 million Internet users. This population is set to grow to 370 million by 2015. 

India is still way behind its giant neighbour, China. It currently has 480 million users followed by the US with 245 million users as of 2011. 

Thanks to the Internet service and device industry, India will also have a unique feature -- three out of four new users from the country will be mobile-only users.

Mobile-based internet users will form 55 per cent of the total user base in 2015 in India, compared to just 15 per cent in other aspiring countries, it said.

By 2015 China is expected to have 583 million users, while the US is expected to have 279 million users. 

For a while, India's growth story seemed entangled with corruption, thanks to common wealth game organisers like Suresh Kalmadi and Co but there were a few inspirational examples like Ashok Khema in between...

The challenge for Indian government is to pave a way for better infrastructure and integrate rural India in the growth story. The report touched on these some dark realities too.

"While India scores well on availability of human and financial capital. It rates poorly on internet infrastructure, internet engagement, e-commerce platform, ease of Internet Entrepreneurship and the impact of e-governance," the report said.

India may take solace from the fact few initiative have been made to address this issue. One notable including its Aakash Tablet, priced at Rs.  3,499 or around US $ 63.45 according to today's dollar value.  

According to Kapil Sibal, the Telecom and IT minister, the price will come down to $35 very soon. The reduction in cost is due to the manufacturing order of 5 million new tablets waiting for approval in the cabinet. 

Although Aakash 2 has a long way to go before 3 million current orders are delivered, hopefully it will come with better educational resources than currently on offer.

10 Lies you must tell recruiters

Lies are not an uncommon route for a job interview but for some people, it is a necessity!

It becomes essential because too many candidates simply shoot themselves in the foot with very blunt mistakes.Like telling the interviewer your real emotion about your previous boss when what he really cares about is your future relationship with him.

Nobody here is telling you to get a fake certificate or build a fake resume but I am just holding out a warning sign like many unemployed people, Truth is Bitter... 

 

So here are 10 Must Lies!

 1. My past work experiences were great!

What you mean to convey is that you are a positive person. We have all had jobs that we disliked, but talking about it will reflect negatively on your attitude. Say one thing related to work that you have learned and are really proud of. Keep the truth in your bag!

2. Success followed my everywhere!

Of course, noone will get selected if they say this directly. Tone this line of thought to suit your resume and present it cleverly.Hiring managers would love to hear about your failure, if you could twist it to sound like you ran a marathon but if you cant, remember; success has many fathers...

3. Have done this type of work before.

Quick learners still come at a higher expense as opposed to being a professional. Try to relate to the skills from your previous job experience. Some long stretches and you will land a job but of course, expect the worst when you come to work!

4. I was never out of work

A recent survey suggests that people out of work have a harder time getting back in the workforce as compared to former criminals! Join an NGO or talk about self-employment which assures recruiters that the “force” is still with you! Sorry...just loved star wars!

5. My last boss was brilliant!

Your current boss will be hoping to build a great relationship with you. He wants to see if he can count on you and if you are willing to earn his valuable trust? Do you really want to waste the time talking about your lousy former boss and make a dent on your reputation. Time to tell him how much did you value the bond....

6. I learned a lot in college!

Tell the recruiter about how your college has prepared you specifically for this job. This lie like all the others may be unethical, but the system should take more responsibility for this one. Colleges, ranking and their reputations can overshadow the individuality of the candidate. If one must, they should definitely inform the recruiter about the innovative and off the block initiatives at your institute.

7.You love to work late!

Companies value candidates who are willing to go the extra mile. Many people in your future company will have family commitments and can not give their extra attention to work. If you are young, time to commit early and for better!

8. I was never sick!

Put your bad habits of smoking and drinking in your imaginary present! “Sir, my dad highly valued a healthy lifestyle and I try to stick to my schedule”. And Good luck quitting smoking or just planning a new year resolution around it!

9. I have no personal problems!

Everyone has some personal problems! But how to define a problem is upto you! Is not being able to celebrate new years due to financial constraints, a real problem? Well even then, the solution always remains the same: Get a good job!

10. Never had a fight with a colleague!                                

Most have a shaky relationships with a particular colleague but When you discuss your problems from the past, it reflects your attitude in the eyes of the recruiters and is usually taken as a sign of things to expect from a candidate in future!

Hope you never have to lie and find an awesome Job but if you are an honest fool like most of us...Hopefully this will help!

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Top Three Mistakes That Could Keep You Unemployed

As an experienced career coach and resume writer, I would rate the following four factors as being critical in determining the success of any job search campaign: Demand-supply dynamics, a candidate’s background, quality of resume, and job search strategies.

With this introduction, I rate the following job search mistakes as being unequivocally disastrous:

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The “I-hunt-from-my-recliner” strategy

Don’t get me wrong. I love my recliner, but I liken any passive job search campaign to the “I-hunt-from-my-recliner” strategy. A job seeker who does not incorporate active networking into his portfolio of job search strategies is, most likely, a passive job seeker.

Making “connections” is the key to securing valuable face time with hiring managers. From career fairs to networking tools offered by online job boards, there is absolutely no scarcity of networking avenues for a serious job seeker.

My friend just found a job, his resume will work for me

As a part of my free resume evaluation service, I review thousands of resumes and often come across needless “resume fluff,” verbiage that does nothing more than fill, nay waste, resume space with hyperbolic adjectives. Copying portions of someone else’s resume or simply pasting content from online resume samples will not produce results.

Viewed from a hiring manager’s perspective, that is simply “lazy writing”. You might as well put your resume in a bottle and hope that someone at the other end of the shore will pick it up and call you.

Powerful accomplishments, career stories, branding statements, and other cutting-edge resume writing strategies could transform an ordinary resume into a masterpiece, one that positions you as the perfect solution for the employer’s needs. In fact, in today’s cut-throat environment, your resume must be so powerful and compelling that the hiring manager must start day-dreaming about having you as the next employee.

If you don’t measure results, you are wasting your time

Analytics are not just for businesses. Every time you post your resume, make a determined effort to track and measure results. How many views did your resume generate? How many calls did you receive? Which strategy is producing the best result? Which version of your resume do employers find more appealing? How many hours did you spend on your job search? How many calls did you make? Get the point. Track your job search activities meticulously and make appropriate changes as you move forward.

It is imperative that you assess, reassess, tweak, and perfect your job search campaign dynamically. While you may not be able to control market dynamics, there are several areas that are absolutely within your direct control.

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