Recently in Workforce Category

Source: Carl Van Horn, Presentation at Workforce Challenges Conference at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, February 18, 2010

From the speech:
Today, I will:

• Describe the struggles of American businesses and workers as they confront
the harsh realities of today's economy.

• Explain why the upheaval of the U.S. economy did not begin during the
Great Recession of 2008-2010 and why it will not disappear when the
economy recovers later this decade.

• Explain why millions of Americans have been working scared for more than
a decade and with good reason.

• Outline an agenda of common-sense actions to help employees, employers,
educators, and government policymakers respond to/manage current and
future labor markets.
See also:
- Presentation
- The Labor Market, Then and Now: Changing Realities in the 21st Century

Source: Center for State and Local Government Excellence, January 2010

From the summary:
Hiring freezes, pay freezes, layoffs, and furloughs top the list of ways that local and state governments are cutting costs, according to a Center for Excellence online survey of government managers.

States and local governments also have made significant changes in their benefit offerings.

Source: Lawrence Mishel, Ross Eisenbrey, John Irons, Josh Bivens, and Ethan Pollack, Economic Policy Institute, December 2009

The United States is experiencing its worst jobs crisis since the Great Depression. Nearly 16 million Americans--our family, friends, and neighbors--are out of work. This national crisis demands a bold plan to put people back to work. The Economic Policy Institute proposes the American Jobs Plan, a plan that would create at least 4.6 million jobs in one year.
See also:
- Press Release
- Summary

Source: Sally Hass, Steve Vernon, Benefits and Compensation Digest, Vol. 47 no. 1, January 2010
(subscription required)

Letting employees "downshift" toward retirement can help them improve work-life balance, while allowing employers to retain valuable skills longer.

Source: Perspectives on Work, Vol.13 no. 2, Winter 2010
(subscription required)

In "The Changing Nature of Work: The Multi-generational Workplace: A New Generation Gap?" series, our authors look at the world of work today and write about internal workplace relations, challenges, and knowledge transfer, as well as the implications for the workforce delaying retirement (and saving Social Security). While each author may use different terms and definitions for the generations--for example, "Traditionalists" versus "the Silent Generation," and
"Millennials" versus "Generation X"--each provides a valuable perspective on this workplace phenomenon.

Articles include:
- My Generation, Your Technology, and Our Workplace by Betty Barrett
- The Looming Twenty-First Century Generation Gap: Economic Challenges Facing Younger Workers by David Yamada
- Knowledge Transfer from Baby Boomers to Generations X and Y: Air Traffic Controllers in the United States by Fred Poker
- Working Effectively across the Generations by Eileen B. Hoffman
- Saving Social Security by Delaying Retirement: Implications for the Workforce by Garth Mangum, Stephen Mangum, and Jonathan Mangum
- The Twenty-First Century Organization: Easing the Generational Divide? by Terry Flynn

Source: Progressive States Network, January 2010

Part I: Finding the Money and Investing in Human Capital and Physical Infrastructure
As this Dispatch will highlight, the first step is to fund jobs that support long-term economic competitiveness, notably by investing in people and physical infrastructure. While the economic climate for profit-making business opportunities is more limited, investments in education, health care, transit and energy efficiency can create immediate jobs while strengthening building blocks for long-term growth.

Part II: Supporting Innovation, Industrial Clusters and Green Job Creation
The next step, as this Dispatch will describe, is helping the private sector leverage opportunities for job creation and technological innovation. Too often, some state leaders treat economic development as merely a bidding war between states to give away the most tax breaks or economic subsidies to big corporate bidders. Not only do most studies show such tax-giveaway approaches to be ineffective -- fundamentals like labor productivity and physical infrastructure are more critical in site selection for most global businesses -- but they end up devoting most state resources to a few large businesses while ignoring investments in start-ups and smaller homegrown firms that are the heart of long-term local prosperity.

Source: Jennifer Larson, AMN Healthcare, January 2010

It goes without saying that you can't provide healthcare or run a hospital or clinic without staff. And yet, experts predict that shortages of healthcare personnel will continue and perhaps even worsen over the next few years.

Factors putting a strain on the healthcare workforce include:

* The advent of healthcare reform could add as many as 30 million additional people to the insurance rolls, which would drive up demand for healthcare.
* The general population is continuing to age, which also is likely to increase the demand for healthcare.
* There are not enough physicians, particularly primary care doctors, in the pipeline to address the growing need.
* The nursing shortage, which eased a bit in some areas because of the recession, could return to the critical level as soon as this year, depending on the pace of the economic recovery.
* The allied health professions are also experiencing shortages, although not as well publicized as the doctor and nurse shortages.

Source: Harry Holzer, Robert I. Lerman, Urban Institute, November 23, 2009

The U.S. unemployment rate is above 10 percent, with nearly 16 million Americans out of work, and President Obama is calling for a December summit to consider job-creation ideas. Two labor economists explain why it's time for the federal government to directly create more publicly funded jobs.

Source: Rutgers University, John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development, Workforce Advisor, November 2009

On Friday, October 30, 2009, the Heldrich Center presented a detailed and comprehensive analysis of the Great Recession and what the government is doing and might do to stabilize the U.S. economy, stem the loss of jobs, and accelerate economic recovery and opportunity.

Speakers included Erica Groshen, Regional Vice President of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York; Dr. William M. Rodgers III, Professor of Public Policy at Rutgers' Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy and former Chief Economist at the U.S. Department of Labor; and Dr. Norman J. Glickman, University Professor at Rutgers University. Dr. Carl Van Horn, Ph.D., Professor and Director of the Heldrich Center, moderated the panel, which explored the economic, social, and political impact of high, long-term unemployment on the nation's workforce and communities.

Available for download are Ms. Groshen's presentation as well as Dr. Glickman's presentation.

Also available are videos of the keynote presentations. Ms. Groshen's presentation is available in three segments: part one, part two, and part three. Dr. Glickman's presentation is available in two segments: part one and part two. Finally, Dr. Rodgers' presentation is available in three segments: part one, part two, and part three.

Source: Association of American Medical Colleges, Center for Workforce Studies, November 2009

The 2009 State Physician Workforce Data Book is an update of the 2007 State Physician Workforce Data Book, examining current physician supply, medical school enrollment, and graduate medical education in the U.S. The report provides the most current data for each state and the District of Columbia in a series of figures and tables, including the U.S. average, state median (excluding DC), and state rank. Additionally, the 2009 edition includes key findings, a new series of U.S.maps, as well as several new figures and tables.