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Hiring managers discriminate against the long-term unemployed

“Employers statistically discriminate against workers with longer unemployment durations,” according to a labor-market study reported by the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER).

The researchers sent fake résumés to 3,000 real, online job postings — noting the length of unemployment on the résumé — and then tracked the “callbacks” from employers. “The likelihood of receiving a callback for a job interview sharply declines with unemployment duration,” the NBER reported in its March 2013 Digest.

The effect is most pronounced in the first eight months after becoming unemployed, according to the study (NBER Working Paper No. 18387) by Kory Kroft, Fabian Lange and Matthew Notowidigo.

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8 top business issues for ’08

No surprises here.  But it’s a nice restating of the obvious megatrends. From interviews with industry consultants at Deloitte & Touche USA LLP, here are eight business issues “that resonated across multiple industry sectors and could have a dramatic impact” this year:

  • Globalization
  • Convergence
  • Environmental Sustainability
  • Rising Energy & Health Care Costs
  • Transparency
  • Technology Use & Integration
  • The 2008 Presidential Election
  • Talent Management

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Source: “2008 Industry Outlook: A Look Around the Corner,” Deloitte & Touche USA LLP, January 2008
The full report, with analyses for various industries, is available here.

Continue reading “8 top business issues for ’08”

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Top 10 job shortages, 2007

The top 10 jobs that employers have difficulty filling
(global, 2007):

  1. Sales representatives
  2. Skilled manual trades (e.g., electricians, carpenters, cabinet makers, masons/bricklayers, plumbers, welders)
  3. Technicians (production/operations, engineering, maintenance)
  4. Engineers
  5. Accounting/finance staff
  6. Laborers
  7. Production operators
  8. Drivers
  9. Management/executives
  10. Machinists/machine operators

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Source: Survey of 36,629 employers in 27 countries, by Manpower Inc., March 2007
Note: This is a global, aggregated list. There are significant regional and country-specific differences. For example, in the U.S., teachers are the second hardest job to fill. The full 2007 Manpower Annual Talent Shortage Survey is available here.

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‘Alpha-earning moms’ and stay-at-home dads may change household purchasing habits

If current demographic shifts continue, within a generation women may be the primary breadwinners in half of America’s households, notes Social Technologies LLC futurist John Cashman. These “alpha-earning moms” — along with the increasing number of stay-at-home dads — are growing market segments that will merit business attention, Cashman says.

  • Household duties will continue to realign. More men will carry primary responsibility for purchasing food, clothing, and other household items.
  • Men will be more involved in childcare and in purchasing products and services for their children.
  • As they explore these new gender roles, men’s preferences will be expressed in the types of products they buy. These could include more gadgetry and high-tech appliances for the home.

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Related: “Stay-at-Home Dads Forge New Identities, Roles,” The Washington Post, 17 June 2007