Category: Employment

Online advertised vacancies declined 506,000 to 3,355,000 in January 2009, according to The Conference Board. The January 2009 loss, combined with a similar sharp drop of 507,000 in December 2008, results in a decline of over 1 mln advertised vacancies, or 23%, in the last two months. The highest Supply/Demand rate is in Michigan (6.45), or over 6 unemployed people for every advertised vacancy. Other states where there are over 4 unemployed for every advertised vacancy include Mississippi (5.04), Indiana (4.78), Kentucky (4.72), North Carolina (4.31), Georgia (4.24), Florida (4.20), South Carolina (4.05), and California (4.03)

Job cuts in the tech sector increased 74.2% in 2008 compared with 2007. 186,955 jobs in the telecommunications, computer, and electronics sectors were slashed, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

An average IT employee made $78,035 in 2008, a 4.6% increase from 2007, according to Dice.com. Security analysts got the biggest raises in 2008, with an average salary increase of 8.4% to $86,778. Software engineers were next, with an increase of 7% to $90,031. Application developers got a 6.6% raise to $84,672.

60.6% of companies plan a reduction in salary merit increases (from 3.6% to 2.2% on average). 45.3% of companies expect bonuses for 2008 (for payout in 2009) to be lower by as much as 20% to 25%. 19.5% of companies are considering salary freezes. 31.6% of companies are currently considering hiring freezes, Empsight says.

24% of employed adults has been with their current employer for less than one year. A similar number (26%) have been with the same employer for 10 years or more. A little more than half (54%) have been with their current company for fewer than five years; another fifth (21%) have been with the same company for 5-9 years. Additionally, in 2006, employed Americans ages 25 and older averaged 4.9 years with their current employer, according to the Labor Department, according to Pew Internet Project

69% of employed adults earning $75,000 per year or more say they work from home at least some of the time, one in four do so every day or almost every day. By comparison, just 30% of those in jobs earning less than $30,000 per year work from home, and 12% do so every day or almost every day, according to Pew Internet Project.

About 21% of women work fewer than 25 hours a week and 19% work between 26 and 39 hours a week, while only 10% and 9% of men work those respective hours. On the other hand, 29% of men work 41-50 hours and 21% work over 50 hours a week; 19% of women work 41-50 hours a week and only 8% work more than 50 hours a week, according to Pew Internet Project.

Significant numbers of Americans are working longer hours than the traditional 40-hour work week. Some 39% of workers say they put in more than 40 hours a week, compared with 31% who say they usually work 40 hours a week and 28% who say they work part time. 24% of employed Americans – the majority of Americans who work overtime – work between 40 and 50 hours a week. Some 15% of working Americans work more than 50 hours a week; similarly, only 15% work fewer than 25 hours a week, according to Pew Internet Project.

While working Americans largely hold positive views about the role of information and communications technology in their lives: 80% say these technologies have improved their ability to do their job; 73% say these technologies have improved their ability to share ideas with coworkers; 58% say these tools have allowed them more flexibility in the hours they work, according to Pew Internet Project.

Employed 18-29 year-olds (23%) are significantly more likely to work 25 hours or less per week when compared with 30-49 year-olds (11%) and 50-64 year-olds (13%). Employed Americans in the middle age groups are significantly more likely, on the other hand, to work 41-50 hours a week. As noted in the table below, those earning higher incomes also tend to work longer hours, according to Pew Internet Project.

Although companies have devoted nearly the same number of staff to custom publishing initiatives in 2005-2008, the trend is up 51% since 2000, according to Custom Publishing Council (CPC). Communication and editorial titles had compensation increases of 3.4% and 15.2%, respectively, while design titles dropped 3.7%. There was an overall increase of 7.7% over 2007.

Fully 58% of job-holding Americans have been working for their current employer for fewer than seven years and 30% have been working for that employer for two years or fewer; compared with 42% of employed respondents who have been with their current employer for eight or more years and 20% who have been with their employer for 16 years or more. Many working Americans also have little tenure in their current positions at their place of employment. Fully 39% of employed Americans started their current position within the past two years. This number is significantly more, than the number who have been in their current position for 3-7 years (29%). Just 18% have been with their current position for 8-15 years and only 13% have been in the same position for 16 years or more, according to Pew Internet Project.

Among those employed Americans who supervise others, 29% work 41-50 hours a week and 22% work over 50 hours a week- considerably more than those who do not supervise anyone (20% and 11% respectively). Respondents who work at home frequently (27%) or sometimes (19%) are also significantly more likely to work over 50 hours a week than those who never work at home (8%), according to Pew Internet Project.

Fully 87% of employed Americans have at least one person at work, and the majority of workers are overseen by only one or two supervisors. 46% of employed respondents report to only one person, 23% of respondents report to two people at work. 18% of employed Americans report to three or more people. 11% of employed respondents do not report to anyone at all. Some 42% of workers supervise other employees at work daily. About 84% of those who supervise other employees also report to at least one supervisor themselves. 36% of Americans say that the employees they supervise also supervise other employees. Nearly 74% of multi-level supervisors use the internet at least several times a day at work while only about 54% of single-level supervisors use the internet as often at work, according to Pew Internet Project

Self-employed respondents are significantly more likely than those who work for someone else to be completely satisfied with their jobs; 42% of self-employed Americans are completely satisfied with their jobs compared with 31% of non-self-employed who are equally satisfied. Respondents also find some occupations more satisfying than others. 94% of managers and business owners are satisfied (mostly or completely) with their jobs, notably more than the 86% of service workers and 80% of skilled-trade workers who are satisfied with their jobs. Also, 93% of professionals and 90% of clerical workers are satisfied with their jobs – significantly more than the percentage of skilled-trade workers who are satisfied at work.Job satisfaction may also be related to teamwork, according to Pew Internet Project.

Among those employed, 16% are self-employed and 84% work for someone else. Close to one in three (30% of employed Americans) work for large corporations, and 28% work for small businesses. The remaining 39% of employed Americans work for medium-sized companies, for the government, in educational institutions, or in the non-profit sector, according to Pew Internet Project.

Managers and professionals are much more likely to work over 40 hours per week than employees in other job categories. 23% of professionals work over 50 hours a week, significantly more than the proportion of clerical workers (10%), service workers (6%) or skilled workers (14%) who put in work weeks that long. The cohort of managers and business owners who work over 50 hours a week (24%) is also significantly more than clerical and service workers who work the same hours. Additionally, 36% of managers and business owners work 41-50 hours a week, significantly more than professionals (24%), clerks (21%) and service workers (14%) who work those hours, according to Pew Internet Project.

Fully 98% of employed Americans making over $75,000 a year are satisfied with their jobs, significantly more than any other income group. Fully 38% of those in the highest earning bracket say they are completely satisfied with their jobs, and 61% say they are mostly satisfied. That compares with just 31% of those earning less than $30,000 per year who are completely satisfied, and 57% who are mostly satisfied, according to Pew Internet Project.