1.6 Million U.S. Jobs Gained in 2011; Ultimatejobboard.com Leading the Way, While Social Media Accounts for Only 1% of Placements

NEW YORK, Feb. 2, 2012 /PRNewswire/ — The U.S. Labor Department reports 1.6 million jobs gained in 2011, 200,000 of them just last month. And the unemployment rate continues to plummet, currently at 8.5 percent, a level last seen in February 2009.
While the recent adoption of all things social media is widely apparent across many business sectors, including the corporate recruitment space, surprisingly, only 1 percent of employers sited social media as the source of new hires; while an overwhelming 19 percent are placed from an online job board, matched only by internal transfers; even referrals came in lower at 16 percent according to HR consultants Bersin & Associates.

Top 5 Industries for Remote and Flexible Jobs

2.8 million Americans now consider their home offices to be their primary workplace and 27 million Americans have flexible schedules. Between 2005 and 2009, telecommuting grew 61 percent and is expected to grow another 69 percent by 2016. Despite the rapid growth of remote work and flexible jobs, they continue to be discussed by many employers as though they are a scarce, and perhaps even scary, way of working.

Popular Job Board Network Seeks New Ownership

TRUMBULL CT – 1/16/2012 – AllCountyJobs.com LLC, a regional job board network covering the Northeast from DC to Boston is for sale according to its CEO & Founder, Chris Russell.

The network includes 18 local job boards an 8 site green job network. The business also includes dozens of other job related domains and working blogs such as SecretsoftheJob Hunt.com.

We Can’t Wait: The White House Announces Federal and Private Sector Commitments to Provide Employment Opportunities for Nearly 180,000 Youth

Today, the White House announced Summer Jobs+, a new call to action for businesses, non-profits, and government to work together to provide pathways to employment for low-income and disconnected youth in the summer of 2012. The President proposed $1.5 billion for high-impact summer jobs and year-round employment for low-income youth ages 16-24 in the American Jobs Act as part of the Pathways Back to Work fund. When Congress failed to act, the Federal government and private sector came together to commit to creating nearly 180,000 employment opportunities for low-income youth in the summer of 2012, with a goal of reaching 250,000 employment opportunities by the start of summer, at least 100,000 of which will be placements in paid jobs and internships. Today’s announcement is the latest in a series of executive actions the Obama Administration is taking to strengthen the economy and move the country forward because we can’t wait for Congress to act.

Bonuses on the Rise – Job Cuts on the Decline

According to a new Robert Half survey, the bonus checks may be a little bigger this year. The survey finds a majority of executives expects to award the same or higher bonuses at year-end. Among companies that awarded bonuses to executives last year, 30% say they plan to give higher bonuses in 2011; only 14% expect to dole out smaller bonuses in comparison to 2010, and 53% report no change. One of the departments most likely to receive higher bonuses is human resources.

Indeed.com is Sponsoring THE RECRUITING CONFERENCE

(Chicago IL – October 31, 2011) – Indeed, the most comprehensive search engine for jobs which pioneered a radically improved approach to job search, will be sponsoring a WiFi Lounge at THE RECRUTIING CONFERENCE 2011. The global summit is designed to stimulate beneficial partnerships, discussions, and debate among sourcers, recruiters and HR professionals. THE RECRUITING CONFERENCE will be held at the InterContinental Chicago O’Hare in Rosemont, Ill. from November 1-3, 2011.

Facebook Joins Labor Secretary Solis, NonProfit Employment Groups in Announcing Social Jobs Partnership to Assist American Job Seekers

Palo Alto, CA – (October 20, 2011) – Today, Facebook, the U.S. Department of Labor, the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE), DirectEmployers Association (DE), and the National Association of State Workforce Agencies (NASWA) announced a joint commitment to create the Social Jobs Partnership. The partnership’s goal will be to facilitate employment for America’s jobless through the use of social networks.

Majority of American Workers Wouldn’t Change a Thing About Their Boss, According to Adecco Survey

MELVILLE, N.Y., Oct. 10, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — As the jobless rate continues to hover around 9 percent and the economy struggles to improve, American workers indicate their relationship with their boss is strong and positive. Seventy-eight percent of employed Americans feel their boss would “go to bat” for them if their job were on the line. Further, if given the chance to change something about their boss, a majority (59 percent) thinks their boss is great and wouldn’t change a thing, according to a recent survey from Adecco Staffing U.S., part of the world’s largest recruitment and workforce solutions provider.

Layoffs Surge to Highest Total Since April 2009

CHICAGO, October 5, 2011 – Employers announced plans to shed 115,730 workers from their payrolls in September, making it the worst job-cut month in over two years. Heavy reductions planned by the military accounted for a large portion of September job cuts, signaling what may lie ahead as the federal government seeks across-the-board cuts in spending.

September job cuts were 126 percent higher than the 51,114 announced in August, according to the latest report on monthly job cuts released Wednesday by global outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, Inc. They were 212 percent higher than September 2010, when employers announced just 37,151 job cuts. Last month’s total is the highest since April 2009, when 132,590 job cuts were announced.

Most Employees Willing to Help Job Seekers

PHILADELPHIA, PA , September 27, – Nine out of ten employees are willing to help a friend or acquaintance search for a new job, according to a survey by Right Management, the talent and career management experts within ManpowerGroup. In fact most of them have done so in the past year.