Employment Archives - Page 2 of 5

As Labor Rules are Written, One Group is Left Out

Asia’s migrant domestic workers face exploitation and discrimination, but are largely left out of countries’ labour policies and legislation. Though estimates of the number of domestic workers vary between 52 and 67.1 million, there is consensus that a significant proportion of them, perhaps as many as 11.5 million, are migrants. About 40 percent of the world’s domestic workers are in the Asia Pacific and around 80 percent of migrant domestic workers are women.

Where did You Intern?

In today’s hyper competitive job market, internships are becoming a must-have on almost every job applicant’s CV. However, when should a worker be paid for an internship, and is the rise of unpaid internships simply broadening the gap between those who can afford to work for free and those who can’t? We explore these and other issues in this Internships Investigated series.

What Makes Us Want to Work?

While most people spend a good proportion of their life at work, few will ever stop to consider whether their work is meaningful. “Meaningfulness” is not something that tends to feature in our daily thoughts, preoccupied as we often are by more mundane matters like rent, bills and lunch.

Stable Unemployment but Weak Job Gains define the U.S. Labor Market

A microscopic gain in jobs and a steady unemployment rate indicate gradual improvements in America’s job market. Two separate reports on the labor market indicate improvements for workers, with both the Department of Labor and ADP, a private payrolls firm, showing muted robustness for Americans.

The Ties that Get You a Job

More than half of jobs are found with the help of a social tie, whether a friend, relative or distant acquaintance. For example, a friend may tell you about a job opening at her firm or a parent may offer you an internship at his company.

Check with your BFF when Looking for Work…or Not

Many people claim to have a broad social circle, but we are all more likely to consider only a handful of people as our “close” friends. These are the ones we turn to when we want advice or company. More importantly though, friends like these can give empathy and support at a time of need.

Finding yourself out of work involuntarily is clearly just such a moment, and so naturally, you turn to your closest friends for help getting back in the job market. That’s what friends are for, right?

Fed’s Confidence Not Shaken by Plummeting Jobs Numbers

Total nonfarm payrolls rose 160,000 in April, far short of the 202,000 consensus expectations from economists and a steep decline from the 208,000 jobs gained in March. “Job gains occurred in professional and business services, health care, and financial activities. Job losses continued in mining,” according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. In total, professional and business services added 65,000 jobs in the month, the biggest contributor to job gains. The unemployment rate was unchanged at 5%.

Challenges Remain for Equal Pay in Business and in Sports

Five members of the women’s national soccer team recently filed a complaint alleging the sport’s governing body in the U.S. violated the Equal Pay Act and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act by paying them less than men.

Even in the U.K. a Higher Minimum Wage is no Panacea

As of April 1, the UK’s new National Living Wage (NLW) means a compulsory pay rate of £7.20 an hour for over-25s. Some see it as little more than a clever piece of branding by George Osborne, an addition of only 50p per hour to the existing National Minimum Wage (NMW). After all, it still falls well short of the £8.25 voluntary accredited living wage outside London – which is based on my research on actual living costs – let alone the £9.40 London rate.

Labor Market Bias Goes Beyond Unemployment Data

When we think about disadvantages and challenges in the labor market, unemployment generally takes center stage, clearly exemplified by the monthly jobs report hype over one stat: the unemployment rate.

Is it up or down? What will it be next month?

The same is true in the academic world. While there is voluminous research on the causes and consequences of unemployment, there is less scholarship (although certainly some) on what it means to be involuntarily working part-time or to be stuck in a job that doesn’t fully utilize your skills.