thecareerbeat.com Blog

Best, worst cities for unemployment pay

It’s easy to forget that unemployment benefits vary within the U.S., so a layoff in some parts of the country could hurt even worse.

The payout in Phoenix is much less than in Boston, for example.  But of course the cost of living in Boston is higher.  Nonetheless there appears to be no distinct pattern among the cities considered best and worst in this arena.

The 10 best cities include “expensive” places like Boston, but also more moderately affordable cities like Houston or Salt Lake City.  The 10 worst list includes San Francisco, Nashville, and Orlando, Florida.

You can find out more in this article. While I doubt it will influence many relocations, it’s good info to have in case you need to access unemployment benefits.

Most people don’t negotiate salary

Very interesting result from this week’s Yahoo! HotJobs poll about how many workers actually negotiated their salaries…

Q	In your current or most recent job, did you negotiate your salary?
Yes	32%
No	68%
9039 Votes to date

The idea of negotiating salary scares many job applicants, but the issue also could be that many people don’t realize they can negotiate salary (that was true for me for much of my career). Or they don’t know how.

Here are some articles that can help:

• 6 steps to set yourself up for a raise
• Deal or no deal: negotiating salary
• Recruiters discuss salary mistakes

Poll: Americans support paid vacation law

A new poll finds that more than two-thirds of Americans (69%) support a law that would guarantee paid vacations for American workers.

The poll, conducted by The Opinion Research Company for the Take Back Your Time organization, involved 1,002 Americans contacted by phone during the week of June 23.  You can see more results at the organization’s new site, www.right2vacation.org.

Take Back Your Time (TBYT) is pushing for a bill that would guarantee three weeks paid vacation for anyone who has worked at a job for a year or more.

“The United States is the only wealthy country without a paid vacation law,” said Joe Robinson, author of Work to Live and a leader in the TBYT campaign. “We’re the capital of burnout and it’s costing billions of dollars a year in medical bills and productivity losses.  We can change that with a law guaranteeing vacations to workers.”

Some companies are going much further by allowing workers to take as much vacation as needed — as long as they meet all their performance goals.  See more in this BusinessWeek article. I hope that trend catches on!

Burnout and recession fears are big threats to vacations this year, as I’ve reported earlier.

I’ll leave you with one interesting statistic from TBYT: According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average American works one month (160 hours) more today than in 1976.

Stealing supplies from work

Nearly one-fifth of workers (19%) say they stole office supplies from work for personal use in the past year, according to a Spherion® Workplace Snapshot Survey.

I’m surprised it’s not higher. I heard someone say at a party this weekend, “Why use my dot matrix printer at home, when I can use the laser printer at work?” And to get myself to that same party, I used a map that I printed at work last week.

Only 22% of those who stole said they felt guilty about it, despite 74% saying that it’s wrong to take office supplies for personal use.

Pocketing a paper clip here and a pen there doesn’t seem harmful, but it could affect the company’s bottom line. “Office supplies can be one of the largest expenses for businesses; and certainly employees’ abuse of those supplies, either by stealing them or using them for personal use, can erode company profits,” said John Heins, chief human resources officer at Spherion.

The blurring of our personal and professional lives could be a factor (or excuse) in all this, but I’m feeling a little guilty now about that map (and recipe) I printed last week.

A touch of patriotism, and a plug

The festive photo below is part of a promotion for a panel that I am moderating next month called “Life After a Layoff: Your Job Is History But You’re Not.”

You can hear more about it in a podcast interview (scroll down the page until you see me, but feel free to listen to others!). My session is part of a conference for LGBT journalists held in the nation’s capital — in an election year, hence the virtual bunting.

The conference host, the National Lesbian and Gay Journalists Association (NLGJA), is a fine industry organization that has boosted my career in many ways, especially through networking and the professional development offered at the annual conferences. On the strength of my experiences, I recommend everyone get involved in a professional organization associated with his/her field.

In the meantime, Happy Fourth of July!

Job losses continue gloomy trend

The Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today that the U.S. unemployment rate held at 5.5% (same as May), as nonfarm employment shrank by 62,000 jobs.

Last year at this time, the jobless rate was 4.6%, according to the BLS report.

Industries that led the way in job losses are construction, manufacturing, and employment services. Retail was essentially unchanged in June. Heath care was the big gainer (15,000), but there were also increases within mining, food services, and government.

The announcement piles more bad news on the economic front, as the housing spiral and surge in oil prices give Americans more reasons for concern. On top of that, we are officially in a bear market.

While some economists predict that job losses will continue through this year, here’s a little perspective: The unemployment rate for people with a four-year degree or more is only at 2.3%. That should clear away some of the gloom, no?

I’ll say it again, now more than ever it’s good to find ways to keep your job secure, but also be prepared for an unexpected job search.  (Do I sound like Suze Orman?)

Four-day work week gains steam

Utah has become the first state to institute a mandatory four-day work week for state employees, according to a USA Today article.

“Most states have a four-day work week option for their employees, but Utah is the first to go to a mandatory four-day work week,” said Leslie Scott, executive director of the National Association of State Personnel Directors. “A good number of the states are encouraging their agencies and managers to offer a four-day work week whenever possible.”

The move is designed to save money and energy, and I suspect it will boost morale and possibly productivity. I know plenty of people who work in the private sector who long for this option!

Rising gas prices are making the four-day idea much more attractive across the board. Last week we asked Yahoo! HotJobs site visitors to weigh in on the issue, and here are the overwhelming results.

Q	Do you think you would be more productive if you had a four-day work week (40 hours)?
Yes	87%
No	13%
18625 Votes to date