BLS Analysis for April 2014

Marshall’s April 2014 BLS Analysis for Recruiters; 5/2/14

April BLS Preface

TBMG News

Bob Marshall – Training/Coaching Updates

Mark Whitby’s, RecruiterTrainingOnline Webinar, May 1, 2014

I will be presenting at Mark Whitby’s RecruiterTrainingOnline Webinar on Thursday, May 1, 2014, at 11am (Eastern Time).

This webinar will be recorded for those who can’t attend, but want to listen to the content.

My presentation will be: “If It Don’t Make Dollars (or pounds), It Don’t Make Sense (or pence)! – The 6 main recruitment activities to implement on a daily basis.

US Recruiters Network (USRN) National Convention 2014, Minneapolis, MN, October 2-3, 2014

I will be the keynote speaker at the US Recruiters Network (USRN) National Convention in Minneapolis, MN on Thursday and Friday, October 2-3, 2014.

My presentation on Thursday afternoon will be: “How to Teach a Recruiter to Bill $1,010,349.50 in One Year”.

My two presentations on Friday morning will be: “Marketing Call Mastery” & “Your Desk as a Manufacturing Plant”.

COACHING**

**Now, if you are serious about increasing your billings, give my prized ‘$1,000,000 billing in one year’ student, David Thaler (502-531-9890), a call. He will let you know what I did for him and what I can do for you to help you reach your maximum potential. If you are ready to invest in yourself and to receive the info you need, to bill at high levels, I can give you that information. Then it will be up to you to execute. The ball is in your court.

New for 2014, all of my coaching will be based on my new “TBMG 20 WEEK TRAINING FORMAT”. The syllabus for the format is available upon request.

*The descriptions of my coaching plans, and all of my products, are available to you on my website: www.themarshallplan.org or you can reach me at 770-898-5550 or email me at: bob@themarshallplan.org.

Preface

Many of you continue to correspond with me about these monthly BLS analyses and have asked if it is OK to use them in your presentations. The answer is, of course, yes! That is why I spend the time to assemble this information. I would encourage any of you who have that desire to weave any of the information I have printed below into your presentations. I write these analyses for the benefit of our recruitment industry in general and for the members of my distribution list in particular. So use this info as you deem appropriate.

I also write these monthly BLS analyses to not only counterbalance the negative/incorrect press reporting of our general economic state but, more than that, to remind all of my recruitment readers that, at the level we work, there is no unemployment and so we must recruit to find the candidates our client companies so desperately need!

So, to my recruiter colleagues, get out there and do what your name implies…RECRUIT! When your client companies have unique and difficult positions to fill, they need you. When they are being picky, they need you. When they are longing for more production from fewer employees, they need you. Go fill those needs. These should be the halcyon days in the recruitment arena!

Finally, always remember that we are not in an HR business, but in a ‘circumventing the time factor in the hiring sequence’ business—and adding value to our client companies.

The Conference Board forecasts seller’s market for labor
Daily News, May 1, 2014

Unemployment in the United States — currently 6.7% and falling rapidly — will reach its “natural rate” of 5.5% by late 2015, according to a report released today by The Conference Board entitled, “From a Buyer’s Market to a Seller’s Market.” The decline will continue past this benchmark; over the next 15 to 20 years, U.S. unemployment may even dip below 3.8%, the lowest rate recorded since the 1960s, the report finds.

“While our conclusions may seem unlikely today, they rest on a simple fact: nearly all baby boomers will be out of the job market by 2030,” said Gad Levanon, director of macroeconomic research at The Conference Board and a co-author of the report. “As working-age population expansion slows to a crawl, even modest job growth should steadily tighten the labor supply and force wages higher. In the short run, this will be good news for workers. But it could also become a major handicap on U.S. growth and competitiveness, which we must prepare for now.”

Among the report’s other key findings:

• Most of the millions who left the active job market during the Great Recession are unlikely to return. Many are retired or disabled, while “skill erosion” has made others uncompetitive in the eyes of employers. Thus the official unemployment rate is a broadly accurate measure of slack in the labor market, not misleadingly low as many commentators argue.

• Since 2009, unemployment decline has outpaced previous recoveries even as GDP growth lags behind. Meanwhile, wage growth, voluntary quit rate and employers’ difficulty in filling positions are all trending up, suggesting the transition to labor shortages is under way.

• As baby boomer retirements mount, wage pressure will form a growing constraint on corporate profits and, ultimately, economic growth. Seeking to increase productivity and reduce costs, companies may raise prices and move operations to cheaper areas.

• Impacts will vary widely across industries. Those in which older workers are concentrated — and which attract few skilled immigrants — will be at highest risk of labor shortages. These include law enforcement, plant operations, and rail and water transport. Conversely, relatively high numbers of young and foreign entrants should mitigate the effects on high-growth science and technology fields.

• Immigration and productivity are open factors in general — a surge above trend growth for either could offset much of the demographic pressure currently projected.

Stress prompted 42% in U.S. to leave job, survey says
Daily News, April 16, 2014

Dangerously stressful work environments force workers to seek new employment, according to an international poll by Monster Worldwide Inc. The poll found 42% of U.S. respondents have left a job due to an overly stressful environment; workplace stress also caused an additional 35% to consider changing jobs.

Internationally, respondents from India are the least likely to switch jobs due to stress; 19% have left a job because it was too stressful and 57% reported that they have never switched jobs due to stress. Workplace stress is of most concern in France and the U.K., with 48% of respondents from both countries noting they have changed jobs due to a stressful work environment. Further, only 11% of French respondents have not changed jobs due to stress.

Survey participants were asked, “Has stress from work ever driven you to a job change?” In the U.S., 42% said they have purposely changed jobs due to a stressful work environment; 35% said they thought about changing their job because of a stressful work; and 23% said they have never changed their job specifically due to a stressful work environment.

“Workplace stress can come from any part of a job and triggers are different for everyone, so finding a true solution to stress tends to require a personalized approach. While every job will come with a degree of stress it is important to act if it becomes unmanageable,” said Mary Ellen Slayter, career advice expert for Monster.

The Monster online poll included over 6,700 Monster.com users and took place from March 3 to March 17, 2014.

Employee distrust pervasive, survey says
Daily News, April 23, 2014

Nearly 1 in 4 U.S. workers say they don’t trust their employer and only about 50% believe their employer is open and upfront with them, according to the American Psychological Association’s 2014 Work and Well-Being Survey.

While 64% of employed adults feel their organization treats them fairly, 1 in 3 reported that their employer is not always honest and truthful with them, according to the survey.

“This lack of trust should serve as a wake-up call for employers,” said David Ballard, head of APA’s Center for Organizational Excellence. “Trust plays an important role in the workplace and affects employees’ well-being and job performance.”

Although a majority of workers reported being satisfied with their job overall, only 49% said that they are satisfied with the growth and development opportunities where they work and 47% were satisfied with employee recognition practices. And 27% said they intend to seek new employment in the next year.

The survey was conducted online within the United States by Harris Poll on behalf of the American Psychological Association between Jan. 28 and Feb. 4, 2014, among 1,562 employed adults in the U.S.

From the Mountaintop*
*Special Note: Below are some of my edited snippets from an article by David Sable published April 17th, 2014

I had an experience — a real live one — and it had nothing to do with Facebook, Twitter, an app or site. Could such a thing be?

Bottom line, I spent the whole weekend with interesting and accomplished people at Summit Powder Mountain — entrepreneurs, artists, social activists, inventors, environmentalists, as well as those I can best describe as makers, doers and philosophers.

The one rule was that you couldn’t post on social networks while you were there. You had to be in the moment with others, communicating face-to-face, engaging in that lost but powerful ritual of meaningful human interaction.

With our thumbs forced to be idle, and most devices rendered useless by the high mountains anyway, the ripple effect was exponential. Not a single person talked about the latest, greatest world/game-changing addictive app and certainly not about the one coming next. There were no discussions about monetizing things digital, no one speculated about the next, overvalued anything to go public, and no one — no one — wasted a thought on second or third screens.

But my mantra remains: Digital is everything, but not everything is digital. And too often, these days, we let digital drive the way we learn, the way we communicate, even the way we read.

A Washington Post story I read (online, in fact) a couple of weeks ago reported that researchers now believe that the very act of reading everything online has dealt a blow to serious reading. That we now scan, look for keywords, read to find the most information in the quickest time. A scientist called them “eye bytes.” And the casualty is comprehension, analysis and ultimately everything we gain from both.

But the truth is, we don’t have to climb a mountain to have these kinds of interactions. All around us are people to inspire us, ideas to build on and creativity to unleash. All we have to do is open ourselves up and who knows what we might find, discover, create.

Digital is everything, but not everything is digital. So yes, being online has made our lives better in so many ways. In fact, I’m online as I write this. But let’s not forget that there’s a real world out there, too, the one we live in.

The most creative people know the value of both and how to be the bridge between them.

The new ADP/Moody’s National Employment Report; 74% of all new job growth in April 2014, came from Small and Mid-size Companies
April 30, 2014

Private sector employment increased by 220,000 jobs from March to April, according to the April ADP National Employment Report®, which is produced by ADP®, a leading global provider of Human Capital Management (HCM) solutions, in collaboration with Moody’s Analytics. The report, which is derived from ADP’s actual payroll data, measures the change in total nonfarm private employment each month on a seasonally-adjusted basis.

By Company Size

Small businesses: 82,000
1-19 employees 52,000
20-49 employees 31,000

Medium businesses: 81,000
50-499 employees 81,000

Large businesses: 57,000
500-999 employees 26,000
1,000+ employees 30,000

By Sector

Goods producing 24,000
Service providing 197,000

Industry Snapshot

Construction 19,000
Manufacturing 1,000
Trade/transportation/utilities 34,000
Financial activities 8,000
Professional/business services 77,000

Goods-producing employment rose by 24,000 jobs in April, down from 28,000 jobs gained in March. Most of the gains again came from the construction industry which added 19,000 jobs over the month, compared to 21,000 in March. Manufacturing continued to be sluggish adding 1,000 jobs in April, down from 4,000 in March.

Service-providing employment rose by 197,000 jobs in April, up from the upwardly revised 181,000 in March. The report indicates that professional/business services contributed the most to growth in service-providing industries, adding 77,000 jobs, up from 67,000 in March. Expansion in trade/transportation/utilities grew by 34,000, about equal to the 35,000 jobs added in March. The 8,000 new jobs in financial activities mark the strongest pace of growth in the industry since June 2013.

“The 220,000 U.S. private sector jobs added in April is well above the twelve-month average,” said Carlos Rodriguez, president and chief executive officer of ADP. “Job growth appears to be trending up and hopefully this will continue.”

Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody’s Analytics, said, “The job market is gaining strength. After a tough winter employers are expanding payrolls across nearly all industries and company sizes. The recent pickup in job growth at mid-sized companies may signal better business confidence. Job market prospects are steadily improving,”

(The May 2014 ADP National Employment Report will be released at 8:15 a.m. ET on June 4, 2014).

Due to the important contribution that small businesses make to economic growth, employment data that are specific to businesses with 49 or fewer employees is reported each month in the ADP Small Business Report®, a subset of the ADP National Employment Report.

April 2014 Small Business Report Highlights

Total Small Business Employment: 82,000

●By Size
►1-19 employees 52,000
►20-49 employees 31,000

●By Sector for 1-49 Employees
►Goods Producing 12,000
►Service Producing 70,000

●By Sector for 1-19 Employees
►Goods Producing 8,000
►Service Producing 43,000

●By Sector for 20-49 Employees
►Goods Producing 4,000
►Service Producing 27,000

Bottom-line: To my audience of recruiters, always remember this: Our ‘bread and butter’, especially on the contingency side of the house, has historically been, and continues to be, small and medium-sized client companies. Along with the large companies, these companies need to be in included in your niche!

Job Openings and Structural Unemployment

On April 8th, the BLS reported that there were 4,200,000 job openings on the last business day of February, up from 3,900,000 in January. The 4,200,000 reflects published openings comprised of jobs that are advertised either online or in print format.

The hires rate (3.3%) and separations rate (3.2%) were unchanged in February. This release includes estimates of the number and rate of job openings, hires, and separations for the nonfarm sector by industry and by geographic region.

(The Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey results for March 2014 are scheduled to be released on Friday, May 9th, 2014).

As we recruiters know, that 4,200,000 number only represents 20% of the jobs currently available in the marketplace. The other 80% of job openings are unpublished and are filled through networking or word of mouth or by using a RECRUITER. So, those 4,200,000 published job openings now become a total of 21,000,000 published and hidden job orders.

In April there were 9,753,000 unemployed workers. What was the main reason why those workers were unemployed? Two Words: Structural Unemployment. If we can’t figure out how to educate and/or reeducate those 9,753,000 unemployed, then they will keep reappearing each month as a BLS unemployment statistic—as they have. In the meantime, our recruitment marketplace flourishes!

Online Labor Demand Edged Up 28,900 in April
April, 30, 2014

• Labor demand flat thus far in 2014
• Demand up for Management and Office workers; down in Transportation and Food

Online advertised vacancies were up 28,900 to 4,923,000 in April, according to The Conference Board Help Wanted OnLine® (HWOL) Data Series, released today. The March Supply/Demand rate stands at 2.1 unemployed for each vacancy, with a total of 5.6 million more unemployed workers than the number of advertised vacancies.

“April’s modest rise follows a lackluster first quarter and leaves the job market basically flat for the year,” said June Shelp, Vice President at The Conference Board. “Employers are replacing the workers that leave, as evidenced by the churn in the labor market — roughly 5 million advertised vacancies each month — but so far we haven’t seen demand for new workers that would help whittle down the unemployed.”

Using The Conference Board Supply/Demand rates as a broad indication of current employer demand, employers are finding it hard to fill positions in professional and high-paying occupations like computer workers and medical professionals. In these fields there are 3 to 5 vacancies for unemployed workers. In contrast, in the Service/Production occupations—construction, production/manufacturing work, and food service workers — there are 4 to 7 unemployed job-seekers competing for every opening (See Table 7 for the Supply/Demand rates for all of the major occupations).

(The May 2014 Conference Board Help Wanted OnLine® (HWOL) Data Series will be released at 10:00 am ET on June 4th, 2014).

U-6 Update

In April, 2014 the regular unemployment number was 6.3%, but that broader U-6 measure was 12.3%, almost twice as high as the regular unemployment figure.

The above 12.3% is referred to as the U6 unemployment rate (found in the monthly BLS Employment Situation Summary, Table A-15; Table A-12 in 2008 and before). It counts not only people without work seeking full-time employment (the more familiar U-3 rate), but also counts “marginally attached workers and those working part-time for economic reasons.” Note that some of these part-time workers counted as employed by U-3 could be working as little as an hour a week. And the “marginally attached workers” include those who have gotten discouraged and stopped looking, but still want to work. The age considered for this calculation is 16 year and over.

Here is a look at the April U-6 numbers for the past 11 years:

April 2013 13.9%
April 2012 14.5%
April 2011 15.9%
April 2010 17.0%
April 2009 15.8%
April 2008 9.2%
April 2007 8.2%
April 2006 8.1%
April 2005 9.0%
April 2004 9.6%
April 2003 10.1%

The April BLS Analysis

The unemployment rate is published by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, a division of the US Department of Labor. The rate is found by dividing the number of unemployed by the total civilian labor force. On May 2nd, 2014, the BLS published the most recent unemployment rate for April, 2014 of 6.3% (actually it is 6.275%, down by .437% from 6.712% in March, 2014).

The unemployment rate was determined by dividing the unemployed of 9,753,000 (—down from the month before by 733,000—since April, 2013 this number has decreased by 1,930,000) by the total civilian labor force of 155,421,000 (down by 806,000 from March, 2014). Since April 2013, our total civilian labor force has increased by 62,000 workers.

(The continuing ‘Strange BLS Math’ saga): The BLS continues to increase the total Civilian Noninstitutional Population—this time up to 247,439,000. In one year’s time this population has increased by 2,264,000. This is an increase of 181,000 from last month’s increase. The Civilian Noninstitutional Population has increased each month…

Up from March 2014 by 181,000
Up from February 2014 by 173,000
Up from January 2014 by 170,000
Up from December 2013 by 170,000
Up from November 2013 by 178,000
Up from October 2013 by 186,000
Up from September 2013 by 213,000
Up from August 2013 by 209,000
Up from July 2013 by 203,000
Up from June 2013 by 204,000
Up from May 2013 by 189,000
Up from April 2013 by 188,000
Up from March 2013 by 180,000
Up from February 2013 by 167,000
Up from January 2013 by 165,000
Up from December 2012 by 313,000
Up from November 2012 by 176,000
Up from October 2012 by 191,000
Up from September 2012 by 211,000
Up from August 2012 by 206,000
Up from July 2012 by 212,000
Up from June 2012 by 199,000
Up from May 2012 by 189,000
Up from April 2012 by 182,000
Up from March 2012 by 180,000
Up from February 2012 by 169,000
Up from January 2012 by 335,000
Up from December 2011 by 2,020,000

And this month the BLS has decreased the Civilian Labor Force to 155,421,000 (down from March by 806,000).

Subtract the second number (‘civilian labor force’) from the first number (‘civilian noninstitutional population’) and you get 92,018,000 ‘Not in Labor Force’—slightly higher than last month’s 91,031,000. Since April, 2013, 2,203,000 US workers have vanished! Where did those 2,203,000 potential workers disappear to in one year’s time? I am assuming they still have to eat and pay their rent. They still need money, don’t they? The government tells us that these NILFs got discouraged and just gave up looking for a job. My monthly recurring question is: “If that is the case, how do they live when they don’t earn any money because they don’t have a job? Are they all relying on the government to support them??”

Our Employment Participation Rate—the population 16 years and older working or seeking work—fell to 62.8%. This is the lowest Employment Participation Rate recorded (tying October and November 2013) since July 1978…just over one year into President Carter’s term of office, 36 years ago! One year ago, our Participation Rate in December was 63.4%.

Final take on these numbers: Fewer people looking for work will always bring down the unemployment rate.

Anyway, back to the point I am trying to make. On the surface, these new unemployment rates are scary, but let’s look a little deeper and consider some other numbers.

The unemployment rate includes all types of workers—construction workers, government workers, etc. We recruiters, on the other hand, mainly place management, professional and related types of workers. That unemployment rate in April was 2.9% (this rate fell .4% from last month’s 3.3%). Or, you can look at it another way. We usually place people who have college degrees. That unemployment rate in April was 3.3% (this rate fell .1% from last month’s 3.4%).

Now stay with me a little longer. This gets better. It’s important to understand (and none of the pundits mention this) that the unemployment rate, for many reasons, will never be 0%, no matter how good the economy is. Without boring you any more than I have already, let me add here that Milton Friedman (the renowned Nobel Prize-winning economist), is famous for the theory of the “natural rate of unemployment” (or the term he preferred, NAIRU, which is the acronym for Non-Accelerating Inflation Rate of Unemployment). Basically, this theory states that full employment presupposes an ‘unavoidable and acceptable’ unemployment rate of somewhere between 4-6% with it. Economists often settle on 5%, although the “New Normal Unemployment Rate” has been suggested to fall at 6.7%.

Nevertheless (if you will allow me to apply a ‘macro’ concept to a ‘micro’ issue), if this rate is applied to our main category of Management, Professional and Related types of potential recruits, and/or our other main category of College-Degreed potential recruits, we are below the 4-6% threshold for full employment…we find no unemployment! None! Zilch!

THE IMPORTANCE OF GDP

“The economic goal of any nation, as of any individual, is to get the greatest results with the least effort. The whole economic progress of mankind has consisted in getting more production with the same labor…Translated into national terms, this first principle means that our real objective is to maximize production. In doing this, full employment—that is, the absence of involuntary idleness—becomes a necessary by-product. But production is the end, employment merely the means. We cannot continuously have the fullest production without full employment. But we can very easily have full employment without full production.”

–Economics in One Lesson, by Henry Hazlitt, Chapter X, “The Fetish of Full Employment”

On April 30th, the Bureau of Economic Analysis announced the 1st quarter, “advance” estimate, of our real gross domestic product (GDP) — the output of goods and services produced by labor and property located in the United States. GDP increased at an annual rate of 0.1% in the first quarter of 2014 (that is, from the fourth quarter of 2013 to the first quarter of 2014), according to the “advance” estimate released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. In the fourth quarter, real GDP increased 2.6%.

The increase in real GDP in the first quarter primarily reflected a positive contribution from personal consumption expenditures (PCE) that was partly offset by negative contributions from exports, private inventory investment, nonresidential fixed investment, residential fixed investment, and state and local government spending. Imports, which are a subtraction in the calculation of GDP, decreased.

The Bureau emphasized that the first-quarter advance estimate is based on source data that are incomplete or subject to further revision by the source agency.

The economy needs to expand at about 3% just to keep the unemployment rate from rising. Two consecutive quarters of a falling GDP indicate Recession.

The “second” estimate for the first quarter, based on more complete data, will be released on May 29, 2014.

IT IS IMPOSSIBLE FOR UNEMPLOYMENT EVER TO BE ZERO

‘Unemployment’ is an emotional ‘trigger’ word…a ‘third rail’, if you will. It conjures up negative thoughts. But it is important to realize that, while we want everyone who wants a job to have the opportunity to work, unemployment can never be zero and, in fact, can be disruptive to an economy if it gets too close to zero. Very low unemployment can actually hurt the economy by creating an upward pressure on wages which invariably leads to higher production costs and prices. This can lead to inflation. The lowest the unemployment rate has been in the US was 2.5%. That was in May and June 1953 when the economy overheated due to the Korean War. When this bubble burst, it kicked off the Recession of 1953. A healthy economy will always include some percentage of unemployment.

There are five main sources of unemployment:

1. Cyclical (or demand-deficient) unemployment – This type of unemployment fluctuates with the business cycle. It rises during a recession and falls during the subsequent recovery. Workers who are most affected by this type of unemployment are laid off during a recession when production volumes fall and companies use lay-offs as the easiest way to reduce costs. These workers are usually rehired, some months later, when the economy improves.

2. Frictional unemployment – This comes from the normal turnover in the labor force. This is where new workers are entering the workforce and older workers are retiring and leaving vacancies to be filled by the new workers or those re-entering the workforce. This category includes workers who are between jobs.

3. Structural unemployment – This happens when the skills possessed by the unemployed worker don’t match the requirements of the opening—whether those be in characteristics and skills or in location. This can come from new technology or foreign competition (e.g., foreign outsourcing). This type of unemployment usually lasts longer than frictional unemployment because retraining, and sometimes relocation, is involved. Occasionally jobs in this category can just disappear overseas.

4. Seasonal unemployment – This happens when the workforce is affected by the climate or time of year. Construction workers and agricultural workers aren’t needed as much during the winter season because of the inclement weather. On the other hand, retail workers experience an increase in hiring shortly before, and during, the holiday season, but can be laid off shortly thereafter.

5. Surplus unemployment – This is caused by minimum wage laws and unions. When wages are set at a higher level, unemployment can often result. Why? To keep within the same payroll budget, the company must let go of some workers to pay the remaining workers a higher salary.

Other factors influencing the unemployment rate:

1. Length of unemployment – Some studies indicate that an important factor influencing a workers decision to accept a new job is directly related to the length of the unemployment benefit they are receiving. Just recently the government re-extended the eligibility for unemployment benefits from 26 weeks to as much as 73 weeks. Studies suggest that this reduces the incentive of the unemployed to seek and accept less desirable jobs.

2. Changes in GDP – Since hiring workers takes time, the improvement in the unemployment rate usually lags behind the improvement in the GDP.

WHERE RECRUITERS PLACE

Now back to the issue at hand, namely the recruiting, and placing, of professionals and those with college degrees.

If you take a look at the past few years of unemployment in the April “management, professional and related” types of worker category, you will find the following rates:

April 2013 3.5%
April 2012 3.7%
April 2011 4.0%
April 2010 4.5%
April 2009 4.0%
April 2008 2.0%
April 2007 1.8%
April 2006 1.9%
April 2005 2.2%
April 2004 2.6%
April 2003 2.9%
April 2002 2.7%

Here are the rates, during those same time periods, for “college-degreed” workers:

April 2013 3.9%
April 2012 4.0%
April 2011 4.5%
April 2010 4.8%
April 2009 4.4%
April 2008 2.1%
April 2007 1.8%
April 2006 2.2%
April 2005 2.4%
April 2004 2.9%
April 2003 3.1%
April 2002 3.0%

So, while April’s 2014 rates for these two categories, 2.9% and 3.3%, respectively, are trending positively, when looking at the big picture, it’s not anything to be very happy about either—especially when we see how well we had it during the 2002-2008 time frame. But regardless, these unemployment numbers usually include a good number of job hoppers, job shoppers and rejects. We, on the other hand, are engaged by our client companies to find those candidates who are happy, well-appreciated, making good money and currently working and we entice them to move for even better opportunities—especially where new technologies are expanding. This will never change. And that is why, no matter the unemployment rate, we still need to market to find the best job orders and we still need to recruit to find the best candidates.

Below are the numbers for the over 25 year olds:

Less that H.S. diploma – Unemployment Rate

1/08 2/08 3/08 4/08 5/08 6/08 7/08 8/08 9/08 10/08 11/08 12/08
7.7% 7.4% 8.2% 7.9% 8.4% 8.9% 8.6% 9.7% 9.8% 10.4% 10.6% 10.9%

1/09 2/09 3/09 4/09 5/09 6/09 7/09 8/09 9/09 10/09 11/09 12/09
12.0% 12.6% 13.3% 14.8% 15.5% 15.5% 15.4% 15.6% 15.0% 15.5% 15.0% 15.3%

1/10 2/10 3/10 4/10 5/10 6/10 7/10 8/10 9/10 10/10 11/10 12/10
15.2% 15.6% 14.5% 14.7% 15.0% 14.1% 13.8% 14.0% 15.4% 15.3% 15.7% 15.3%

1/11 2/11 3/11 4/11 5/11 6/11 7/11 8/11 9/11 10/11 11/11 12/11
14.2% 13.9% 13.7% 14.6% 14.7% 14.3% 15.0% 14.3% 14.0% 13.8% 13.2% 13.8%

1/12 2/12 3/12 4/12 5/12 6/12 7/12 8/12 9/12 10/12 11/12 12/12
13.1% 12.9% 12.6% 12.5% 13.0% 12.6% 12.7% 12.0% 11.3% 12.2% 12.2% 11.7%

1/13 2/13 3/13 4/13 5/13 6/13 7/13 8/13 9/13 10/13 11/13 12/13
12.0% 11.2% 11.1% 11.6% 11.1% 10.7% 11.0% 11.3% 10.3% 10.9% 10.8% 9.8%

1/14 2/14 3/14 4/14 5/14 6/14 7/14 8/14 9/14 10/14 11/14 12/14
9.6% 9.8% 9.6% 8.9%

H.S. Grad; no college – Unemployment Rate

1/08 2/08 3/08 4/08 5/08 6/08 7/08 8/08 9/08 10/08 11/08 12/08
4.6% 4.7% 5.1% 5.0% 5.2% 5.2% 5.3% 5.8% 6.3% 6.5% 6.9% 7.7%

1/09 2/09 3/09 4/09 5/09 6/09 7/09 8/09 9/09 10/09 11/09 12/09
8.1% 8.3% 9.0% 9.3% 10.0% 9.8% 9.4% 9.7% 10.8% 11.2% 10.4% 10.5%

1/10 2/10 3/10 4/10 5/10 6/10 7/10 8/10 9/10 10/10 11/10 12/10
10.1% 10.5% 10.8% 10.6% 10.9% 10.8% 10.1% 10.3% 10.0% 10.1% 10.0% 9.8%

1/11 2/11 3/11 4/11 5/11 6/11 7/11 8/11 9/11 10/11 11/11 12/11
9.4% 9.5% 9.5% 9.7% 9.5% 10.0% 9.3% 9.6% 9.7% 9.6% 8.8% 8.7%

1/12 2/12 3/12 4/12 5/12 6/12 7/12 8/12 9/12 10/12 11/12 12/12
8.4% 8.3% 8.0% 7.9% 8.1% 8.4% 8.7% 8.8% 8.7% 8.4% 8.1% 8.0%

1/13 2/13 3/13 4/13 5/13 6/13 7/13 8/13 9/13 10/13 11/13 12/13
8.1% 7.9% 7.6% 7.4% 7.4% 7.6% 7.6% 7.6% 7.6% 7.3% 7.3% 7.1%

1/14 2/14 3/14 4/14 5/14 6/14 7/14 8/14 9/14 10/14 11/14 12/14
6.5% 6.4% 6.3% 6.3%

Some College; or AA/AS – Unemployment Rate

1/08 2/08 3/08 4/08 5/08 6/08 7/08 8/08 9/08 10/08 11/08 12/08
3.7% 3.8% 3.9% 4.0% 4.3% 4.4% 4.6% 5.0% 5.1% 5.3% 5.5% 5.6%

1/09 2/09 3/09 4/09 5/09 6/09 7/09 8/09 9/09 10/09 11/09 12/09
6.2% 7.0% 7.2% 7.4% 7.7% 8.0% 7.9% 8.2% 8.5% 9.0% 9.0% 9.0%

1/10 2/10 3/10 4/10 5/10 6/10 7/10 8/10 9/10 10/10 11/10 12/10
8.5% 8.0% 8.2% 8.3% 8.3% 8.2% 8.3% 8.7% 9.1% 8.5% 8.7% 8.1%

1/11 2/11 3/11 4/11 5/11 6/11 7/11 8/11 9/11 10/11 11/11 12/11
8.0% 7.8% 7.4% 7.5% 8.0% 8.4% 8.3% 8.2% 8.4% 8.3% 7.6% 7.7%

1/12 2/12 3/12 4/12 5/12 6/12 7/12 8/12 9/12 10/12 11/12 12/12
7.2% 7.3% 7.5% 7.6% 7.9% 7.5% 7.1% 6.6% 6.5% 6.9% 6.6% 6.9%

1/13 2/13 3/13 4/13 5/13 6/13 7/13 8/13 9/13 10/13 11/13 12/13
7.0% 6.7% 6.4% 6.4% 6.5% 6.4% 6.0% 6.1% 6.0% 6.3% 6.4% 6.1%

1/14 2/14 3/14 4/14 5/14 6/14 7/14 8/14 9/14 10/14 11/14 12/14
6.0% 6.2% 6.1% 5.7%

BS/BS + – Unemployment Rate

1/08 2/08 3/08 4/08 5/08 6/08 7/08 8/08 9/08 10/08 11/08 12/08
2.1% 2.1% 2.1% 2.1% 2.3% 2.4% 2.5% 2.7% 2.6% 3.1% 3.2% 3.7%

1/09 2/09 3/09 4/09 5/09 6/09 7/09 8/09 9/09 10/09 11/09 12/09
3.8% 4.1% 4.3% 4.4% 4.8% 4.7% 4.7% 4.7% 4.9% 4.7% 4.9% 5.0%

1/10 2/10 3/10 4/10 5/10 6/10 7/10 8/10 9/10 10/10 11/10 12/10
4.9% 5.0% 4.9% 4.9% 4.7% 4.4% 4.5% 4.6% 4.4% 4.7% 5.1% 4.8%

1/11 2/11 3/11 4/11 5/11 6/11 7/11 8/11 9/11 10/11 11/11 12/11
4.2% 4.3% 4.4% 4.5% 4.5% 4.4% 4.3% 4.3% 4.2% 4.4% 4.4% 4.1%

1/12 2/12 3/12 4/12 5/12 6/12 7/12 8/12 9/12 10/12 11/12 12/12
4.2% 4.2% 4.2% 4.0% 3.9% 4.1% 4.1% 4.1% 4.1% 3.8% 3.8% 3.9%

1/13 2/13 3/13 4/13 5/13 6/13 7/13 8/13 9/13 10/13 11/13 12/13
3.8% 3.8% 3.8% 3.9% 3.8% 3.9% 3.8% 3.5% 3.7% 3.8% 3.4% 3.3%

1/14 2/14 3/14 4/14 5/14 6/14 7/14 8/14 9/14 10/14 11/14 12/14
3.2% 3.4% 3.4% 3.3%

Management, Professional & Related – Unemployment Rate

1/08 2/08 3/08 4/08 5/08 6/08 7/08 8/08 9/08 10/08 11/08 12/08
2.2% 2.2% 2.1% 2.0% 2.6% 2.7% 2.9% 3.3% 2.8% 3.0% 3.2% 3.3%

1/09 2/09 3/09 4/09 5/09 6/09 7/09 8/09 9/09 10/09 11/09 12/09
4.1% 3.9% 4.2% 4.0% 4.6% 5.0% 5.5% 5.4% 5.2% 4.7% 4.6% 4.6%

1/10 2/10 3/10 4/10 5/10 6/10 7/10 8/10 9/10 10/10 11/10 12/10
5.0% 4.8% 4.7% 4.5% 4.5% 4.9% 5.0% 5.1% 4.4% 4.5% 4.7% 4.6%

1/11 2/11 3/11 4/11 5/11 6/11 7/11 8/11 9/11 10/11 11/11 12/11
4.7% 4.4% 4.3% 4.0% 4.4% 4.7% 5.0% 4.9% 4.4% 4.4% 4.2% 4.2%

1/12 2/12 3/12 4/12 5/12 6/12 7/12 8/12 9/12 10/12 11/12 12/12
4.3% 4.2% 4.2% 3.7% 4.0% 4.4% 4.8% 4.5% 3.9% 3.8% 3.6% 3.9%

1/13 2/13 3/13 4/13 5/13 6/13 7/13 8/13 9/13 10/13 11/13 12/13
3.9% 3.8% 3.6% 3.5% 3.5% 4.2% 4.1% 3.8% 3.5% 3.4% 3.1% 2.9%

1/14 2/14 3/14 4/14 5/14 6/14 7/14 8/14 9/14 10/14 11/14 12/14
3.1% 3.2% 3.3% 2.9%

Or employed…(,000)

1/08 2/08 3/08 4/08 5/08 6/08 7/08 8/08 9/08 10/08 11/08 12/08
52,165 52,498 52,681 52,819 52,544 52,735 52,655 52,626 53,104 53,485 53,274 52,548

1/09 2/09 3/09 4/09 5/09 6/09 7/09 8/09 9/09 10/09 11/09 12/09
52,358 52,196 52,345 52,597 52,256 51,776 51,810 51,724 52,186 52,981 52,263 52,131

1/10 2/10 3/10 4/10 5/10 6/10 7/10 8/10 9/10 10/10 11/10 12/10
52,159 52,324 52,163 52,355 51,839 51,414 50,974 50,879 51,757 51,818 52,263 51,704

1/11 2/11 3/11 4/11 5/11 6/11 7/11 8/11 9/11 10/11 11/11 12/11
51,866 52,557 53,243 53,216 52,778 52,120 51,662 51,997 52,665 52,864 52,787 52,808

1/12 2/12 3/12 4/12 5/12 6/12 7/12 8/12 9/12 10/12 11/12 12/12
53,152 53,208 53,771 54,055 54,156 53,846 53,165 53,696 54,655 55,223 54,951 54,635

1/13 2/13 3/13 4/13 5/13 6/13 7/13 8/13 9/13 10/13 11/13 12/13
54,214 54,563 54,721 54,767 54,740 54,323 54,064 54,515 55,013 55,155 55,583 54,880

1/14 2/14 3/14 4/14 5/14 6/14 7/14 8/14 9/14 10/14 11/14 12/14
55,096 55,501 56,036 55,896

And unemployed…(,000)

1/08 2/08 3/08 4/08 5/08 6/08 7/08 8/08 9/08 10/08 11/08 12/08
1,164 1,159 1,121 1,088 1,407 1,478 1,585 1,779 1,539 1,647 1,786 1,802

1/09 2/09 3/09 4/09 5/09 6/09 7/09 8/09 9/09 10/09 11/09 12/09
2,238 2,137 2,292 2,164 2,373 2,720 3,034 2,925 2,859 2,593 2,530 2,509

1/10 2/10 3/10 4/10 5/10 6/10 7/10 8/10 9/10 10/10 11/10 12/10
2,762 2,637 2,600 2,464 2,450 2,644 2,687 2,762 2,381 2,417 2,525 2,468

1/11 2/11 3/11 4/11 5/11 6/11 7/11 8/11 9/11 10/11 11/11 12/11
2,557 2,435 2,381 2,196 2,419 2,598 2,742 2,671 2,450 2,410 2,336 2,303

1/12 2/12 3/12 4/12 5/12 6/12 7/12 8/12 9/12 10/12 11/12 12/12
2,410 2,336 2,330 2,062 2,275 2,472 2,666 2,556 2,245 2,170 2,077 2,221

1/13 2/13 3/13 4/13 5/13 6/13 7/13 8/13 9/13 10/13 11/13 12/13
2,211 2,164 2,020 1,980 1,990 2,358 2,286 2,130 1,978 1,930 1,749 1,637

1/14 2/14 3/14 4/14 5/14 6/14 7/14 8/14 9/14 10/14 11/14 12/14
1,784 1,845 1,890 1,642

For a total Management, Professional & Related workforce of…(,000)

1/08 2/08 3/08 4/08 5/08 6/08 7/08 8/08 9/08 10/08 11/08 12/08
53,329 53,657 53,802 53,907 53,951 54,213 54,240 54,405 54,643 55,132 55,060 54,350

1/09 2/09 3/09 4/09 5/09 6/09 7/09 8/09 9/09 10/09 11/09 12/09
54,596 54,333 54,637 54,761 54,629 54,496 54,844 54,649 55,045 55,574 54,793 54,640

1/10 2/10 3/10 4/10 5/10 6/10 7/10 8/10 9/10 10/10 11/10 12/10
54,921 54,961 54,763 54,819 54,289 54,058 53,661 53,641 54,138 54,235 54,788 54,172

1/11 2/11 3/11 4/11 5/11 6/11 7/11 8/11 9/11 10/11 11/11 12/11
54,423 54,992 55,624 55,412 55,197 54,718 54,404 54,668 55,115 55,274 55,123 55,111

1/12 2/12 3/12 4/12 5/12 6/12 7/12 8/12 9/12 10/12 11/12 12/12
55,562 55,544 56,101 56,117 56,431 56,318 55,831 56,252 56,900 57,393 57,028 56,856

1/13 2/13 3/13 4/13 5/13 6/13 7/13 8/13 9/13 10/13 11/13 12/13
56,425 56,727 56,741 56,747 56,730 56,681 56,350 56,645 56,991 57,085 57,332 56,517

1/14 2/14 3/14 4/14 5/14 6/14 7/14 8/14 9/14 10/14 11/14 12/14
56,880 57,346 57,926 57,538

Management, Business and Financial Operations – Unemployment Rate

1/08 2/08 3/08 4/08 5/08 6/08 7/08 8/08 9/08 10/08 11/08 12/08
2.3% 2.3% 2.2% 2.1% 2.7% 2.5% 2.6% 2.8% 2.8% 3.0% 3.6% 3.9%

1/09 2/09 3/09 4/09 5/09 6/09 7/09 8/09 9/09 10/09 11/09 12/09
4.6% 4.5% 4.5% 4.4% 4.6% 4.8% 4.9% 5.0% 5.2% 5.4% 5.4% 5.2%

1/10 2/10 3/10 4/10 5/10 6/10 7/10 8/10 9/10 10/10 11/10 12/10
5.2% 5.1% 5.4% 5.1% 4.9% 4.8% 4.7% 4.9% 4.3% 5.0% 5.5% 5.7%

1/11 2/11 3/11 4/11 5/11 6/11 7/11 8/11 9/11 10/11 11/11 12/11
5.3% 4.9% 4.8% 4.6% 4.9% 4.6% 4.6% 4.6% 4.6% 4.7% 4.6% 4.4%

1/12 2/12 3/12 4/12 5/12 6/12 7/12 8/12 9/12 10/12 11/12 12/12
4.5% 4.4% 4.4% 4.0% 4.1% 3.8% 3.8% 3.7% 3.5% 3.6% 3.8% 4.1%

1/13 2/13 3/13 4/13 5/13 6/13 7/13 8/13 9/13 10/13 11/13 12/13
4.0% 3.9% 3.5% 3.5% 3.8% 3.5% 3.1% 3.4% 3.3% 3.7% 3.2% 3.1%

1/14 2/14 3/14 4/14 5/14 6/14 7/14 8/14 9/14 10/14 11/14 12/14
3.4% 3.6% 3.5% 3.2%

Professional & Related – Unemployment Rate

1/08 2/08 3/08 4/08 5/08 6/08 7/08 8/08 9/08 10/08 11/08 12/08
2.1% 2.1% 2.0% 2.0% 2.5% 2.9% 3.2% 3.6% 2.8% 3.0% 3.0% 2.9%

1/10 2/10 3/10 4/10 5/10 6/10 7/10 8/10 9/10 10/10 11/10 12/10
4.9% 4.6% 4.3% 4.1% 4.3% 5.0% 5.2% 5.3% 4.4% 4.1% 4.1% 3.8%

1/11 2/11 3/11 4/11 5/11 6/11 7/11 8/11 9/11 10/11 11/11 12/11
4.3% 4.1% 3.9% 3.5% 4.0% 4.9% 5.3% 5.1% 4.4% 4.1% 4.0% 4.0%

1/12 2/12 3/12 4/12 5/12 6/12 7/12 8/12 9/12 10/12 11/12 12/12
4.2% 4.1% 4.0% 3.5% 4.0% 4.8% 5.5% 5.2% 4.3% 3.9% 3.5% 3.8%

1/13 2/13 3/13 4/13 5/13 6/13 7/13 8/13 9/13 10/13 11/13 12/13
3.8% 3.8% 3.6% 3.4% 3.3% 4.6% 4.7% 4.0% 3.6% 3.1% 2.9% 2.7%

1/14 2/14 3/14 4/14 5/14 6/14 7/14 8/14 9/14 10/14 11/14 12/14
2.9% 3.0% 3.1% 2.6%

Sales & Related – Unemployment Rate

1/08 2/08 3/08 4/08 5/08 6/08 7/08 8/08 9/08 10/08 11/08 12/08
5.2% 5.2% 4.8% 4.3% 5.1% 5.6% 6.2% 6.3% 5.7% 6.1% 6.5% 7.0%

1/09 2/09 3/09 4/09 5/09 6/09 7/09 8/09 9/09 10/09 11/09 12/09
7.7% 8.4% 8.9% 8.6% 8.9% 9.1% 8.3% 8.7% 8.9% 9.5% 9.1% 8.9%

1/10 2/10 3/10 4/10 5/10 6/10 7/10 8/10 9/10 10/10 11/10 12/10
10.1% 10.2% 9.7% 9.2% 9.6% 9.4% 10.1% 9.0% 9.4% 9.1% 8.8% 8.3%

1/11 2/11 3/11 4/11 5/11 6/11 7/11 8/11 9/11 10/11 11/11 12/11
9.3% 9.0% 8.5% 8.5% 9.4% 9.7% 9.4% 8.6% 9.4% 8.2% 7.8% 7.7%

1/12 2/12 3/12 4/12 5/12 6/12 7/12 8/12 9/12 10/12 11/12 12/12
8.2% 7.9% 8.1% 7.6% 7.9% 8.4% 8.3% 8.6% 7.9% 7.0% 7.3% 7.0%

1/13 2/13 3/13 4/13 5/13 6/13 7/13 8/13 9/13 10/13 11/13 12/13
8.5% 8.2% 7.7% 6.9% 7.1% 6.7% 6.9% 7.2% 7.5% 7.3% 7.0% 6.3%

1/14 2/14 3/14 4/14 5/14 6/14 7/14 8/14 9/14 10/14 11/14 12/14
7.1% 7.7% 6.8% 5.8%