Job openings unexpectedly rose to 10.1 million in April | Quit rates fall in sign Great Resignation may be fading | When face-to-face meetings are important
US job openings unexpectedly increased in April, reaching the highest level since January and indicating continued strength in the labor market. Employers sought to fill 10.1 million job openings, roughly 400,000 more than the previous month, according to Labor Department data. Layoffs declined in April and the number of people quitting their jobs was the lowest since March 2021.
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The so-called Great Resignation may be over, with the rate of Americans quitting their jobs declining to pre-pandemic levels after reaching record highs in 2021 and 2022. The worker quit rate dropped to 2.4% in April, down from a peak of 3% a year earlier, according to Labor Department data.
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Pay increases slowed 0.24% in April and moderated 0.04% in May to 99.45, which was 1.41% lower than the year-ago 100.87, according to the National Small Business Jobs Index. Weekly earnings also fell in May to 3.96%.
A Revelio Labs analysis found artificial intelligence will lead to more job losses for women than men because women typically work at jobs that can be replaced by the technology. "Moving forward, providing retraining opportunities will be key for women to navigate the evolving job landscape," says Hakki Ozdenoren, economist at Revelio Labs, which found executive secretaries, account collectors and payroll clerks are among the employees likely to be replaced by AI.
Working toward achieving a goal is a worthwhile endeavor, but it is equally important to know when it is time to reconsider that goal and move in a new direction. Redoing the cost-benefit analysis for the goal and developing a list of "kill criteria" that indicate when it is time to move on can help.
One of the hardest moments for many elite athletes is when they realize their playing days are coming to an end. It’s even harder for those who reach the end without achieving the goal they set for themselves.
I’m watching this now with my nephew. He had ambitions to play football in college. He was a star quarterback throughout his youth, led his high-school team to the state playoffs, and won county accolades for his leadership and throwing skill. He seemed a shoo-in to play for a Division 1 football program.
But he wasn’t. He played for our local community college, but fell short of the success he had in high school. He then transferred to two different universities, but didn’t make the team at either school. Feeling defeated, he decided to take a step back from football and think hard about what he should do next.
When is it time to pivot, or reevaluate our goals? We look at this question in today’s HR Leader story. Annie Duke makes a fascinating point when she says that goals can actually impede our progress. She calls it “escalation of commitment” -- when we stick with a goal despite it not being the best way to achieve our desired outcome.
Duke offers three ways to create goals that will prevent us from tethering ourselves to failure. Of the three ideas, “kill criteria” was my favorite. Kill criteria is a list of parameters -- “Unlesses” as Duke calls them -- that let you know when it’s time to walk away from a goal.
How would this look in my nephew’s case? Applying Duke’s strategy, it would be he continues to pursue a quarterback position at a D1 college unless he gets a career-ending injury; unless he would only be a third-string backup; or unless he’s offered a graduate assistant coaching position. If any of those things occur, he immediately abandons the goal and changes direction.
This is smart. Painful? Possibly, but not as painful as overcommitting to something that isn’t working to the point of damaging your health and causing you financial distress.
Thoughts? Have you had to make this type of tough decision? How did that turn out? Let me know! And if you enjoy this brief, tell others so they can benefit also.
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