Wednesday, July 25, 2007

Social Networking - A Candidate Goldmine

The Rise of the Social Networks
New goldmines of candidates are popping up on the Web
by Dave Lefkow

After recent announcements by Facebook and the rise of networking platforms like MySpace, LinkedIn, and Ning, social networks are once again gaining momentum. Usage is accelerating, new audiences are being drawn in, and new applications are being developed that can help us all better manage our lives and contacts. Recruiters stand to benefit most from these trends, and here's how.

Click HERE to read more.

Minimum Wages Up

U.S. ups minimum wage, but Florida's is still 82 cents higher
By Marcia Heroux Pounds

The federal minimum hourly wage bumped up Tuesday for the first time in a decade, but for many Florida employers the new law doesn't mean much.

Florida's minimum wage is $6.67 an hour compared with the new national minimum wage of $5.85 an hour, a 70-cent raise. It's possible the U.S. minimum wage could move higher than Florida's in 2008 or 2009.

Click HERE to read more.

Monday, July 23, 2007

Vacation Negotiation?

American workers are vacation-deprived, advocates say
Group proposes law giving at least 3 weeks to everyone
By Doreen Hemlock

As a lobbyist commuting from South Florida to Tallahassee, Yolanda Cash Jackson took almost no vacation last election year.

She often leaves her vacation days unused."I've never taken two weeks' vacation together — never," the 48-year-old Fort Lauderdale lawyer said.

Cash Jackson is among tens of millions of Americans dubbed "vacation deprived."

The growing malady is twofold, according to recent studies by the Center for Economic and Policy Research and travel company Expedia.com. The United States is the only industrial nation in the world that does not mandate paid vacation, leaving about one in four employees without a single day of paid time off; and of U.S. workers offered paid vacation, about one-third don't take it all, often claiming it's too hard to get away from their hefty workloads.

This summer, a grass-roots group called Take Back Your Time is asking presidential candidates to back legislation for a minimum three weeks of paid vacation a year — an amount still less than the 20 days off Europeans get their first year on the job.

Click HERE to read more.

Friday, July 20, 2007

Unemployment Rate Up

Florida jobless rate up due to housing slowdown

The slowdown in the housing market showed up in Florida's June unemployment figures, state officials said Friday.With an increasing number of construction workers out of jobs, the unemployment rate increased to 3.5 percent, up from May's 3.4 percent, the Florida Agency for Workforce Innovation reported.

Click HERE to read more.

Industry Research - Just a Click Away!

NAS provides a number of standard industry research reports. These reports vary in content and include great insights in areas like:

  • Campus Recruiting
  • Diversity Recruitment
  • Employee Referral Programs
  • Generational Diversity
  • Recruitment Metrics
  • Internet Recruiting

    Please be sure to check out our NAS Insights page to see what's currently available!
  • Thursday, July 19, 2007

    Get ready for those raise requests!

    South Florida's No.1 -- in cost-of-living increase

    The cost of living in South Florida is rising faster than in any other major metropolitan area in the country.

    The Consumer Price Index for the Miami-Fort Lauderdale area increased by a hefty 4.4 percent annual rate in May and June over the same two-month period last year. That's a much sharper boost in consumer prices than the national rate, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

    While the rest of the nation recorded a subdued 2.7 percent annual increase in prices in June — the smallest monthly gain in inflation in five months — South Floridians were enduring eye-popping increases for staples such as food, rent, gasoline and even school supplies. The high rental and transportation costs are the biggest reasons prices are rising at a faster clip here than in other regions of the nation.

    To read more CLICK HERE.