This measure is not commonly used in economics, economists prefer to measure employment/unemployment as percentages or ratios.   Particularly as we have a sharply growing population, the measurement of percentage provides a more meaningful figure.

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Such skills include demonstration of the ability to apply logical thinking to gathering and analyzing information, designing and testing solutions to problems, and formulating plans.

To test for analytical skills one might be asked to look for inconsistencies in an advertisement, put a series of events in the proper order, or critically read an essay. Usually standardized tests and interviews include an analytical section that requires the examine to use their logic to pick apart a problem and come up with a solution.

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It is believed that she coined the expression "workplace bullying" in 1988. Her pioneering book, entitled Bullying at Work, was published in 1992. She died from cancer in 1995. The Andrea Adams Trust, which campaigns against workplace bullying, was established in her memory.

Publications by Andrea Adams

    * Bullying At Work - Book by Andrea Adams & Neil Crawford (1992)

    * Holding out against workplace harassment and bullying. Personnel Management, 48-50 (1992, October).

    * The Standard Guide to confronting bullying at work. Nursing Standard. 7:10. 44-46. (1992)

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The Network is the successor body to the Apprenticeship Task Force established by the Chancellor of the Exchequer. The Chairman is Sir Roy Gardner, Chairman of Compass Group Plc. Members include Mike Turner CBE CEO of BAE Systems and Sir John Cassels CB.

The Leitch Review has proposed that there should be 400,000 apprentices in England by 2020. At the Labour Party conference in November 2006 Alan Johnson, Secretary of State for Education and Skills announced that the introduction of “an entitlement to an apprenticeship for every suitably qualified school leaver” would be his number one priority in the comprehensive spending review.

At a meeting on 20th June 2007 at 11 Downing Street, Honorary Apprenticeships were awarded to:

Gary Rhodes OBE,

Alan Titchmarsh MBE,

Charles Worthington MBE,

Kamal Basran

Recipients will have served an apprenticeship and/or have had significant involvement in work based learning or achieved success via social enterprise or their profession. In addition they should significant status and be seen as role models particularly for young people and other employers.

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In some district assemblies, the amount may include an element for loss of earnings that the representative might otherwise have achieved in her normal work.

In principle, the allowance should reflect the distance that the representative must travel and in particular whether overnight accommodation will be needed.

Given the risk that the payment might be seen as "representatives lining their pockets at the taxpayers' expense", some jurisdictions prefer to reimburse only those costs that are supported by receipts attached to an itemised travel and subsistence claim.

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BA-X

The BA has developed a new job barometer that will be published on a monthly basis with immediate effect. The job index of the BA, abbreviated to BA-X, illustrates the development of the demand for manpower on the so-called primary labour market.

The BA-X is the most up-to-date job index in Germany that is based on concrete applications for jobs of the business establishments and not on surveys or assessments. Information on all non-promoted jobs that are known to the BA flow into the index. In addition to the non-promoted jobs that are reported to the BA, these are jobs for freelancers and self-employed, reported jobs from private recruitment agencies, additional jobs from the BA Job Exchange as well as from the BA Job Robot. The BA has knowledge of far more than half of the total job opportunities on the primary labour market in Germany. Hence, the BA has a very broad foundation and provides a representative effigy of the German job market.

Concept

All components for the calculation of the jobs known to the BA have only been available in full since 2004. The BA-X therefore begins at an index level of 100 for the 2004 annual average. The BA-X is seasonally adjusted. Consequently, typical seasonal job stock fluctuations are suppressed. Thus, the BA-X is a real early indicator of the economic situation and benchmark for the actual employment climate in the German business establishments. Accordingly, the BA-X predicted the growth in employment observed since the spring of 2006. In the future, the BA-X will always appear on the day before the monthly press conference.

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It was often done when someone applies for a job but mostly for those that requires high security or position of trust like a school, hospital, bank, airport, in law enforcement, etc. It is traditionally done by the police but is now most often purchased as a service from a private business. Information usually includes the following: past employment, credit worthiness, and criminal history. These checks are important because they allow better informed and less-subjective evaluations to be made about a person. However, they also pose risks including improper and illegal discrimination, identity theft, and violation of privacy.

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The problem screening tries to counter

A number of annual reports, including BDO Hayward's Fraudtrack 4 and CIFAS's  (the UK's fraud prevention service) 'The Enemy Within' have showed a rising level of major discrepancies and embellishments on CVs over previous years.Such business fraud cost UK businesses 1.4 bn in 2005.

Almost half (48%) of organizations with fewer than 100 staff experienced problems with vetted employees.

39% of UK organizations have experienced a situation where their vetting procedures have allowed an employee to be hired who was later found to have lied or misrepresented themselves in their application.

However, recent research shows a reverse in the trend. They found that in the 2006/7 period CV discrepancies had fallen by 31% to 13%.

The Market

Larger companies are more likely to outsource than their smaller counterparts – the average staff size of the companies who outsource is 3,313 compared to 2,162 for those who carry out in-house checks.

Financial services firms had the highest proportion of respondents who outsource the service, with over a quarter (26%) doing so, compared to an overall average of 16% who outsource vetting to a third party provider.

The construction and property industry showed the lowest level of outsourcing, with 89% of such firms in the sample carrying out checks in-house. there for making the overall average 16%. This can increase over the years.

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Types of Checks

• Employment References

• Education Verification - School grades, degree and any professional qualifications obtained

• Character Reference Check

• Gaps in employment history

• Identity and Address Verification - whether the applicant is who he or she claims to be. Generally includes verification of the candidate’s present and previous addresses. Can include a money laundering, identity and terrorist check and one to verify the validity of passports.

• Whether an applicant holds a directorship

• Credit History - bankruptcies

• Criminal History Report

Regulation

The Financial Services Authority states in their Training & Competence guidance that regulated firms should have:

• Adequacy of procedures for taking into account knowledge and skills of potential recruits for the role
• Adequacy of procedures for obtaining sufficient information about previous activities and training
• Adequacy of procedures for ensuring that individuals have passed appropriate exams or have appropriate exemptions
• Adequacy of procedures for assessing competence of individuals for sales roles

The Financial Services Authority’s statutory objectives:

1. Protecting consumers
2. Maintaining market confidence
3. Promoting public awareness
4. Reducing financial crime

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Most notably, the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) regulates the use of consumer reports (which it defines as information collected and reported by third party agencies) as it pertains to adverse decisions, notification to the consumer, and destruction and safekeeping of records. If a consumer report is used as a factor in an adverse hiring decision, the consumer must be presented with a “Pre-adverse action disclosure,” a copy of the FCRA summary of rights, and a “notification of adverse action letter.” Consumers are entitled to know the source of any information used against them including a credit reporting company.

Types of Checks

There are a variety of types of investigative searches that can be used by potential employers. Many commercial sites will offer specific searches to employers for a fee. Services like these will actually perform the checks, supply the company with adverse action letters, and ensure compliance throughout the process. It is important to be selective about which pre-employment screening agency you use. A legitimate company will be happy to explain the process to you.

Many employers choose to search the most common records such as criminal records, driving records, and education verification. Other searches such as sex offender registry, credential verification, reference checks, credit reports and Patriot Act searches are becoming increasingly common. Employers should consider the position in question when determining which types of searches to include, and should always use the same searches for every applicant being considered for one position.

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They may also be conducted as a way to further differentiate potential employees and pick the one the employer feels is best suited for the position. In the United States, the Brady Bill requires criminal checks for those wishing to purchase handguns from licensed firearms dealers. Restricted firearms (like machine guns), suppressors, explosives or large quantities of precursor chemicals, and concealed weapons permits also require criminal checks. Checks are also required for those working in positions with special security concerns, such as trucking, ports of entry, and airline transportation. Other laws exist to prevent those who do not pass a criminal check from working in careers involving the elderly, disabled, or children.

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Criminal and incarceration records
Birth certificate, citizenship, immigration, or legal status in the country

Litigation records
   
Employers may want to identify potential employees who routinely file discrimination lawsuits. It has also been alleged that in the U.S., employers that do work for the government do not like to hire whistleblowers who have a history of filing qui tam suits.
Driving and vehicle records.

   
Employers in the transportation sector seek drivers with clean driving records--i.e., those without a history of accidents or traffic tickets.
Drug tests are used for a variety of reasons--corporate ethics, measuring potential employee performance, and keeping workers' compensation premiums down.
Education records

   
These are used primarily to see if the potential employee had graduated from high school (or a GED) and in fact received a college degree, graduate degree, or some other accredited university degree. There are reports of SAT scores being requested by employers as well.

Employment records
These usually range from simple verbal confirmations of past employment and timeframe to deeper, such as discussions about performance, activities and accomplishments, and relations with others.

Financial information
    Credit scores, liens, civil judgments, or bankruptcy may be included in the report.
Licensing records
A government authority that has some oversight over professional conduct of its licensees will also maintain records regarding the licensee, such as personal information, education, complaints, investigations, and disciplinary actions.

Medical, Mental, and Physiological evaluation and records

Military records

Although not as common today as it was in the past fifty years, employers frequently requested the specifics of one's military discharge.
Social Security Number(or equivalent outside the US). A fraudulent SSN may be indicative of identity theft, insufficient citizenship, or concealment of a "past life"

Polygraph test

Also known as a psychophysiological detection of deception (PDD) examination.
Other interpersonal interviews
   
Employers will usually wish to speak with potential employees' references to gauge employability. More intensive checks can involve interviews with anybody that knew or previously knew the applicant--such as teachers, friends, coworkers, and family members.

Controversies

Drug tests and credit checks for employment are highly controversial practices. According to the Privacy Rights Clearinghouse, a project of the Utility Consumers' Action Network (UCAN): "While some people are not concerned about background investigations, others are uncomfortable with the idea of investigators poking around in their personal histories. In-depth checks could unearth information that is irrelevant, taken out of context, or just plain wrong. A further concern is that the report might include information that is illegal to use for hiring purposes or which comes from questionable sources."

In May 2002, allegedly improper post-hire checks conducted by Northwest Airlines were the subject of a civil lawsuit between Northwest and 10,000 of their mechanics.

In the case of an arrest that did not lead to a conviction, employment checks can continue including the arrest record for up to seven years, per § 605 of the Fair Credit Reporting Act:

Except as authorized under subsection (b) of this section, no consumer reporting agency may make any consumer report containing . . . Civil suits, civil judgments, and records of arrest that from date of entry, antedate the report by more than seven years or until the governing statute of limitations has expired, whichever is the longer period.

Subsection (b) provides for an exception if the report is in connection with "the employment of any individual at an annual salary which equals, or which may reasonably be expected to equal $75,000, or more".

Some proposals for decreasing potential harm to innocent applicants include:

    * Furnishing the applicant with a copy of the report before it is given to the employer, so that any inaccuracies can be addressed beforehand; and
    * Allowing only conviction (not arrest) records to be reported.

In New Zealand, criminal checks have been affected by the Clean Slate Act 2004, which allows individuals to legally conceal "less serious" convictions from their records provided they had been conviction-free for at least seven years.

In Michigan, the system of criminal checks has been criticized in a recent case where a shooting suspect was able to pass an FBI check to purchase a shotgun although he had failed the check for a state handgun permit. According to the spokesman of the local police department,

    ... you could have a clear criminal history but still have contacts with law enforcement that would not rise to the level of an arrest or conviction [that can be used] to deny a permit whether or not those involved arrests that might show up on a criminal history.

The Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence has criticized the federal policy, which denies constitutional rights based on a criminal check only if the subject has been accused of a crime.

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However, there has been a growing movement on the web to use advertising-based models to subsidize these checks. These companies display targeted ads next to the reports delivered to landlords or employers. Some of the reports provided by these pay sites are only expanded versions of a basic people search providing a 20 year history of addresses, phone numbers, marriages and divorces, businesses owned and property ownership. Usually, these sites will also provide a nationwide criminal report for an added charge.

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A basic income is a proposed system of social security, that periodically provides each citizen with a sum of money that is sufficient to live on. Except for citizenship, a basic income is entirely unconditional. Furthermore, there is no means test; the richest as well as the poorest citizens would receive it.

A basic income is often proposed in the form of a citizen's dividend (a transfer) or a negative income tax (a guarantee). A basic income less than the social minimum is referred to as a partial basic income. A worldwide basic income, typically including income redistribution between nations, is known as a global basic income.

The proposal is a specific form of guaranteed minimum income, which is normally conditional and subject to a means test.

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This is especially true as regards our needs for air, water, space, silence, beauty, time and human contact...

"From the point where it takes only 1,000 hours per year or 20,000 to 30,000 hours per lifetime to create an amount of wealth equal to or greater than the amount we create at the present time in 1,600 hours per year or 40,000 to 50,000 hours in a working life, we must all be able to obtain a real income equal to or higher than our current salaries in exchange for a greatly reduced quantity of work...

"Neither is it true any longer that the more each individual works, the better off everyone will be. The present crisis has stimulated technological change of an unprecedented scale and speed: 'the micro-chip revolution'. The object and indeed the effect of this revolution has been to make rapidly increasing savings in labour, in the industrial, administrative and service sectors. Increasing production is secured in these sectors by decreasing amounts of labour. As a result, the social process of production no longer needs everyone to work in it on a full-time basis. The work ethic ceases to be viable in such a situation and workbased society is thrown into crisis" Andre Gorz, Critique of economic Reason, Gallile, 1989

The Basic Income Earth Network (BIEN) describes one of the benefits of a basic income as having a lower overall cost than that of the current means-tested social welfare benefits.[1] However critics have pointed out the potential work disincentives created by such a program, and have cast doubts over its implementability.In later years, Basic Income Studies: How it could be organised, Different Suggestions, have made a lot fully financed proposals.

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Advocates

Many countries have political parties that advocate a basic income, such as the Green Party of Canada, Green Party of England and Wales, Vivant (Belgium), De Groenen (The Netherlands), the Scottish Green Party, and the New Zealand Democratic Party.

Worldwide, supporters of a basic income have united in the Basic Income Earth Network. BIEN recognizes numerous national advocacy groups.

The world's most noted advocate of a basic income system may be the Belgian economist Philippe van Parijs. Other advocates include Gunnar Adler-Karlsson (Sweden), Dieter Althaus (Germany), Saar Boerlage (Netherlands), Herwig Büchele (Austria), Andre Gorz (France), Michael Hardt and Antonio Negri, Charles Murray (USA), Keith Rankin (New Zealand), Daniel Raventós (Spain), Osmo Soininvaara (Finland)), Eduardo Suplicy (Brazil), Walter van Trier (Belgium) and Götz W. Werner (Germany).

In 1968, James Tobin, Paul Samuelson, John Kenneth Galbraith and another 1,200 economists signed a document calling for the US Congress to introduce in that year a system of income guarantees and supplements. In the 1972 presidential campaign, Senator George McGovern called for a 'demogrant' that was very similar to a basic income. Mike Gravel, a former candidate for the 2008 Democratic nomination for President of the United States and a candidate for the 2008 Libertarian nomination for the President of the United States, advocates for a tax rebate paid in a monthly check from the government to all citizens.

Winners of the Nobel Prize in Economics that fully support a basic income include Herbert Simon, Friedrich Hayek, James Meade, Robert Solow, and Milton Friedman.

In his final book Full employment regained? James Meade states that a return to full employment can only be achieved if, among other things, workers offer their services at a low enough price, that the required wage for unskilled labour would be too low to generate a socially desirable distribution of income, and that therefore a citizen's income would be necessary.

In his Robotic Nation essays, Marshall Brain argues that the growing amount of automation in the workplace will eventually displace a large percentage of workers, and that in order to be able to maintain the economy, an annual stipend will be needed. A similar argument was made by Jeremy Rifkin, in his book The End of Work.

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Types of breaks

Meal breaks

Meal breaks or lunch breaks usually range from 30 minutes to one hour. Their purpose is to allow the employee to have a meal that is regularly scheduled during the work day. For a typical daytime job, this is lunch, but this may vary for those with other work hours. It is not uncommon for this break to be unpaid, and for the entire work day from start to finish to be longer than the number of hours paid in order to accommodate this time.

According to a study, the amount of time people are taking for lunch breaks in the United States is shrinking, thereby making the term "lunch hour" a myth[1]. Some employers are not offering lunch breaks at all. Many employees are taking shorter lunch breaks in order to compete with other employees for a better position, and to show their productivity

In some places, such as the state of California, meal breaks are legally mandated

Snack breaks

    See also: Coffee break

Snack breaks are usually shorter than meal breaks, and allow the employee to have a quick snack to accomplish other personal needs. Similar types of breaks include restroom and smoke breaks.

Some employers allow employees to stop their work for short durations at any time to take care of these needs.

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Organization

Regional Occupational Centers and Programs originated in 1967. There are 74 ROCPs in California that serve almost 520,000 high school students and adults annually. ROCPs operate under three different governing formats:

    * Joint Power Agreements between two or more school districts (25 ROCPs)
    * County Board of Education (43 ROCPs)
    * Single Districts (6 ROCPs)

ROCPs are designed to serve the state’s interests in providing quality career preparation and technical education.

Program

Technical education courses are offered in areas such as information technology, agriculture, business, culinary arts, healthcare, construction, and auto technology. ROCPs offer tuition-free courses. The course offerings are based upon current and future local labor market demands. ROCP teachers are fully credentialed by the California Commission on Teacher Credentialing. The teachers utilize their industry experience to prepare students for a competitive job market.

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A career is traditionally seen as a course of successive situations that make up a person's worklife. One can have a sporting career or a musical career without being a professional athlete or musician, but most frequently "career" in the 20th century referenced the series of jobs or positions by which one earned one's money. It tended to look only at the past.

As the idea of personal choice and self direction picks up in the 21st century, aided by the power of the Internet and the increased acceptance of people having multiple kinds of work, the idea of a career is shifting from a closed set of achievements, like a chronological résumé of past jobs, to a defined set of pursuits looking forward. In its broadest sense, career refers to an individual’s work and life roles over their lifespan.

In the relatively static societies before modernism, many workers would often inherit or take up a single lifelong position (a place or role) in the workforce, and the concept of an unfolding career had little or no meaning. With the spread during the Enlightenment of the idea of progress and of the habits of individualist self-betterment, careers became possible, if not expected.

Career Assessments are tests that come in a variety of forms and rely on both quantitative and qualitative methodologies. Career Assessments can help individuals identify and better articulate their unique interests, values, and skills. Career counselors, executive coaches, career development centers, and outplacement companies often administer career assessments to help individuals focus their search on careers that closely match their unique personal profile.

Career counseling advisors assess people's interests, personality, values and skills, and also help them explore career options and research graduate and professional schools. Career counseling provides one-on-one or group professional assistance in exploration and decision making tasks related to choosing a major/occupation, transitioning into the world of work or further professional training. The field is vast and includes career placement, career planning, learning strategies and student development.

By the late 20th century a plethora of choices (especially in the range of potential professions) and more widespread education had allowed it to become fashionable to plan (or design) a career: in this respect the careers of the career counsellor and of the career advisor have grown up. It is also not uncommon for adults in the late 20th/early 21st centuries to have dual or multiple careers, either sequentially or concurrently. Thus, professional identities have become hyphenated or hybridized to reflect this shift in work ethic. Economist Richard Florida notes this trend generally and more specifically among the "creative class."

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Types of Career Assessments

Career assessments come in many forms and vary along several dimensions. The assessments selected by individuals or administrators varies depending on their personal beliefs regarding the most important criteria when considering career choices, as well as the unique needs of the individual considering a career decision. Some common points of variance are:

    * Methodology - Some assessments are quantitative in nature and precisely measure key attributes believed to influence an individuals potential success and satisfaction with a career. Others are qualitative exercises designed to help individuals clarify their goals and preferences, which can then be used to make more informed career decisions.

    * Measured Attributes - Assessments vary with regard to the specific personality attributes measured. Some assessments focus on an individual's interests, and perhaps aptitude, while others focus on skills or values.

    * Scientific Validity - Many assessments, particularly those offered on the internet, lack scientific validity, which means the assessment has not been proven to measure what it says it measures. Evidence of validity comes in the form of studies published in peer-reviewed professional journals such as the Journal of Career Assessment. So users should look at test validity in evaluating a test's quality by looking for references and/or a professional manual. If these are not available, the assessment is not valid and should be avoided.

    * Target Customer profile - Some assessments, such as the Strong Interest Inventory, The Career Key, and Careerscope are designed to serve broad markets (i.e., virtually any individual choosing a vocational program or Career Clusters, starting their career or considering a career change).

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The term was originally coined by Robert Echevarria on the popular business networking website LinkedIn who says he is career diversified as a mortgage planner/author/speaker.

This concept of career1/career2/career3 was developed by author Marci Alboher in her book One Person/Multiple Careers: A New Model for Work/Life Success., ISBN 978-0446696975.

The concept of Career Diversity was further brought into the light of modern employment when a June 2007 article in BusinessWeek interviewed Marci Alboher about juggling profession.

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Career pathways is a workforce development strategy used in the U.S. to support workers’ transitions from education into and through the workforce. This strategy has been adopted at the federal, state and local levels in order to increase education, training and learning opportunities for America’s current and emerging workforce.

Career pathways are an integrated collection of programs and services intended to develop students’ core academic, technical and employability skills; provide them with continuous education and training; and place them in high-demand, high-opportunity jobs.

A career pathways initiative consists of a partnership among community colleges, primary and secondary schools, workforce and economic development agencies, employers, labor groups and social service providers.

Community colleges  coordinate occupational training, remediation, academic credentialing, and transfer preparation for career pathways initiatives.

Career pathways have been adopted at the federal, state and local levels.

The US Department of Labor’s Employment and Training Administration had advocated for career pathways to fill the need for more highly trained and skilled workers.

The US Department of Education’s Office of Vocational and Adult Education has also supported career pathways initiatives to provide students with postsecondary education and training to improve their skills to advance in the workplace. and recently selected five sites as recipients of grants to strengthen their career pathways efforts.

In addition, the Association for Career and Technical Education (ACTE), the nation’s largest not-for-profit education association dedicated to the advancement of education that prepares youth and adults for successful careers, representing approximately 30,000 educators, administrators and others involved in CTE, supports career pathways and Career Clusters. ACTE has resources on career pathways in its online Research Clearinghouse.

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NCCER's training process of accreditation, instructor certification, standardized curriculum, national registry, assessment, and certification is a key component in the construction industry's workforce development efforts. NCCER is headquartered in Gainesville, Fla., and is affiliated with the University of Florida's M.E. Rinker, Sr., School of Building Construction.

Career Pathways has spread quickly throughout states and cities as students and adults have benefited from their use and as communities have begun to see the rewards of the pathways. States including Arkansas, California, Kentucky, Ohio, Oregon and Washington have statewide career pathways initiatives in place. Cities like New York, Madison, St. Louis, and San Diego have also begun to develop career pathway initiatives for their specific needs. More information on states’ approaches to career pathways is available in ACTE’s State CTE Profiles ).

The state of Oregon defines career pathways as a “series of articulated educational and training programs and services that enables students, often while they are working, to advance over time to successively higher levels of education and employment in a given industry or occupational sector. Each step on a career pathway is designed explicitly to prepare students to progress to the next level of employment and education.”

Career pathways initiatives are also in place on the local level including programs at Madison Area Technical College, Portland Community College, Rhodes State College, Santa Fe Community College, and South Seattle Community College (Auto , Business Info Tech, Welding , & Hospitality).

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A career break is usually between one month and two years long. Six months to 2 years is the most common period of time for a career break. It's also possible to take a mini career break of less than one month, which enables people to try out career break activities without committing to longer periods of time. Shorter career breaks are most popular with the over-45s.

It can take the form of a sabbatical, which can be paid or unpaid - unpaid sabbaticals are much more common. Alternatively, the user may choose to take their career break between jobs.

A career break is not simply a period of unemployment. Career breakers usually do one or more of the following:

    * Travel
    * Voluntary work
    * Paid work abroad
    * Studying or training

The career break has grown in popularity over the last five years, with 75% of the British workforce currently considering a career break. Every year, around 90,000 professionals are estimated to take a career break. It is most common in the UK, where it grew out of the gap year concept. The career break is sometimes referred to as an 'adult gap year', which reflects the commitment towards developing skills and gaining experience while out of the workforce.

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  1. Making career choices and decisions – the traditional focus of careers interventions. The changed nature of work means that individuals may now have to revisit this process more frequently than in the past.

   2. Managing the organizational career – concerns the career management tasks of individuals within the workplace, such as decision-making, life-stage transitions, dealing with stress etc.

   3. Managing 'boundaryless' careers – refers to skills needed by workers whose employment is beyond the boundaries of a single organisation, a workstyle common among, for example, artists and designers.

   4. Taking control of one's personal development – as employers take less responsibility, employees need to take control of their own development in order to maintain and enhance their employability.

Now that the job-for-life covenant between employer and employee has been superseded by an insecure and uncertain job market, career management has become a necessary survival skill rather than being an activity pursued by Ivy League alumni or people born with a silver spoon in the mouth. Job security is now based on knowledge, skills and added-value rather than length of service or loyalty to an employer. Career management is nothing more than a small investment of time, money and energy to protect the major source of revenue—one's job.

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Trends

According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the nontraditional workforce includes "multiple job holders, contingent and part-time workers, and people in alternative work arrangements." These workers currently represent a substantial portion of the U.S. workforce, and "nearly four out of five employers, in establishments of all sizes and industries, use some form of nontraditional staffing." "People in alternative work arrangements" includes independent contractors, employees of contract companies, workers who are on call, and temporary workers.

Staffing companies represent a conventional resource of contingent workforce talent, as individuals attempting career independence commonly default to staffing companies for their placement. Staffing companies generally work by charging a fee to the business wishing to engage the consultant on top of the rate that the individual consultant charges.

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By engaging contract workers, organizations are able to be agile and save costs. The contingent workforce acts as a variable workforce for companies to select from to perform specific projects or complete specialized projects. Also as organizations make efforts to be more agile and to quickly respond to change in order to be more competitive, they turn to the contingent workforce to have on-demand access to professionals and experts. Organizations also see the opportunity to reduce benefits and retirement costs by engaging the contingent workforce. However, there is risk involved in avoiding these costs if an employee is improperly classified as a contingent worker. Using the contingent workforce is also cost-effective in that using contingent labor allows for adjustments to employment levels and employment costs depending on what kind of expertise and labor is need and at what time it is needed.

Trends in the contingent workforce are also impacted by the economy. A study conducted by the MPS Group shows the relationship between the contingent labor cycle and the state of the economy. In a bullish economy, the demand for contingent labor is strong. This is most likely due to the fact that organizations are trying to grow with the economy, and using contingent workers allows them to work with experts when needed, without the long-term costs of hiring them.

A knowledge-driven economy also contributes to the growth in the use of the contingent workforce because organizations rely more on their specific and expert knowledge and expertise. As demand increases for highly-skilled and knowledgeable people, the expertise of contract workers becomes more attractive.

The ease of changing jobs has increased and has made working as a contingent worker more attractive. Increased popularity of applying for jobs on-line as well as an increased need for specialists make becoming a contingent worker a possibility for more individuals.

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History of contingent workforce management

Contingent workforce outsourcing

Contingent Workforce Outsourcing (CWO) denotes a provider who facilitates clients' ability to aggregate and track spending, billing, and performance of more than one type of non-W-2 worker. This includes traditional temps and independent contractors and consultants.

The business trends behind the up-tick in contingent work are inexorable. Some retired employees with valuable skills may seek reentry to the workforce as outside consultants in their area of specialty. Two of the largest and most-talented segments of the U.S. workforce, retiring baby boomers and Generation Xers, are foregoing full-time employment as W-2 workers and opting to work as 'contingents'. Multi-earner families where one partner has company-funded employee benefits make it possible for the other partner to work freelance. With business expenses fully deductible, a self-employed consultant with 1099 income and proper planning can have a lower effective tax rate than a worker with W-2 income. Businesses are motivated to draw upon an experienced and valuable pool of workforce talent, which in turn may be cost-effective and beneficial to both parties.

CWO is a toolkit that has evolved to handle the non-W-2 business wave. As contingent workers continue to grow at a double-digit annual pace as a percentage of the overall workforce, companies are feeling an ever greater need to have tools to manage this quickly-growing phenomenon. Capturing and managing data that allows managers to see and control their entire contingent and full-time workforces is a complex task that is now possible with contingent workforce management or CWO tools.

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For employment

Job seekers frequently send résumés or employment applications as attachments to a cover letter, by way of introducing themselves to recruiters or prospective employers and indicating their interest in the positions. Employers may look for individualized and thoughtfully written cover letters to screen applicants who are not sufficiently interested in their position or who lack the required writing skills.

Format

Cover letters are generally one page at most in length, divided into a header, introduction, body, and closing.

    * Header. Cover letters use standard business letter style, with the sender's address and other information, the recipient's contact information, and the date sent after either the sender's or the recipient's address. Following that is an optional reference section (e.g. "RE: Internship Opportunity at Global Corporation") and an optional transmission note (e.g. "Via Email to jobs@example.net"). The final part of the header is a salutation (e.g., "Dear Hiring Managers").

    * Introduction. The introduction briefly states the specific position desired, and is designed to catch the employer's immediate interest.

    * Body. The body highlights or amplifies on material in the resume or job application, and explains why the job seeker is interested in the job and would be of value to the employer. Also, matters discussed typically include skills, qualifications, and past experience. If there are any special things to note such as availability date, they may be included as well.

    * Closing. A closing sums up the letter, and indicates the next step the applicant expects to take. It may indicate that the applicant intends to contact the employer, although some favor the more indirect approach of simply saying that the applicant will look forward to hearing from or speaking with the employer. After the closing is a valediction ("Sincerely"), and then a signature line. Optionally, the abbreviation "ENCL" may be used to indicate that there are enclosures.

Other uses

Cover letters may also serve as marketing devices. Cover letters are used in connection with many business documents such as loan applications, contract drafts and proposals, and executed documents. They may serve the purpose of trying to catch the reader's interest or persuade the reader of something, or they may simply be an inventory or summary of the documents included along with a discussion of the expected future actions the sender or recipient will take in connection with the documents.

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Archetypal examples of this are the woman who is working as a waitress for her "day job", while she tries to become an actress, and the professional athlete who must work as a laborer in the off season because he is currently only able to make the roster of a semi-professional team.

While many people do hold a full time occupation, the term "day job" is specific to those who hold the position solely to pay their living expenses while working on the job (their "other", not necessarily "night", job) they intend to eventually move over to entirely.

Notable figures who have worked in this configuration include the Wright brothers, who held full time employment as bicycle repairmen while they experimented on powered flights.

The phrase "don't quit your day job" is used as a humorous response to a poor performance. The phrase implies that the performer is not talented enough in that activity to be able to make a career out of it.

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They are a place for employers and job seekers to meet, one-on-one, to discuss employment opportunities the attending employers may have for the attending job seekers. The difference with an electronic job fair is that the employers and job seekers meet each other one-on-one by logging on to a website that hosts the electronic job fair. Like a traditional job fair, electronic job fairs are held on specific days during specific hours. Unlike a “virtual” job fair, these events are live and fully interactive.

A relatively new concept, there are several companies who offer these fairs. The most notable one is eJobFairs.net LLC. eJobFairs.net has been doing electronic job fairs since 2005and are one of the only companies that does exclusively job related electronic fairs. There are also companies that do them as part of a larger offering of electronic trade shows such as inexp and unisfair

Catching on, these types of events are growing in popularity and use, being used by Colleges and Fortune 500 companies alike.

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More comprehensively, employability is the capability to move self-sufficiently within the labour market to realise potential through sustainable employment. For individuals, employability depends on the knowledge, skills and attitudes (KSA's) they possess, the way they use those assets and present them to employers, and the context (e.g. personal circumstances and labour market environment) within which they seek work.

Employability is a two-sided equation and many individuals need various forms of support to overcome the physical and mental barriers to learning and development (ie updating their assets). Employability is not just about vocational and academic skills. Individuals need relevant and usable labour market information to help them make informed decisions about the labour market options available to them. They may also need support to realise when such information would be useful, and to interpret that information and turn it into intelligence. Finally, people also need the opportunities to do things differently, to access relevant training and, most crucially, employment.

Employability was one of the four 'pillars' of the European Employment Strategy until its reformulation in 2000, along with entrepreneurship, adaptability and equal opportunities. It has thus also been a key theme of the EQUAL Community Initiative.

For individuals, employability depends on:

    * their assets in terms of the knowledge, skills and attitudes they possess
    * the way they use and deploy those assets
    * the way they present them to employers
    * crucially, the context (e.g. personal circumstances and labour market environment) within which they seek work.

The balance of importance between and within each element will vary for groups of individuals, depending on their relationship to the labour market.

Government policy is aimed:

    * more at the development and accreditation of knowledge and vocational skills than at the ‘softer’ skills and attitudes
    * more on the demonstration of assets than their deployment — particularly for adults (e.g. lack of provision of a careers education and guidance service for adults)
    * more at individuals looking to enter the labour market (e.g. from education or unemployment) than within
    * more on the individual and the supply side, than on employers and the demand side (i.e. the labour market contextual factors).

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• the changing nature of public employment policy, with increasing emphasis being given to skills-based solutions to economic competition and work-based solutions to social deprivation.

• the supposed end of ‘careers’ and lifetime job security, which have, of course, only ever applied to a minority of the workforce, the greater uncertainty among employers as to the levels and types of jobs they may have in the future, and the need to build new relationships with employees.

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• the ability to gain initial employment; hence the interest in ensuring that ‘key skills’, careers advice and an understanding about the world of work are embedded in the education system

• the ability to maintain employment and make ‘transitions’ between jobs and roles within the same organisation to meet new job requirements, and

• the ability to obtain new employment if required, ie to be independent in the labour market by being willing and able to manage their own employment transitions between and within organisations.

It is also, ideally, about:

• the quality of such work or employment. People may be able to obtain work but it may be below their level of skill, or in low paid, undesirable or unsustainable jobs, and so forth.

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Assets

An individual’s ‘employability assets’ comprise their knowledge (ie what they know), skills (what they do with what they know) and attitudes (how they do it). There are a number of detailed categorisations in the literature which, for instance, distinguish between:

• ‘baseline assets’ such as basic skills and essential personal attributes (such as reliability and integrity).

• ‘intermediate assets’ such as occupational specific skills (at all levels), generic or key skills (such as communication and problem solving) and key personal attributes (such as motivation and initiative), and

• ‘high level assets’ involving skills which help contribute to organisational performance (such as team working, self management, commercial awareness etc.)

Further key points from the literature include the importance of the transferability of these skills from one occupational or business context to another for employability and the increased attention employers are paying to the softer attitudinal skills in selecting employees.

Merely being in possession of employer-relevant knowledge, skills and attitudes is not enough for an individual to either ‘move self-sufficiently’ in the modern labour market or ‘realise their potential’. People also need the capability to exploit their assets, to market them and sell them.

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• Career management skills — commonly identified as self-awareness (ie diagnosing occupational interests and abilities), opportunity awareness (knowing what work opportunities exist and their entry requirements ie labour market knowledge), decision-making skills (to develop a strategy of getting from where you are to where you want to be) and transition skills. The latter generally includes:

• Job search skills — ie finding suitable jobs. Access to formal and informal networks is an important component of job search and employability.

• Strategic approach — being adaptable to labour market developments and realistic about labour market opportunities, be occupationally and locationally mobile.

There is obviously an important inter-relationship between assets and deployment. The extent to which an individual is aware of what they possess in terms of knowledge, skills and attitudes and its relevance to the employment opportunities available may affect their willingness to undertake training and other activities designed to upgrade their skills etc.

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• the presentation of CVs etc., (including Records of Achievement)

• the qualifications individuals possess (both academic and vocational), perhaps accredited through prior learning

• references and testimonies

• interview technique, and, of particular importance,

• work experience/track record.

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    * personal circumstances — e.g. caring responsibilities, disabilities, and household status can all affect their ability to seek different opportunities and will vary during an individual’s life cycle; while

    * external factors such as macro-economic demand and the pattern and level of job openings in their labour market, be it local or national; labour market regulation and benefit rules; and employer recruitment and selection behaviour.

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• labour market entrants

• labour market re-entrants

• disadvantaged groups

• insecure or under-utilised employees

where different policies may need to be targeted according to different circumstances.

For employers the priorities might be to help key groups of staff to develop both those assets which have explicit, immediate value to the organisation as well as those transferable ones which have a wider, longer term currency, thereby engendering a sense of security, encouraging commitment, risk-taking and flexibility among employees.

For the individual the need is to boost those aspects of their employability which will most enhance their opportunities in the light of their circumstances.

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    * more at the development and accreditation of knowledge and vocational skills than at the ‘softer’ skills and attitudes

    * more on the demonstration of assets than their deployment — particularly for adults (eg lack of provision of a careers education and guidance service for adults)

    * more at individuals looking to enter the labour market (eg from education or unemployment) than within

    * more on the individual and the supply side, than on employers and the demand side (ie the labour market contextual factors).

This policy orientation may reflect a variety of factors such as difficulties in defining, assessing and verifying ‘soft skills’, and difficulties identifying and accessing specific groups of employees at which to target limited resources.

Thus some key questions for future policy interventions include:

    * who are the priority groups

    * where the most serious gaps are for such groups be they related to eg which assets, dimensions of deployment or presentational skills

    * how these gaps might best be remedied and

    * which of the arms of public policy are best placed to add such value and how through interventions.

Finally, whatever the interventions, they need to be evaluated so that lessons can be fed back into further improvements and to the decision to continue with, change or stop such interventions. Potential measures include those relating to input measures, eg possession of vocational qualifications, or the receipt of careers management training; perception measures, eg the views of employers and the workforce of their employability; and outcome measures, eg the speed at which people are able to get jobs or ‘measurements of failure’, eg the numbers or proportion of people with difficulty finding or keeping work, or the number of job changes, however defined. Obviously there is room for some combination of all three. Whatever route is chosen, it is important to take account of the overall state of the labour market and how it is changing, to take account of any dead-weight effect and assess true additionality.

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While it often varies from business to business, specific areas that an employee handbook may address include:

* A welcome statement, which may also briefly describe the company's history, reasons for its success and how the employee can contribute to future successes. It may also include a mission statement, or a statement about a business' goals and objectives.
* Orientation procedures. This usually involves providing a human resources manager or other designated employee completed income tax withholding forms, providing proof of identity and eligibility for employment (in accordance with the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986), proof of a completed drug test (by a designated medical center) and other required forms.
* Definitions of full- and part-time employment, and benefits each classification receives. In addition, this area also describes timekeeping procedures (such as defining a "work week"). This area may also include information about daily breaks (for lunch and rest).
* Information about employee pay and benefits (such as vacation and insurance). Usually, new employees are awarded some benefits, plus additional rewards (such as enrollment in a 401K retirement account program, additional vacation and pay raises) after having worked for a company for a certain period of time. These are spelled out in this section.
* Expectations about conduct and discipline policies. These sections include conduct policies for such areas as sexual harassment, alcohol and drug use, and attendance; plus, grounds for dismissal (i.e., getting fired) and due process. This area may also include information about filing grievances with supervisors and/or co-workers, and communicating work-related issues with supervisors and/or company managers.
* Guidelines for employee performance reviews (such as how and when they are conducted).
* Policies for promotion or demotion to a certain position.
* Rules concerning mail; use of the telephone, company equipment, Internet and e-mail; and employee use of motor vehicles for job assignments.
* Procedures on handling on-the-job accidents, such as those that result in injury.
* How an employee may voluntarily terminate his job (through retirement or resignation), and exit interviews.
* A requirement that employees keep certain business information confidential. This area usually includes information about releasing employee records and information, as well as who may retrieve and inspect the information.

If the employer is covered by the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 - generally 50 or more employees - a handbook must have information about FMLA.

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Why are written policies important?

Sound employment policies provide the framework within which an organization governs its employee relations. A policies and procedures manual guides both managers and employees as to what is expected and can prevent misunderstandings about employer policy. In addition, supervisors and managers are more likely to consistently apply policies if they are clearly communicated in writing. An is probably your first line of establishing an affirmative defense strategy.

It is true that written policies, like any record, can be used against an organization in a lawsuit. Poorly drafted policies often become the main evidence presented when employees allege that the policies were in fact a contract that the employer violated. However, policies that are carefully written so as not to be contracts actually should protect against these claims and not be a problem. In addition, carefully written policies can be used to illustrate your commitment to a positive work environment and to nondiscriminatory employment practices.

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For example,the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission reported that in 2005, companies paid out more than $378 million dollars in discrimination non-litigated settlements. In 2007, the EEOC received a total of 82,792 discrimination charges filed against private businesses.

Other examples of litigation against a company stemming from employee actions are the release of a customer's private information and,of course, the actions of one employee against another; sexual harassment being this type of offensive employee conduct.

An effective Employee Handbook Company Policy Manual is a very obvious, simple and inexpensive answer to the question, "How does a business protect itself against lawsuits based on employee behavior?" There are several key elements that businesses should consider before implementing an Employee Handbook.

One of the most important aspects of any Employee Handbook Company Policy Manual is that the Employee Handbook Company Policy Manual is kept current. Laws do change, and your Employee Handbook needs to be updated and kept current. Likewise, if a company has employees who are more comfortable using Spanish than English, it is a best practice to have a Spanish Employee Handbook Company Policy Manual.

Other key characteristics of an Employee Handbook Company Policy Handbook that help guard against employee lawsuits are that the Employee Handbook is attorney written and completed, and customized for each state; one size does not fit all! A New Mexico Employee Handbook should not be used in California. State laws may very well be different. For example, if a company wants to implement a Drug-free Workplace, an appropriate policy must be communicated to each employee in the Employee Handbook Company Policy Manual. Each state may have its own rules on how a Drug-free workplace is to be accomplished, and the information that must be communicated to employees. Florida and Texas are such states.

A good example of an Employee Handbook meeting all of these key characteristics is Employee Handbook Company Policy Manual.

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In economics, the phrase often refers to employers which can hire workers when no other employers are hiring. Their presence may soften the negative impact on employment of downturns in the business cycle. One example of such a program would be the Civilian Conservation Corps, a government agency intended to provide work to young, unemployed men. Military Keynesianism argues that the military can act as an employer of last resort.

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One of the largest California state departments, EDD has "nearly 10,000 employees providing services at more than 400 locations" and an annual budget of nearly $12 billion. EDD employees provide many services, including:

    * Assisting California employers in meeting their labor needs.

    * Helping California job seekers obtain employment.

    * Administering the federally-funded workforce investment programs for adults, dislocated workers, and youth.

    * Assisting the disadvantaged and welfare-to-work recipients to become self-sufficient.

    * Helping unemployed and disabled workers by administering the Unemployment Insurance and Disability Insurance programs.

    * Supporting state activities and benefit programs by collecting and administering employment-related taxes.

    * Providing comprehensive labor market information.

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In December 1993, a man used firearms to kill three people and injure four others at the EDD office in Oxnard; later he killed a policeman before police shot him dead. The office was subsequently moved.

Mark Sanders (known as "Mr. EDD"), having worked 35 years at EDD including a brief period as interim director, retired from EDD in 1996 and died in 1997. He was remembered for "represent[ing] the values, the principles and the services...  stands for."

EDD's director between 1999 and 2004 was Michael Bernick.

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The Director's Office orchestrates the direction of the Department to ensure that programs and services are consistent with the Department's mission statement and goals. In addition, the Director's Office consists of:

Equal Employment Opportunity Office

The Equal Employment Opportunity Office investigates and resolves discrimination complaints filed against the Department by employees, employers, and applicants for employment and training, and provides consultant services on all aspects of equal employment opportunity.

Legal Office

The Legal Office provides legal advice and support to the Director and Department management in connection with court cases, administrative hearings, contracts, legislation, and regulations.

Legislative Liaison Office

The Legislative Liaison Office serves as the Department's primary liaison with state and federal elected officials and provides information, analyses, and guidance on legislative matters to the Secretary of the Labor and Workforce Development Agency, the Governor's Office, other governmental entities, and outside groups.

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Disability Insurance Branch

The Disability Insurance Branch has over 1,200 employees organized into a Central Office; a Field Operations Division (with Claims Management Offices and Customer Service Centers); and an Office of the Medical Director. The Branch administers the State Disability Insurance program (which includes Disability Insurance and Paid Family Leave), as well as Non-Industrial Disability Insurance. Among other initiatives, by 2011 the Branch plans to implement a Disability Insurance Automation project for more efficient and effective electronic communications and information processing. The state's legal and regulatory requirements for the Branch's programs are found in the California Unemployment Insurance Code, the California Labor Code, and Title 22 of the California Code of Regulations.

State Disability Insurance (SDI)

The State Disability Insurance (SDI) partial wage replacement benefit program began in California in 1946; in the United States, the only other state and territorial governments that provide disability insurance are those of Hawaii, New Jersey, New York, Puerto Rico, and Rhode Island.

With some exceptions, SDI coverage is required "for employees working for employers with payrolls in excess of $100 in a calendar quarter." SDI covers approximately 12.8 million workers in California, who participate either in the State Plan, in Voluntary Plans, or in the Disability Insurance Elective Coverage program:

* The State Plan is administered by EDD and is "financed entirely by California workers through a payroll tax on their earnings." As of 2008, the SDI withholding rate is 0.8% on wages up to $86,698 per employee.
* If an employer and a majority of the employees of a company consent, a private Voluntary Plan "may be substituted for the State Plan if the Voluntary Plan matches the State Plan's benefits, provides at least one greater benefit, and costs the employee no more than the State Plan." Furthermore, "an employee may choose State Plan coverage even though a Voluntary Plan is available where he/she works." Only about 3.8 percent of workers covered by SDI are covered through Voluntary Plans, which the Disability Insurance Branch oversees "to ensure compliance with statute and regulations."
* Self-employed individuals and some other types of workers for whom SDI coverage is not required can choose to participate in the Disability Insurance Elective Coverage program. This program is funded by "employer-paid premiums calculated using a net profit formula." EDD provides "administrative oversight" of this program.

Two types of benefits are available under SDI: Disability Insurance and Paid Family Leave.

* Disability Insurance benefits "are payable when a covered employee suffers a wage loss and cannot work due to pregnancy or illness/injury not related to his/her job." Benefits are calculated to replace about 55% of a worker’s earnings, and (in 2008) range from $50 to $917 per week for a maximum of 52 weeks. For Disability Insurance, in calendar year 2007 EDD processed 742,976 claims and paid over $3.7 billion in benefits.
* Paid Family Leave benefits "are available to persons who take time off work to care for a seriously ill child, spouse, parent, or domestic partner or to bond with a new minor child." In 2002, California was the first state to pass a law requiring the Paid Family Leave program, and as of mid-2008, the only other states that had passed laws to offer paid family leave benefits were Washington and New Jersey. The program "offers up to 6 weeks of benefits in a 12-month period" and "provides benefits of approximately 55 percent of lost wages," ranging "from a minimum of $50 to a maximum of $917 per week for up to six weeks" as of 2008. For Paid Family Leave, in calendar year 2007 EDD processed 183,347 claims and paid over $410 million in benefits.

Nonindustrial Disability Insurance (NDI)

The Disability Insurance Branch administers the NDI program for state employees who are not covered by SDI. The NDI program provides disability insurance benefits similar to SDI's disability insurance benefits, but NDI benefits are payable by the California State Controller for only a maximum of 182 days.

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Program Review Branch

The Program Review Branch performs review oversight and technical assistance functions for the Director, EDD's executive staff, and state and local EDD program management. Its services include:

    * assessing the effectiveness and efficiency of programs, operations, and systems;

    * performing compliance oversight to ensure that EDD programs are in accordance with federal and state laws and regulations; and

    * serving as an advocate to improve services for Migrant and Seasonal Farmworkers.

The Branch is responsible for fraud detection and deterrence "through sound internal control structures, internal and external audits, risk assessments, detailed Quality Control reviews, and criminal investigations".

Public Affairs Branch

The Public Affairs Branch provides outreach, marketing services, communications, and training that support EDD programs and the employment of special targeted populations. The branch is composed of the Marketing and Constituent Services Office and the Communications Office.

Tax Branch

The Tax Branch, one of the largest tax collection agencies in the nation, handles all administrative, education, customer service, and enforcement functions for the audit and collection of Unemployment Insurance Tax, Employment Training Tax, State Disability Insurance Tax, and Personal Income Tax withholding. Unemployment Insurance Tax and Employment Training Tax are employer contributions, while State Disability Insurance Tax and Personal Income Tax are withheld from employees' wages. Each year, EDD collects more than $31 billion in payroll taxes, including nearly $25 billion in Personal Income Tax, processes more than 30 million employer payroll tax documents and remittances, and maintains records for more than 17 million workers. The branch offers a variety of payroll seminars and workshops and provides one-on-one services to employers to help them meet their tax obligations.

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Each year, EDD pays out more than $6.2 billion in Unemployment Insurance benefits and receives and processes more than 2.4 million new claims. California's Unemployment Insurance program is the largest in the United States "in terms of participating employers, revenue collected, and benefits paid". The program is funded by mandated employer contributions "on up to $7,000 in wages paid to each worker," with the tax rate increasing if more former employees make claims on the employer's account.

Besides regular unemployment insurance, additional services provided under the Unemployment Insurance program include Work Sharing, Disaster Unemployment Assistance, and Trade Adjustment Assistance. Work Sharing "allows for the payment of Unemployment Insurance benefits to employees of participating employers whose wages and hours have been reduced"; a person can be eligible for Disaster Unemployment Assistance if the President declares a disaster in his/her area; and Trade Adjustment Assistance "provides special federally funded assistance for workers who lose their jobs or whose hours of work and wages are reduced as the result of trade with other countries".

Workforce Services Branch

The Workforce Services Branch includes several major programs.

The Job Service program (also known as Employment Service) offers services at hundreds of locations statewide and connects one million job seekers with employers each year. One of the largest public employment services in the world, it is authorized by the federal Wagner-Peyser Act as amended by the Workforce Investment Act of 1998. Job seeker services include job referral, job search workshops, placement services, and special assistance to individuals who are experiencing difficulty in finding work. Services to employers include matching job openings with qualified candidates and specialized recruitment campaigns. Components of the Job Service program include:

    * CalJOBS℠, EDD's Internet-based job and résumé listing system, which lists thousands of job openings and the largest pool of job seekers in California.
    * Several statewide workforce preparation programs and initiatives that focus on preparing adults and youth for the labor force and building the State's economy.
    * Distribution of more than $400 million annually in federal funds statewide to provide training services for adults, dislocated workers, and youth. This includes the Employment Training Network, "a multi-faceted, full-service program... to assist in the development and implementation of effective Workforce Investment Act (WIA) projects and programs."
    * Workforce investment services through comprehensive One-Stop Career Centers (coordinated by the federal Employment and Training Administration) that provide access to a full range of services pertaining to educational activities, employer services, and referrals to other appropriate social services.

The Branch administers the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN Act) and the California law that expands upon the WARN Act. For example, an establishment that will incur a "plant closing, layoff or relocation of 50 or more employees within a 30-day period" must notify EDD.

Within the Branch, the Labor Market Information Division collects, analyzes, and publishes (e.g., on its Web site) thousands of statistics on agricultural and nonagricultural industrial employment; occupational duties, skills, wages, and staffing patterns; and labor force statistics and characteristics. The Division provides employment and unemployment data; economic development and planning information; industry and occupational characteristics, trends, and wage information; and social and demographic information.

The Branch also includes the Governor's Committee on Employment of People with Disabilities. The purposes of the Committee are to "increase the number of people with disabilities in the California workforce" and "to ensure improved employment opportunities for people with disabilities."

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