Last week, the Bureau of Labor Statistics released its most recent report on U.S. employment. At the end of December, the unemployment rate reached 7.2 percent. While far from the double-digit rates of the 1980s, the increase in unemployment reflects a staggering one-month loss of 524,000 jobs and the disappearance of 1.9 million jobs in the final third of 2008. These sobering highlights are widely reported in the news media, but most of the BLS report gets little coverage. Readers willing to dig deep enough can find some interesting -- and possibly helpful -- information.

Consider these statistics:

Only 3.7 percent of civilians with a bachelor's degree or higher are unemployed, nearly half the overall unemployment rate. (The unemployment rate for those with some college or an associate degree is 5.6 percent.)

Unemployment in management, professional, or related occupations is 3.3 percent. Service occupations have the lowest unemployment rate (2.9 percent), and the category called farming, fishing, and forestry has the highest (18.3 percent).

Healthcare employment actually rose in 2008. The industry added 372,000 jobs during the year.

In December, two age groups showed gains in the number of people employed: eighteen-to-nineteen year old women and workers age fifty-five and older. (According to a separate BLS report, in the ten-year period ending 2007, the number of workers age sixty-five and over increased by 101 percent. The number of people age seventy-five and over jumped 172 percent during the same period.)

The BLS also tracks the number of job openings in the country. As of October 31, the latest available information, there were 3.1 million unfilled jobs. For the year, the government sector had the smallest decrease in the number of open positions.

Can you use this information in your role as a leader? I think so. For starters, make sure you're not taking your most highly educated workers for granted; they're still very much in demand in the workforce and vulnerable to pilfering by your competitors. And if you're having trouble finding qualified employees, look no further than the growing abundance of workers eager to work past the traditional retirement age. Most importantly, read beyond the headlines to find the data that truly impacts your business.

Labels: hiring

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"One good thing about the recession," a prospective client's president told me recently, "is that our employee turnover is down." He went on to theorize that daily news reports of company bankruptcies and massive layoffs have workers feeling too skittish to change jobs right now. He's not the first leader to express the belief that employees "have nowhere else to go." Nor is he the first to hold the false impression that, because they are not physically leaving, workers have not mentally resigned.

This assumption has serious implications for organizations. Unhappy workers who choose to ride out the economic downturn in a job they loathe are likely to feel trapped. Consequently, they'll look for ways to preserve some self-esteem. So rather than go elsewhere -- and risk losing any job security they might have -- discontented employees react by holding back actions that benefit their organizations.

Disgruntled employees behave by withholding what experts call organizational citizenship behavior. That is, they deny assistance to coworkers, complain about petty problems, act uncivilly to fellow employees, and criticize the organization in public. Such conduct is damaging to the company, but rarely punishable; therefore, employees consider the behavior a safe way to avenge an undesirable work environment. Consequently, although they haven't actually left the premises, those workers have virtually resigned.

The good news is that their hesitancy to jump ship gives you an opportunity to identify your unhappy workers before they unexpectedly quit. Then, why not "rehire" your frustrated employees before they get away. Suppose you meet with them and ask the typical recruitment questions: Why do you want to work here? What are your interests and goals? Where do you see yourself in five years? What do you think are your strengths? Imagine if, like a good recruiter, you take time to show them how they can realize their ambitions, hopes, and desires right where they're at? In the process, you'll likely find out what's causing their unhappiness.

It seems hard to imagine today, but workforce analysts predict that an aging Baby Boomer generation will result in a severe labor shortage in the coming years. When that happens, you'll need all the workers you can get. If you're clinging to the notion that your workers have nowhere else to go, you might look around one day and wonder where they all went. Bookmark this post on del.icio.us

Happy New Year! It's time for the Vital Integrities Blog's annual ranking of the ten dumbest leadership moves of the past twelve months. Here then, in no particular order, are ten examples of pathetic leadership behavior that had us shaking -- and scratching -- our heads in 2008.

1. Federal agents arrested Illinois governor Rod Blagojevich in December, charging him with conspiring to commit fraud and soliciting a bribe. Authorities accuse Blagojevich and his former chief of staff John Harris of attempting to sell the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Barack Obama. As Governor, Blagojevich has the authority to appoint a replacement to finish Obama's Senate term, and he allegedly decided to offer it to the highest bidder. The governor ignored calls for his resignation from top federal and state politicians, while Illinois lawmakers began impeachment procedures against him. Then, in an astonishing act of defiance, Blagojevich proceeded by naming former Illinois Attorney General Roland Burris to fill the vacant Senate seat. Leaders in the Illinois General Assembly and U.S. Congress vowed to block the "tainted" appointment.

2. In late 2007, Merrill Lynch & Co. hired John Thain as CEO to rescue the troubled brokerage house. Known in financial circles as "Mr. Fix-It," Thain received a $15 million signing bonus and a bounty of incentives. As recently as August 2008, Thain assured investors that Merrill was significantly capitalized and well positioned for the future. But one month later, Thain sold the company to Bank of America. It turns out that Merrill had actually been teetering on the edge of extinction. Here's the best part: after Merrill lost $12 billion for the year and announced it needed to fire 20 percent of its workforce, Thain had the nerve to ask his board for a $10 million performance bonus. A scornful letter from New York attorney general Andrew Cuomo convinced Merrill's board to forgo bonuses to top executives, including Thain.

3. In September, the U.S. government saved insurance giant American International Group from certain financial collapse with an $85 billion taxpayer-funded loan. A few days later, AIG executives enjoyed a weeklong, company-paid escape to the lavish St. Regis Resort in California. The getaway's $440,000 price tag included spa treatments, extravagant banquets, and golf outings intended to reward AIG's top insurance agents. White House Press Secretary Dana Perino called the incident "despicable." Equally despicable was AIG CEO Edward Liddy's announcement in late December that the company would award bonuses of up to $4 million each to dozens of senior executives to convince them not to leave.

4. Speaking of spas, the Canyon Ranch Spa in Lenox, Massachusetts, told its pampered patrons that an 18 percent gratuity was conveniently included in their bills. Therefore, tipping waiters, massage therapists, yoga instructors, or other service personnel was unnecessary -- and discouraged. But rather than giving the employees the gratuities it collected, the resort kept the funds as revenue. The employees sued, forcing Canyon Ranch to pay $14.75 million to the hundreds of employees it cheated since 2004.

5. The chief executives of automakers General Motors, Ford, and Chrysler traveled to Washington, D.C. in a united appeal for a federal bailout. Without the government's immediate help, they argued, their companies would face bankruptcy and 3 million industry workers might lose their jobs. But after pledging to streamline operations and reduce expenses, the CEOs -- GM's Rick Wagoner, Ford's Alan Mulally, and Chrysler's Robert Nardelli -- admitted to traveling to Washington separately in private planes. "There's a message there," pointed out Rep. Gary Ackerman. When Congress asked Wagoner, Mulally, and Nardelli if they would consider working for $1 a year as a good-faith gesture for securing government assistance for their companies, Mulally, who earned nearly $22 million in 2007, arrogantly responded, "I think I'm okay where I am."

6. In December, as proof that it is making cars that consumers want, Ford executives unveiled two new Lincoln models that can parallel park themselves. Seriously. Ford leadership apparently presumes that American drivers will give up needless luxuries like dependability and fuel efficiency as long as their cars can relieve them of the infrequent and ancient task of parallel parking. Rather than a car that parks itself, perhaps Ford's engineers should begin designing a car company that leads itself.

7. New York governor Eliot Spitzer, who earned the moniker "Sheriff of Wall Street" while prosecuting corrupt corporate titans as the state's attorney general, resigned amid allegations of his involvement with a high-priced prostitute. After the New York Times linked Spitzer to a pricey escort service with $1,000-an-hour call girls, Spitzer had a new nickname: "Client 9." Unlike his Illinois counterpart, Spitzer immediately fell on his sword. "I cannot allow my private failings to disrupt the people's work," he said when announcing his resignation.

8. In August, the LPGA tour announced that it would require all its players to speak English. Beginning in 2009, tour members would need to pass an oral evaluation of English skills or face suspension. Last year, the LPGA had 121 international players from twenty-six countries, including forty-five players from South Korea. Tour commissioner Carolyn Bivins said the policy would actually help the players by ensuring they "have the skills necessary to maximize their individual earnings potential by being able to communicate with prospective sponsors." LPGA officials quickly abandoned the new policy when current sponsors expressed outrage over the rule.

9. The Detroit Lions fired head coach Rod Marinelli and several assistant coaches after a history-making 0-16 season. "You can't go 0-16 and expect to keep your job," rationalized Marinelli, adding "They don't fire players, they fire coaches." The question is, what took the Lions' top brass so long? Marinelli's record in Detroit was a dismal 10-38, with only one win in the Lions' last twenty-four games.

10. Struggling in a tough economy, New York-based media agency Carat was facing employee layoffs. In an unfortunate email mishap, the agency's HR officer prematurely blasted the news to all of the company's employees. The email, which was intended for senior managers only, included PowerPoint and Word attachments containing talking points for breaking the bad news to doomed employees and spinning the actions to clients, vendors, and the press. Bookmark this post on del.icio.us