First Comment

Some Friday links before you start your weekend.

From the New York Times via MSNBC, come word that Wall Street is starting to anticipate a recovery--and hiring has started with it. This is not news Main Street wants to hear about Wall Street:

The increase in hiring and cautious optimism stand in sharp contrast to the mood among workers in other fields, where jobs have been slow to return or are disappearing altogether. Since June 2008 the number of jobs has shrunk by nearly 14 percent in manufacturing and by 22 percent in construction, but only by 8.5 percent in the financial industry nationwide.

It is also the opposite of what is going in other highly paid, white-collar professions like law, where employment nationwide in June was the lowest since late 2001, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The financial work force in New York has shrunk by more than 28,000 since its peak in January 2008, but is still slightly above its level in 2003 after the tech bubble burst, meaning it actually weathered this recession — the worst since the Depression — better than the previous one. Nationally, staffing is back to where it was in late 2005, while employment in the overall economy is near 2004 levels.

Next, Monster has some advice about being smart about vacation time. The big advice they give is to be aware of your benefits, prepare before you go, and to have set rules about contact while you're gone.

Next from Yahoo! News comes a list of how much employees get paid in the Obama White House (who have even cut 3.5% of their workforce)

Lastly, from ExecuNet, we have Chris Rock's Guide to Job Search (H/T Wendy)

Enjoy, stay cool and have a great weekend!

On Tuesday the New York Times posted a column about a new generation of Americans who are finding the "American Dream" elusive in the current economic environment. The article is still the most e-mailed piece on the New York Times website, and rightfully so. As the article talks about "an age group — the so-called millennials, 18 to 29 — whose unemployment rate of nearly 14 percent approaches the levels of that group in the Great Depression." The rest of the article is equally bleak for the millennials:

For young adults, the prospects in the workplace, even for the college-educated, have rarely been so bleak. Apart from the 14 percent who are unemployed and seeking work, as Scott Nicholson is, 23 percent are not even seeking a job, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The total, 37 percent, is the highest in more than three decades and a rate reminiscent of the 1930s. 

The college-educated among these young adults are better off. But nearly 17 percent are either unemployed or not seeking work, a record level (although some are in graduate school). The unemployment rate for college-educated young adults, 5.5 percent, is nearly double what it was on the eve of the Great Recession, in 2007, and the highest level — by almost two percentage points — since the bureau started to keep records in 1994 for those with at least four years of college.

Yet surveys show that the majority of the nation’s millennials remain confident, as Scott Nicholson is, that they will have satisfactory careers. They have a lot going for them.

“They are better educated than previous generations and they were raised by baby boomers who lavished a lot of attention on their children,” said Andrew Kohut, the Pew Research Center’s director. That helps to explain their persistent optimism, even as they struggle to succeed.

That type of optimism is why companies should be looking at millennials as potential candidates as they start hiring again. It's not that older employees are bitter and are not worth hiring, but they may seem like better choices because of their experience. But the optimism and education that comes with millennials is worth considering as well. I am somewhat biased being a millennial myself, and seeing what my peers are going through who are unemployed, but I think that companies need to make sure to give them their equal shot at the American Dream.

On this Good Friday, we bring you some good links that are not so good if you're unemployed:

It's frustrating when you go through a few interviews and don't get a job offer. But one person went through 52 interviews at Goldman Sachs and got only one job offer according to Here Is The City (H/T Wendy). Wow

How many people are taking jobs right now they are overqualified for? But it doesn't mean they aren't really happy to be employed according to the New York Times (H/T Sarah and picture from the NYT article)

There is one time when "any work" is worse than "no work": unemployment benefits and the Christian Science Monitor via Yahoo! explains (H/T Wendy)

And Tom Delay, you have egg on your face after saying that people are unemployed because they want to be. Details of that non-PC and non-true statement from Huffington Post via Yahoo! (H/T Wendy)

Yesterday we talked about the hiring freeze thawing and the Wall Street bonuses growing, and today we have two more topics to discuss with you.

Investopedia via Yahoo! Finance has an interesting look at the three industries hardest hit by job losses and the job loss market as a whole (H/T Wendy). The amazing part is that since I started working in my current role in December of 2007, unemployment has almost doubled from 7.7 million Americans to 14.8 million. To make matters worse, the article says that the number of workers unemployed for 27 weeks or longer has soared to a record 6.3 million people. And 661,000 have just dropped out of the labor market entirely. These people don't count against the unemployment rate which means that even more people are not working than the unemployment percentage shows.

The three biggest industries hit by jobs losses are construction, transportation and warehousing, and manufacturing. There are only a few industries which have seen an increase in their employment. The temporary help services industry saw a bump as well as health care and the federal government (mostly due to the upcoming census). This proves that while jobs seem to continually be disappearing, looking in the right places shows that hiring is occurring.

Our second article, from The Guardian, looks at the actual tax rates of different US states (H/T Jay). It starts with the premise that many people are complaining at California taxes but California comes in 6th at an average of 10.5% on an average per capita income of $47,706 (2008). The real problem is in the Tri-State Area. New Jersey is #1 with 11.8% on $56,116, New York is #2 with 11.7% on $55,032. Connecticut is #3 with 11.1% on $63,160, with Maryland and Hawaii rounding out the top 5 (unfortunately I get taxed by both New York and Connecticut...eek!).

Massachusetts surprised the author of the post (and me) by coming in at 23rd. The South, while a lower tax rate in many states, also has a lower average per capita income. Wyoming seems to be the best bet to keep the most of your high salary with only 7% on $53,163. Some things to think about when relocating for a job!

Picture from Select Leaders

It's a mega link week here at Astron's World of HR blog.

First, from The Journal of Commerce, an interesting article about the hiring freeze starting thaw (H/T Wendy). The article does point, out, however that the road to recovery is just beginning and overall the U.S. job market is pretty flat (with unemployment hovering at 9%-10%). (Picture also from this article).

Next, The Wall Street Journal came out with the numbers yesterday that Wall Street bonuses were up 17% to $20.3 billion in 2009. Now, while it's not surprising that bonuses are up after last year's bonus-busting recession and the tight regulation on Wall Street bonuses, it is still disconcerting to much of Main Street that their tax dollars went to Wall Street for this. The interactive graph that accompanies the article is a good view to show how crazy the bonuses have gotten on Wall Street. You have to figure that many of these bonuses were "making up" for last year. But while most of America is dealing with unemployment, hearing that the average bonus was $124,850 and the average compensation was $340,000 has to be upsetting to many.

Tomorrow we'll get more into the job losses that we talked about as well as looking at which states tax you the most.

We start you off on this Monday morning with a link from the Huffington Post which says that the real unemployment number is at a dismal 19% and we're 22.4 million jobs short of having a full unemployment rate of 5%. Ouch.

Speaking of the unemployed, The 405 Club (a great blog name) has a post about what really bothers the author about not having a full-time, steady, paying job.

Lastly, UpstartHR has a look at the future of HR and asks "is it you?" Some keys they give are:

• Know what impact you want to have
• Ask smart questions
• Identify a potential path
• Take charge of your professional development
• Stay flexible

 Some good advice, indeed! 

Before I get into my blog post for today, I want to apologize for not having posted in a while! Business activities to successfully navigate these challenging economic seas have kept me going an average of 14 hours a day. And I have found Twitter to be quite fascinating. However, further excuses will only slow down my latest post, so on with the show!


Yesterday I was part of an HR/NY panel discussion on “Overcoming the Fear: Strategies for Success in Today’s Economy.” A good part of the discussion was on personal branding. Do professionals think of themselves as the composite of all their varied skills and experiences, gained through work, volunteering, recreation activities, and the like? Or do we box ourselves into categories: I am a recruiter. I am a trainer.

The consensus among the panelists, as well as the audience, was that in order to be successful, viewing yourself in small tight compartments aren’t going to work. Now or in the future. If you want a job as a trainer, that’s of course OK. However, you may need to repackage yourself to highlight the complementary skill set that an organization needs. Is training moving more towards on-line media? What experiences do you have in this area that you acquired through volunteer work?


A former student of mine, who was heavily focused in recruitment, was recently downsized. After reflection on his experiences, he realized that his skills were as useful in the corporate and non-profit worlds as they are in a university setting – focusing on student enrollments. A whole new world has opened for him by taking the chance to think differently.


It can be scary to think of yourself as something different than what you’ve always been. However, each of us is unique and possess many skills and talents, many of which we probably take for granted. When was the last time you took a personal inventory to determine all the wonderful things you are? Refreshing your résumé after that inward look may result in a whole new series of doors opening for you.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution starts us off with an article about whether you should dress business casual for an interview: click here

A Human Resource Management Solutions article following up on a HR World article for our next entry on five quick hiring tips: click here

The Houston Business Daily has next for us a Human Resources Guide to employment issues resulting from Hurricane Ike: click here

The Gazette of Colorado Springs says that everyone, especially the employer, benefits by handling layoffs fairly and honestly: click here

Lastly, the Orlando Business Journal cites a study that says that most workers are puzzled about their benefits: click here