Economy gained 200K jobs last month The US economy added 200,000 jobs to nonfarm payrolls in January, and average hourly earnings were 0.3% higher. The unemployment rate clocked in at 4.1%. CNBC (2/2)
Recruiting & Retention
Training may solve your talent shortage Employers that struggle with finding talent may have to ask themselves if they have candidates with potential who just need proper training, writes James daSilva. "At the risk of oversimplifying, these problems have the same root cause: The organization is not taking responsibility for training people, placing them in a position to succeed and following up by holding everyone to account," he writes. SmartBrief/Leadership (1/29)
Hostess Brands will offer employees one-time payments of $750 cash and $500 in 401(k) contributions following recently passed federal tax legislation. Hostess employees will also be able to bring home a multi-pack of a selected product each week for one year. Bloomberg (free registration) (1/31)
The HR Leader
Employers may have to tweak wellness programs after court ruling A recent Businessolver webcast covered changes that employers may have to make to wellness plans in response to the AARP vs EEOC ruling. Employers should avoid asking medical questions and allow employees to opt out of medical inquiries or exams, and they should consider alternative solutions to the problems they're trying to address with wellness programs. Workforce online (1/31)
Workplace Chatter
Nutella sale leads to supermarket chaos in France A 70% discount on Nutella at Intermarche supermarkets in France led to chaos as shoppers pushed and shoved to stock up on jars of the chocolate spread. "People just rushed in, shoving everyone, breaking things," said an Intermarche employee in the French city of Forbach. CNN (1/26)
The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function. One should, for example, be able to see that things are hopeless and yet be determined to make them otherwise.
