Friday, November 17, 2006

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[IWS] NO MESSAGES until 4 December 2006

IWS Documented News Service
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies----------------- Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations
-------- Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor
---------------------- Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016
-------------------------------Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________

NO MESSAGES will be sent until 4 December 2006

______________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.

****************************************
Stuart Basefsky                   
Director, IWS News Bureau                
Institute for Workplace Studies 
Cornell/ILR School                        
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor             
New York, NY 10016                        
                                   
Telephone: (607) 255-2703                
Fax: (607) 255-9641                       
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu                  
****************************************


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[IWS] BLS: BUSINESS EMPLOYMENT DYNAMICS: FIRST QUARTER 2006 [17 November 2006]

IWS Documented News Service
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies----------------- Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations
-------- Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor
---------------------- Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016
-------------------------------Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________

BUSINESS EMPLOYMENT DYNAMICS:  FIRST QUARTER 2006 [17 November 2006]
http://www.bls.gov/news.release/cewbd.nr0.htm
or
http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/cewbd.pdf
[full-text, 17 pages]

From December 2005 to March 2006, the number of job gains from opening
and expanding private sector establishments was 7.6 million, and the number
of job losses from closing and contracting establishments was 6.8 million,
according to data released today by the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the
U.S. Department of Labor.  Gross job gains exceeded gross job losses in all
sectors, except manufacturing, information, and utilities.  (See table 3.)
Firms with 20 to 49 employees accounted for 18.9 percent of the net gains in
employment, representing the largest contribution to employment growth among
all firm size classes.
  (See tables D and 4.)

   The Business Employment Dynamics (BED) data series include gross job
gains and gross job losses at the establishment level by major industry
sector, as well as, gross job gains and gross job losses at the firm level
by employer size class.

   The change in the number of jobs over time is the net result of in-
creases and decreases in employment that occur at all businesses in
the economy.  BED statistics track these changes in employment at pri-
vate business units from the third month of one quarter to the third
month of the next.  Gross job gains are the sum of increases in employ-
ment from expansions at existing units and the addition of new jobs at
opening units.  Gross job losses are the result of contractions in em-
ployment at existing units and the loss of jobs at closing units.  The
difference between the number of gross jobs gained and the number of
gross jobs lost is the net change in employment.  (See the Technical
Note for more information.)

AND MUCH MORE...including TABLES...
______________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.

****************************************
Stuart Basefsky                   
Director, IWS News Bureau                
Institute for Workplace Studies 
Cornell/ILR School                        
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor             
New York, NY 10016                        
                                   
Telephone: (607) 255-2703                
Fax: (607) 255-9641                       
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu                  
****************************************


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[IWS] BLS: NONFATAL OCCUPATIONAL INJURIES AND ILLNESSES REQUIRING DAYS AWAY FROM WORK, 2005 [17 November 2006]

IWS Documented News Service
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies----------------- Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations
-------- Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor
---------------------- Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016
-------------------------------Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________

NONFATAL OCCUPATIONAL INJURIES AND ILLNESSES REQUIRING DAYS AWAY FROM WORK, 2005 [17 November 2006]
http://www.bls.gov/news.release/osh2.nr0.htm
or
http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/osh2.pdf
[full-text, 31 pages]

The rate of workplace injuries and illnesses in private industry that required
recuperation away from work declined 4 percent in 2005, according to the Bureau of
Labor Statistics, U.S. Department of Labor.  There were a total of 1.2 million injuries and
illnesses requiring days away from work in 2005, relatively unchanged from 2004. A
2 percent increase in the number of hours worked in 2005 contributed to the decline in
the rate.  Median days away from work­-a key measure of the severity of the injury or
illness­-was 7 days for all cases in 2005, as it was in 2004.

      In 2005, there were 135.7 of these injuries and illnesses per 10,000 full-time-
equivalent workers in private industry.  This rate declined for workers in both the goods-
producing and service-providing industries.  Goods-producing industries had 394,090
injuries and illnesses and a rate of 176.9 per 10,000 workers.  There were 840,580
injuries and illnesses and a rate of 122.4 in service-providing industries (see table 1).

      As was the case in previous years, more than 4 out of 10 of injuries and illnesses
were sprains or strains, most involving overexertion or falls on the same level.  More than
a third of the sprains and strains occurred in the trade, transportation and utilities
industry.  Three occupations­laborers and freight, stock, and material movers; heavy
and tractor-trailer truck drivers; and nursing aides, orderlies, and attendants­accounted
for 20 percent of all sprains and strains.  These occupations also had the highest numbers
of injuries and illnesses, accounting for 17 percent of the total days-away-from-work cases.

      This is the third of three annual releases reporting on 2005 data from the BLS
workplace safety and health statistical series.  The first release, in August 2006, covered
work-related fatalities from the 2005 Census of Fatal Occupational Injuries.  In October
2006, BLS reported that there were 4.2 million nonfatal injuries and illnesses in 2005,
based on the Survey of Occupational Injuries and Illnesses.  This final release covers the
circumstances of the injuries and illnesses and the characteristics of the workers involved
in the 1.2 million of those that required days away from work.  Due to improvements in
survey processing, these data are available more than 4 months earlier than they were 2
years ago.

AND MUCH MORE...including TABLES....
______________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.

****************************************
Stuart Basefsky                   
Director, IWS News Bureau                
Institute for Workplace Studies 
Cornell/ILR School                        
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor             
New York, NY 10016                        
                                   
Telephone: (607) 255-2703                
Fax: (607) 255-9641                       
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu                  
****************************************


Thursday, November 16, 2006

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[IWS] HEALTH, UNITED STATES 2006 with CHARTBOOK on TRENDS [15 November 2006]

IWS Documented News Service
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies----------------- Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations
-------- Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor
---------------------- Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016
-------------------------------Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________

National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS)

Health, United States, 2006
With Chartbook on Trends in the Health of Americans
[15 November 2006]
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/hus.htm
or
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/hus/hus06.pdf
[full-text, 559 pages]

Includes numerous work-related data.

Press Release
New Report Finds Pain Affects Millions of Americans [15 November 2006]
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/06facts/hus06.htm


One in four U.S. adults say they suffered a day-long bout of pain in the past month, and 1 in 10 say the pain lasted a year or more, according to the government’s annual, comprehensive report of Americans’ health, Health United States, 2006, released today by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) National Center for Health Statistics.

“We chose to focus on pain in this report because it is rarely discussed as a condition in and of itself ­ it is mostly viewed as a byproduct of another condition,” said lead study author Amy Bernstein. “We also chose this topic because the associated costs of pain are posing a great burden on the health care system, and because there are great disparities among different population groups in terms of who suffer from pain.”

Low back pain is among the most common complaints, along with migraine or severe headache, and joint pain, aching or stiffness. The knee is the joint that causes the most pain according to the report. Hospitalization rates for knee replacement procedures rose nearly 90 percent between 1992-1993 and 2003-2004 among those 65 and older.

Some of the other pain statistics include:

One-fifth of adults 65 years and older said they had experienced pain in the past month that persisted for more than 24 hours.


Almost three-fifths of adults 65 and older with pain said it had lasted for 1 year or more.


More than one-quarter of adults interviewed said they had experienced low back pain in the past 3 months.


Fifteen percent of adults experienced migraine or severe headache in the past 3 months. Adults ages 18-44 were almost three times as likely as adults 65 and older to report migraines or severe headaches.


Reports of severe joint pain increased with age, and women reported severely painful joints more often than men (10 percent versus 7 percent).


Between the periods 1988-1994 and 1999-2002, the percentage of adults who took a narcotic drug to alleviate pain in the past month rose from 3.2 percent to 4.2 percent.

The report also finds that the United States spent an average of $6,280 per person on health care in 2004. Seven percent of adults under 65 said they passed up getting needed care in the past 12 months due to costs.

The report also notes a number of other significant health findings:


Life expectancy at birth reached a record 77.9 years in 2004, up from 77.5 in 2003 and from 75.4 in 1990. Since 1990, the gap in life expectancy between men and women has narrowed from 7 to just over 5 (5.2) years. At birth, life expectancy for females is just over 80 years and nearly 75 for males. The gap in life expectancy between white and black Americans also has narrowed from 7 years in 1990 to 5 years in 2004.


Infant mortality fell to 6.8 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2004, down from 6.9 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2003.


Heart disease remains the leading killer, but deaths from heart disease fell 16 percent between 2000 and 2004, and deaths from cancer ­ the No. 2 killer ­ dropped 8 percent. The age-adjusted death rate for heart disease was 217 deaths per 100,000 in 2004; for cancer the rate was 186 per 100,000.


Diabetes poses a growing threat, especially among older adults. Eleven percent of adults aged 40-59 years, and 23 percent of those 60 and older have diabetes.

###
______________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.

****************************************
Stuart Basefsky                   
Director, IWS News Bureau                
Institute for Workplace Studies 
Cornell/ILR School                        
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor             
New York, NY 10016                        
                                   
Telephone: (607) 255-2703                
Fax: (607) 255-9641                       
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu                  
****************************************


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[IWS] DOL Settlement w former ENRON EXEC. JEFF SKILLING [16 November 2006]

IWS Documented News Service
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies----------------- Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations
-------- Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor
---------------------- Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016
-------------------------------Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________

EBSA News Release: [11/16/2006]
Contact Name: Peter Hong or Gloria Della
Phone Number: (202) 693-4676 or x8666
Release Number: 06-1976-NAT


U.S. Department of Labor Announces Settlement With Former Enron Executive Jeffrey Skilling
http://www.dol.gov/opa/media/press/ebsa/ebsa20061976.htm

WASHINGTON ­ The U.S. Department of Labor today announced a settlement agreement with former Enron executive Jeffrey K. Skilling resolving the department's action against him. Under the agreement, Skilling will drop his opposition to a previous $85 million settlement, waive his right to benefits from Enron's pension plans and be permanently barred from serving in a fiduciary capacity to any employee benefit plan governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (ERISA) in the future.

This proposed settlement must be formally documented and submitted for approval to the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas.

The settlement acknowledges that Skilling is already subject to an order of forfeiture obtained by the U.S. Department of Justice's Enron Task Force. That order, entered Oct. 23, 2006 in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas, requires the establishment of a $45 million restitution fund for victims of Enron-related fraud, including plan participants and securities investors. The Labor Department's settlement provides that, if Skilling's convictions are overturned or vacated and the restitution fund is dissolved, Skilling will still pay $2.5 million to the participants and beneficiaries in the company's savings and employee stock ownership plans plus $500,000 in penalties to the department.

On June 26, 2003, the Labor Department sued Skilling and others for mismanagement of the plans in violation of ERISA. The department alleged that Skilling failed to properly oversee the fiduciaries appointed to run Enron's plans and failed to correct misstatements about Enron's financial condition made by Kenneth Lay to plan participants. Skilling also was sued as a member of Enron's board of directors for failing to properly appoint and monitor a trustee to oversee the employee stock ownership plan.

In previous settlements obtained by the Labor Department and private plaintiffs, more than $220.8 million has been recovered for the pension plans from Enron, its directors, officers and fiduciaries who served on the plans' administrative committee. The department and private plaintiffs also obtained a $12 million claim against Lay's estate, although the final recovery will depend on the total amount of assets available for distribution from the estate. These recoveries are subject to the resolution of certain appeals as well as attorneys' fees and expenses, and they do not include any recovery obtained from Skilling.

The department's suit resulted from a comprehensive investigation conducted by the Dallas regional office of the department's Employee Benefits Security Administration and the Office of the Solicitor of Labor.

______________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.

****************************************
Stuart Basefsky                   
Director, IWS News Bureau                
Institute for Workplace Studies 
Cornell/ILR School                        
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor             
New York, NY 10016                        
                                   
Telephone: (607) 255-2703                
Fax: (607) 255-9641                       
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu                  
****************************************


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[IWS] Census: THE HOLIDAY SEASON [16 November 2006]

IWS Documented News Service
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies----------------- Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations
-------- Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor
---------------------- Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016
-------------------------------Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________

Facts for Features from the Census Bureau
CB06-FF.19
November 16, 2006

The Holiday Season
http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/facts_for_features_special_editions/007762.html
or
http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/2006/cb06ff-19.pdf
[full-text, 4 pages]

The holiday season is a time for gathering and celebrating with friends and family, gift-giving and general cheer and rejoicing. To commemorate this time of year, the U.S. Census Bureau presents the following holiday-related facts and figures from its data collection.


It’s in the Mail ...

20 billion
Number of letters, packages and cards delivered by the U.S. Postal Service between Thanksgiving and Christmas last year. The busiest mailing day that year was Dec. 19, with more than twice as many cards and letters being canceled as on an average day. (Source: U.S. Postal Service at <<http://www.usps.com/communications/news/press/welcome.htm>

About 1 million
Number of packages delivered by the U.S. Postal Service every day last year between Thanksgiving and Christmas. The busiest delivery day: Dec. 21. (Source: U.S. Postal Service at
<< http://www.usps.com/communications/news/press/welcome.htm>

The December Rush to the Stores ­ Last Year

$31.7 billion
Retail sales by the nation’s department stores (including leased departments) in December 2005. This represented a 47 percent jump from the previous month (when retail sales, many Christmas-related, registered $21.7 billion). No other month-to-month increase in department store sales last year was as large.

Other U.S. retailers with sizable jumps in sales between November and December 2005 were book stores (96 percent); clothing stores (49 percent); jewelry stores (174 percent); radio, TV and other electronics stores (54 percent); and sporting goods stores (67 percent). << http://www.census.gov/mrts/www/mrts.html>

14 percent
The proportion of total 2005 sales for department stores (including leased departments) that took place in December. For jewelry stores, the percentage was 24 percent. << http://www.census.gov/mrts/www/mrts.html>

23 percent
The proportion of growth in inventories by our nation’s department stores (excluding leased departments) between the end of August and the end of November 2005. Thanks to the holiday crowds, inventories plummeted by 23 percent in December. << http://www.census.gov/mrts/www/mrts.html>

Note: Leased departments are separately owned businesses operated as departments or concessions of other service establishments or of retail businesses, such as a separately owned shoeshine parlor in a barber shop, or a beauty shop in a department store. Also, retail sales estimates have not been adjusted to account for seasonal or pricing variations.

1.8 million
The number of people employed at department stores in December 2005. Retail employment typically swells during the holiday season, last year rising by an estimated 46,600 from November and 186,400 from October.
<< http://www.bls.gov>

$19.4 billion
Value of retail sales by electronic shopping and mail-order houses in December 2005 ­ easily the highest total for any month last year. << http://www.census.gov/mrts/www/mrts.html>

$27.1 billion
The value of total retail e-commerce sales for the fourth quarter of 2005. This amount represented 2.7 percent of total retail sales over the period and exceeded e-commerce sales for all other quarters of the year. E-commerce sales were up 23 percent from the fourth quarter of 2004. << http://www.census.gov/mrts/www/ecomm.html>

15,626
The number of electronic shopping and mail-order houses in business in 2004. These businesses, which employed 261,646 workers, are a popular source of holiday gifts. Their sales: $147 billion, of which 35 percent were attributable to e-commerce. California led the nation in the number of these establishments and their employees, with 2,322 and 30,619, respectively.
<< http://www.census.gov/Press-Release/www/releases/archives/county_business_patterns/006985.html > and << http://www.census.gov/eos/www/papers/2004/2004finaltables.pdf>

AND MORE....

______________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.

****************************************
Stuart Basefsky                   
Director, IWS News Bureau                
Institute for Workplace Studies 
Cornell/ILR School                        
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor             
New York, NY 10016                        
                                   
Telephone: (607) 255-2703                
Fax: (607) 255-9641                       
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu                  
****************************************


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[IWS] Watson Wyatt: EMPLOYERS/EMPLOYEES DISCONNECTED [15 November 2006]

IWS Documented News Service
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies----------------- Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations
-------- Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor
---------------------- Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016
-------------------------------Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________

Watson Wyatt

Disconnect Between Employers, Employees Threatens Loss of Key Workers, Watson Wyatt Finds
Employers Report Difficulty Attracting, Retaining Critical-Skill Employees
http://www.watsonwyatt.com/news/press.asp?ID=16726

WASHINGTON, November 15, 2006 ­ Employers and employees are not in sync over the effect that changes to pay, health care and retirement plans are having on recruiting, motivating and keeping key talent.  These findings are based on a recent survey of 262 large U.S. companies across all industries and a complementary survey of 1,100 workers conducted by Watson Wyatt Worldwide, a leading global consulting firm, and WorldatWork, the association for human resources professionals.

With many firms revamping health care and retirement programs, high-performing employees are placing strong emphasis on pay, but many employers appear to underestimate its importance.  According to the 2006/2007 Strategic Rewards® survey, 71 percent of top-performing employees rank pay as one of the top three reasons they would leave an organization, but only 45 percent of employers believe pay is a top retention issue.  Instead, employers rate promotion opportunities (68 percent) as one of the top three reasons employees leave, closely followed by career development (66 percent).

“The employer-employee deal is changing, and so are employees’ priorities,” said Laura Sejen, director of strategic rewards consulting at Watson Wyatt.  “Regardless of whether companies are retaining the older ‘lifetime career’ deal or a newer, less paternalistic deal, it is important to balance business goals with the rewards that employees value.  Firms that do not get the pay-benefits mix right risk losing some of their best talent.”

[TABLE]

For the third consecutive year, employers report difficulty in attracting and retaining employees, particularly critical-skill and top-performing employees.  More than half (63 percent) of employers report a moderate or high level of difficulty in attracting critical-skill staff, and 39 percent report moderate or high difficulty in retaining them.  At the same time, relatively few employees (19 percent) cite difficulty in finding another job as a key reason they remain with an organization, and 15 percent of top performers are not sure they will remain with their present employer.

A factor in that indecision may be the difference between what employees value and what employers think they value.  Overall, 86 percent of companies think they do a good job of treating employees well.  Only 55 percent of employees agree.  Furthermore, 54 percent of employers say they will do a better job of treating employees well over the next three years; only 24 percent of employees make the same prediction.

“As labor markets tighten, employee commitment takes on increasing importance,” Sejen said.  “Those employers that understand what drives commitment ­ particularly among top performers ­ and act on it will be best positioned for success.”

Copies of the survey are available via http://www.watsonwyatt.com/research/resrender.asp?id=2006-US-0038&page=1

______________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.

****************************************
Stuart Basefsky                   
Director, IWS News Bureau                
Institute for Workplace Studies 
Cornell/ILR School                        
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor             
New York, NY 10016                        
                                   
Telephone: (607) 255-2703                
Fax: (607) 255-9641                       
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu                  
****************************************


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[IWS] FRB: INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION & CAPACITY UTILIZATION [16 November 2006]

IWS Documented News Service
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies----------------- Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations
-------- Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor
---------------------- Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016
-------------------------------Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________

Federal Reserve Board (FRB)

G.17
INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION AND CAPACITY UTILIZATION [16 November 2006]
http://www.federalreserve.gov/Releases/G17/Current/default.htm
or
http://www.federalreserve.gov/Releases/G17/Current/g17.pdf
[full-text, 18 pages]
and
Supplemental Tables
http://www.federalreserve.gov/Releases/G17/Current/g17_sup.pdf
[full-text, 8 pages]

Industrial production rose 0.2 percent in October after having decreased 0.6 percent in September; production in August was revised up to show a gain of 0.3 percent. At 113.7 percent of its 2002 average, the index in October was 4.9 percent higher than its year-earlier level. Manufacturing output declined 0.2 percent in October; excluding motor vehicles and parts, manufacturing output rose 0.1 percent. The index for mining increased 0.6 percent, and the index for utilities bounced up 4.1 percent after having fallen 4.6 percent in September. The rate of capacity utilization for total industry rose 0.1 percentage point, to 82.2 percent, a level 1.2 percentage points above its 1972-2005 average.

AND MUCH MORE...including TABLES....

______________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.

****************************************
Stuart Basefsky                   
Director, IWS News Bureau                
Institute for Workplace Studies 
Cornell/ILR School                        
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor             
New York, NY 10016                        
                                   
Telephone: (607) 255-2703                
Fax: (607) 255-9641                       
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu                  
****************************************


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[IWS] BLS: CONSUMER PRICE INDEX: OCTOBER 2006 [16 November 2006]

IWS Documented News Service
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies----------------- Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations
-------- Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor
---------------------- Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016
-------------------------------Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________

CONSUMER PRICE INDEX:  OCTOBER 2006 [16 November 2006]
http://www.bls.gov/news.release/cpi.nr0.htm
or
http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/cpi.pdf
[full-text, 19 pages]


The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) decreased
 0.5 percent in October, before seasonal adjustment, the Bureau of Labor
 Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported today.  The October
 level of 201.8 (1982-84=100) was 1.3 percent higher than in October 2005.

      The Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers
 (CPI-W) decreased 0.7 percent in October, prior to seasonal adjustment.
 The October level of 197.0 (1982-84=100) was 0.9 percent higher than in
 October 2005.

      The Chained Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (C-CPI-U)
 decreased 0.3 percent in October on a not seasonally adjusted basis.  The
 October level of 117.2 (December 1999=100) was 1.6 percent higher than in
 October 2005.  Please note that the indexes for the post-2004 period are
 subject to revision.

 CPI for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U)

      On a seasonally adjusted basis, the CPI-U declined 0.5 percent in
 October, the same as in September.  Energy prices, which declined 7.2
 percent in September, fell 7.0 percent in October.  Within energy, the
 index for petroleum-based energy decreased 10.7 percent and the index for
 energy services declined 2.5 percent.  The food index increased 0.3
 percent in October.  The index for all items less food and energy rose

 [table]

 0.1 percent in October, following increases of 0.2 percent in each of the
 three preceding months.  Declines in the indexes for apparel and for
 lodging while away from home were largely responsible for the smaller
 advance in October.

      During the first ten months of 2006, the CPI-U rose at a 2.4 percent
 seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR).
  This compares with an increase of
 3.4 percent for all of 2005.   The index for energy, which increased 17.1
 percent in 2005, decreased at a 1.5 percent SAAR in the first ten months
 of 2006.  Petroleum-based energy costs were unchanged on average, while
 charges for energy services fell at a 3.1 percent annual rate.  The food
 index has increased at a 2.7 percent rate thus far in 2006, following a
 2.3 percent rise for all of 2005.  Excluding food and energy, the CPI-U
 advanced at a 2.8 percent SAAR in the first ten months of 2006 after
 increasing 2.2 percent in 2005.


AND MUCH MORE...including TABLES....
______________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.

****************************************
Stuart Basefsky                   
Director, IWS News Bureau                
Institute for Workplace Studies 
Cornell/ILR School                        
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor             
New York, NY 10016                        
                                   
Telephone: (607) 255-2703                
Fax: (607) 255-9641                       
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu                  
****************************************


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[IWS] BLS: REAL EARNINGS IN OCTOBER 2006 [16 November 2006]

IWS Documented News Service
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies----------------- Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations
-------- Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor
---------------------- Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016
-------------------------------Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________


REAL EARNINGS IN OCTOBER 2006 [16 November 2006]
http://www.bls.gov/news.release/realer.nr0.htm
or
http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/realer.pdf
[full-text, 5 pages]

Real average weekly earnings rose by 1.3 percent from September to October
after seasonal adjustment, according to preliminary data released today by the
Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor.  This increase
stemmed from a 0.3 percent increase in average weekly hours combined with a 0.4
percent increase in average hourly earnings and a 0.7 percent decrease in the
Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W).

     Data on average weekly earnings are collected from the payroll reports of
private nonfarm establishments.  Earnings of both full-time and part-time
workers holding production or nonsupervisory jobs are included.  Real average
weekly earnings are calculated by adjusting earnings in current dollars for
changes in the CPI-W.

     Average weekly earnings rose by 4.2 percent, seasonally adjusted, from
October 2005 to October 2006.  After deflation by the CPI-W, average weekly
earnings increased by 3.2 percent.  Before adjustment for seasonal change and
inflation, average weekly earnings were $581.06 in October 2006, compared with
$557.54 a year earlier.
                     _____________________________

     Real Earnings for November 2006 will be released on Friday, December 15,
2006.

AND MORE...including TABLES....

______________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.

****************************************
Stuart Basefsky                   
Director, IWS News Bureau                
Institute for Workplace Studies 
Cornell/ILR School                        
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor             
New York, NY 10016                        
                                   
Telephone: (607) 255-2703                
Fax: (607) 255-9641                       
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu                  
****************************************


Wednesday, November 15, 2006

Tweet

[IWS] ABA: LAWYERS with DISABILITIES EMPLOYMENT REPORT [13 November 2006]

IWS Documented News Service
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies----------------- Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations
-------- Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor
---------------------- Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016
-------------------------------Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________

American Bar Association (ABA)


THE NATIONAL CONFERENCE ON THE EMPLOYMENT OF LAWYERS WITH DISABILITIES:
A REPORT FROM THE AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION FOR THE LEGAL PROFESSION
[13 November 2006]
http://www.abanet.org/disability/docs/conf_report_final.pdf
[full-text, 79 pages]

Press Release
American Bar Association Report Examines Best Practices for Legal Employers of Lawyers with Disabilities
http://www.abanet.org/abanet/media/release/news_release.cfm?releaseid=50

WASHINGTON, DC, Nov. 13, 2006 ­ A new American Bar Association report focuses on the benefits of diversity in the workplace, why it pays to hire lawyers with disabilities and what the law requires of legal employers.

Based on the proceedings of an ABA conference co-sponsored by the < http://www.abanet.org/disability/home.html> Commission on Mental and Physical Disability Law and the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the report offers information and recommendations to legal employers on "best practices,” and legal and ethical obligations as to the hiring of, retaining and providing accommodations for, lawyers with disabilities.  Except where otherwise noted in the report, the recommendations have not been presented to the ABA&apos;s policy-making House of Delegates or its Board of Governors, and so do not constitute policy of the association.

The report discusses how disabilities affect lawyers in all sectors of the legal profession, identifies the most prominent disability categories, and outlines the most pressing needs of lawyers with disabilities.  The report includes first-hand accounts from conference attendees who face these issues every day.

Among the topics covered in the 10-part report are:
   * “What the Law Requires of Legal Employers Regarding Lawyers with Disabilities” addresses what the Americans with Disabilities Act requires from employers in hiring and accommodating lawyers with disabilities.
   * “Why it Pays to Hire Lawyers with Disabilities” examines the best means for enriching law firms and other legal organizations through hiring lawyers with disabilities, and presents principles for firms to follow in the hiring and promoting of lawyers with disabilities.
   * “The Importance of Disability Diversity in Major Corporations, Large Law Firms and State Bars” focuses on the importance of disability diversity in society generally, and more specifically in a major corporation, a large law firm and in a state bar association. Remarks by the Chief Compliance Officer of Starbucks Coffee and a partner with the law firm of Wilmer, Cutler, Pickering, Hale & Dorr delve into the value of diversity as part of a successful business model.
   * “What Can be Done to Increase Employment Opportunities for Lawyers with Disabilities?” explores what law firms and the legal community as a whole can do to increase job opportunities for disabled lawyers, and refers to selected recommendations from Florida Lawyers with Disabilities and The Law Society of British Columbia as examples.

[Thanks to Shirl Kennedy at Docuticker.com for the tip]
______________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.

****************************************
Stuart Basefsky                   
Director, IWS News Bureau                
Institute for Workplace Studies 
Cornell/ILR School                        
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor             
New York, NY 10016                        
                                   
Telephone: (607) 255-2703                
Fax: (607) 255-9641                       
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu                  
****************************************


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[IWS] Industrial Relations Overview of the U.S. [updated 11 November 2006]

IWS Documented News Service
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies----------------- Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations
-------- Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor
---------------------- Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016
-------------------------------Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________

Industrial Relations Overview of the U.S. [updated 11 November 2006]
By Stuart Basefsky
http://www.ilr.cornell.edu/library/research/subjectGuides/industrialRelationsOverview.html

Two new thematic areas have been added.

(1) SMEs (Small and Medium-sized Enterprises)

(2) Temporary Service Work
[Refers to Employment Service Agencies often called Temporary Agencies]

In addition, many of the already existing elements have been brought up to date.

This guide is intended to provide key links for a quick overview of issues, data, and developments in U.S. industrial relations. It is produced in cooperation with the < http://www.eurofound.eu.int/> European Foundation for the Improvement of Living and Working Conditions as an aid to research in international and comparative studies. The resources listed are chosen because they are primarily free and authoritative. Other resources may be found by using the < http://www.ilr.cornell.edu/library/research/> Research section of the Catherwood Library web site. The listing of sources is not comprehensive. It is simply a useful place to start.

______________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.

****************************************
Stuart Basefsky                   
Director, IWS News Bureau                
Institute for Workplace Studies 
Cornell/ILR School                        
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor             
New York, NY 10016                        
                                   
Telephone: (607) 255-2703                
Fax: (607) 255-9641                       
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu                  
****************************************


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[IWS] MIS: WORLD MIGRATION MAP: EUROPE -- NOW AVAILABLE [15 November 2006]

IWS Documented News Service
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies----------------- Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations
-------- Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor
---------------------- Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016
-------------------------------Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________

Migration Information Source (MIS)

WORLD MIGRATION MAP: EUROPE -- NOW AVAILABLE [15 November 2006]
http://www.migrationinformation.org/wmm/europe.cfm


Click on your country of interest to access that country's data sheet.


For maps of other parts of the world see--

DATA TOOLS: World Migraton Map
http://www.migrationinformation.org/wmm/


The World Migration Map Data Tool leverages the unique Global Migrant Origin Database, developed by the University of Sussex's Development Research Centre on Migration, Globalisation and Poverty (< http://www.migrationdrc.org/> Migration DRC), so that you can see the origins and destinations of migrants to and from nearly every country in the world.

______________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.

****************************************
Stuart Basefsky                   
Director, IWS News Bureau                
Institute for Workplace Studies 
Cornell/ILR School                        
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor             
New York, NY 10016                        
                                   
Telephone: (607) 255-2703                
Fax: (607) 255-9641                       
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu                  
****************************************


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[IWS] Census: New! NORTH AMERICAN TRANSPORTATION in FIGURES [15 November 2006]

IWS Documented News Service
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies----------------- Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations
-------- Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor
---------------------- Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016
-------------------------------Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________

Census

North American Transportation in Figures ­
http://www.census.gov/econ/www/natf/natf.html
or
http://www.census.gov/econ/www/natf/english.pdf
[full-text, 416 pages]

A comprehensive overview of transportation statistics in North America. English, French and Spanish editions of the report are available, each containing more than 90 data tables supported by graphs, figures, maps and a number of appendixes

North American Transportation Statistics Project
A tricountry working group was responsible for this project. Agencies represented included Statistics Canada and Transport Canada from Canada; the Secretaría de Comunicaciones y Transportes, the Instituto Mexicano del Transporte and the Instituto Nacional de Estadística, Geografía e Informática (INEGI) from Mexico; and the Bureau of Transportation Statistics and the Census Bureau from the United States. The final product, however, would not have been possible without the many substantial contributions from people in each country who were not members of the working group, and who are represented by the supporting agencies and organizations listed below....

North American Transportation in Figures examines transportation and transportation-related passenger, freight, economic, safety, energy, environmental and demographic statistics relating to Canada, Mexico and the United States. This publication serves to increase awareness of transportation-related statistics currently available in each of the three countries, helps to assess comparability of the data, determines where information gaps exist and reveals which additional data are needed for a more complete picture of transportation in North America.

______________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.

****************************************
Stuart Basefsky                   
Director, IWS News Bureau                
Institute for Workplace Studies 
Cornell/ILR School                        
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor             
New York, NY 10016                        
                                   
Telephone: (607) 255-2703                
Fax: (607) 255-9641                       
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu                  
****************************************


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[IWS] BLS: EXTENDED MASS LAYOFFS IN THE THIRD QUARTER OF 2006 [15 November 2006]

IWS Documented News Service
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies----------------- Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations
-------- Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor
---------------------- Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016
-------------------------------Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________


EXTENDED MASS LAYOFFS IN THE THIRD QUARTER OF 2006 [15 November 2006]
http://www.bls.gov/news.release/mslo.nr0.htm
or
http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/mslo.pdf
[full-text, 21 pages]

In the third quarter of 2006, employers took 836 mass layoff actions
in the private nonfarm sector that resulted in the separation of 134,816
workers from their jobs for at least 31 days, according to preliminary
figures released by the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Sta-
tistics.  (See table A.)  Layoff activity in the third quarter of 2006
was sharply lower than in the same period a year ago, when the effects of
Hurricane Katrina were related to 358 of the 1,136 layoff events and to
57,551 of the 201,878 separated workers.  In the third quarter of 2006,
extended mass layoffs that involve the movement of work within the same
company or to a different company, either domestically or outside the U.S.,
occurred in 8 percent of the nonseasonal layoff events and 11 percent of
worker separations.  (See table B.)

   The completion of contracts accounted for 29 percent of all layoff events
and resulted in 28,005 separations during the period.  Layoffs due to inter-
nal company restructuring (bankruptcy, business ownership change, financial
difficulty, and reorganization) accounted for 21 percent of layoff events
and 30 percent of separations, higher proportions than those of 2005 (which
included the impact of Hurricane Katrina).  However, the current quarter's
numbers of events and separations were about the same as those reported in
the third quarter of 2005.  Permanent closure of worksites occurred in 16
percent of all events and affected 36,329 workers, both figures were higher
than a year ago.

   In the third quarter of 2006, the national unemployment rate was 4.7 per-
cent, not seasonally adjusted; a year earlier it was 5.0 percent.  Private
nonfarm payroll employment, not seasonally adjusted, increased by 1.6 mil-
lion, or 1.5 percent, from July-September 2005 to July-September 2006.

AND MUCH MORE...including TABLES....
______________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.

****************************************
Stuart Basefsky                   
Director, IWS News Bureau                
Institute for Workplace Studies 
Cornell/ILR School                        
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor             
New York, NY 10016                        
                                   
Telephone: (607) 255-2703                
Fax: (607) 255-9641                       
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu                  
****************************************


Tuesday, November 14, 2006

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[IWS] RAND: BENCHMARKING PERSONAL ADVISORS in JOBCENTRE PLUS [14 November 2006]

IWS Documented News Service
_______________________________
Institute for Workplace Studies----------------- Professor Samuel B. Bacharach
School of Industrial & Labor Relations
-------- Director, Institute for Workplace Studies
Cornell University
16 East 34th Street, 4th floor
---------------------- Stuart Basefsky
New York, NY 10016
-------------------------------Director, IWS News Bureau
________________________________________________________________________

RAND

Benchmarking of the use of personal advisers in Jobcentre Plus [14 November 2006]
http://www.rand.org/pubs/technical_reports/TR374/
or
http://www.rand.org/pubs/technical_reports/2006/RAND_TR374.pdf
[full-text, 84 pages]
and
Summary
http://www.rand.org/pubs/technical_reports/2006/RAND_TR374.sum.pdf
[full-text, 11 pages]

By: Christian van Stolk, Jennifer Rubin, Jonathan Grant

This report, which was commissioned by the National Audit Office (NAO), presents the results of a
benchmarking study investigating the deployment and management of personal advisers in three employment education
companies in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands. Tomorrow's People, a non-governmental
organisation in the United Kingdom; WorkDirections, a private sector provider in the
United Kingdom; and the Centrum voor Werk en Inkomen (Centre for Work and Income),
an independent government agency (Zelfstandig Bestuursorgaan) in the Netherlands.

The main purpose of this study is to identify specific, transferable lessons that could lead to
process improvements for Jobcentre Plus and identify the key priorities for enhancing
performance. The structure of the case study reports follows benchmarking criteria agreed
by RAND Europe and the NAO (see Appendix C). The case study reports describe the
different organisational structures, outline the different ways in which advisers function
and give employment advice and assess the varying costs and outcomes of these advice
processes. In addition, an overarching analysis, which is presented in the 'Summary'
section, draws out the principal themes of the comparison between the case studies and
aims to identify transferable lessons for Jobcentre Plus. These main findings are:

 Other employment advice providers focus more exclusively on employmentadvice than Jobcentre Plus.
 The advice process and the client base served vary among providers.

 The autonomy of advisers is central to the advice processes of the benchmarked employment advice providers.

 The employment advice providers in this study place an emphasis on
outcome-based performance measures rather than process targets.

 The cost per successful outcome (i.e. unemployed clients placed in
employment) of Jobcentre Plus programmes is higher than that of other
employment advice providers.

 The initiatives of other providers to improve efficiency in the time use of
advisers could offer valuable lessons for Jobcentre Plus.

This report will be of particular interest to the NAO and its client department, the
Department for Work and Pensions. It is also relevant for policy makers, as well as a wider
audience concerned with the challenge of providing effective and efficient employment
advice.

______________________________
This information is provided to subscribers, friends, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Industrial & Labor Relations (ILR). It is a service of the Institute for Workplace Studies (IWS) in New York City. Stuart Basefsky is responsible for the selection of the contents which is intended to keep researchers, companies, workers, and governments aware of the latest information related to ILR disciplines as it becomes available for the purposes of research, understanding and debate. The content does not reflect the opinions or positions of Cornell University, the School of Industrial & Labor Relations, or that of Mr. Basefsky and should not be construed as such. The service is unique in that it provides the original source documentation, via links, behind the news and research of the day. Use of the information provided is unrestricted. However, it is requested that users acknowledge that the information was found via the IWS Documented News Service.

****************************************
Stuart Basefsky                   
Director, IWS News Bureau                
Institute for Workplace Studies 
Cornell/ILR School                        
16 E. 34th Street, 4th Floor             
New York, NY 10016                        
                                   
Telephone: (607) 255-2703                
Fax: (607) 255-9641                       
E-mail: smb6@cornell.edu                  
****************************************


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