This article is from the July 2023 issue.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ (BLS) report released last week, U.S. employers added 209,000 jobs in June. Although lower than the two previous months’ growth (employers added 306,000 jobs in May and 217,000 in April), the numbers could be an indication that the labor market is slowing down.
Most of the jobs that were added in June were in government, health care, social assistance, and construction. Nonfarm employment has grown by an average of 278,000 per month … Read the rest
This article is from the May 2022 issue.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics’ report released last week, employers added 428,000 in April. The unemployment rate was unchanged at 3.6 percent — matching its lowest level since the start of the pandemic.
We’ve all heard about the record number of people who quit their jobs since the start of the pandemic. Employers are still attempting to hire more people. Job openings remain at or near an all-time high as businesses struggle to recruit enough staff.
According … Read the rest
This article is from the November 2021 issue.
We have probably all heard about the large number of people who have left the workforce during the pandemic. The Bureau of Labor Statistics found that quit rates hit a record high in April, with 4 million quits recorded that month. Some left for caregiving responsibilities, while others reevaluated their priorities and values to find flexibility and a real work/life balance. With so many people leaving, those who remain in the workforce are experiencing the fall-out of ‘the great resignation.’ … Read the rest
This article is from the May 2021 issue.
According to the U.S. Department of Labor’s recent employment situation summary, the economy added just 266,000 jobs in April, far fewer than economists had predicted. It was the weakest month of job growth since January. The labor market is far from being fully recovered. Even with last month’s gains, there are still 8.2 million fewer workers on payrolls than before the pandemic.
In general, employment is stagnant. The following rates were essentially unchanged in April.
- The unemployment rate (6.1%)
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This article is from the April 2021 issue.
In November of last year (2020), the ‘ALA Connect Live’ discussion was explicitly geared towards ALA student members and LIS students. ALA President Julius C. Jefferson, Jr. was joined by fellow leaders from the association who spoke to the employment outlook in various library settings and various library roles.
Many of the students that participated in the discussion were concerned about job prospects. In responding to questions, ALA Board members were brutally honest with the students as they … Read the rest
This article is from the March 2021 issue.
The labor market continues to reflect the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. In the first full monthly employment report under President Biden, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the U.S. added 379,000 jobs last month. That is considerably higher than the 210,000 jobs expected by economists. There was not much change in the unemployment rate — which fell to 6.2% from January’s 6.3%. However, the unemployment rate is reportedly higher for African Americans (9.9%) and Latinx (8.5%) than … Read the rest
This article is from the September 2020 issue.
Before the pandemic, I walked at least forty minutes every day that I went into the office (20 minutes each way to and from the train station). No matter what the weather —rain or shine, snow or sleet— I walked. I have never been big on going to gyms, so walking was the one way that I was guaranteed to get in exercise each week. Now that we’re amid a pandemic, I’ve found solace in walking. Instead of going to/from … Read the rest
This article is from the July 2020 issue.
Ask your library director or HR director about how they have managed concerns during this COVID-19 crisis, and how successful his or her library/organizational culture is in general. Now ask your employees what they think of management’s handling of issues and about their library culture. Odds are you will get very different results. The truth is that often the employers’ perspective rarely aligns with employees’ perspective. The closer those two are together, the healthier an organization will be. But the … Read the rest
This article is from the May 2020 issue.
On Friday, May 8, 2020, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the unemployment rate rose to 14.7% in April due to the wave of job losses caused by the coronavirus pandemic. April’s rate marks a new record for the post-World War II era. The number represents 20.5 million jobs lost in the country and is a dramatic increase from March’s 4.4% unemployment rate, which only captured the very beginning of the economic downturn. Millions more were also … Read the rest
This article is from the March 2020 issue.
Every year March is designated as Women’s History Month by Presidential proclamation. The month is set aside to honor women’s contributions to American history. Despite women’s progress, inequities remain, particularly in the workplace. Women face obstacles in many areas (salaries, gender bias, career advancement, etc.). According to a recent study by LeanIn.Org and McKinsey & Company, the biggest obstacle that female professionals face is the first step up to manager, or, what the report refers to as the “broken rung.”… Read the rest
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