Welcome to the holiday weekend edition of "In case you missed it!" I know you are all ready to head out for a long, relaxing weekend, so I'll keep this brief. We've been talking a lot about employee satisfaction lately and the impact that poor employee engagement can have on this satisfaction. Recent reports back this up.
In fact, there was some startling news from The Wall Street Journal this past week. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the number of employees voluntarily quitting surpassed the number being fired or discharged for the first time since October 2008. There are likely two forces behind increased resignations: low employee morale resulting from cost-cutting or downsizing, and natural turnover from those who could not advance careers before now due to the scarcity of jobs.
Some employers seem to be aware that this exodus might occur. In fact, CareerBuilder reported that employers are concerned about their top talent leaving. A recent survey found that nearly one-third (32 percent) of employers were concerned about losing top talent in the second quarter. One-third of employees (33 percent) said they will likely start looking for a new job when the economy picks up.
And it looks as though now could be the time to start looking. Wanted Analytics reported a survey from The Wall Street Journal, which predicts that the U.S. economy will gain an average of 196,000 jobs over the next 12 months. That means within the next year, we could be looking at 2.4 million jobs added to the floundering economy.
That could be good news for young workers, who have been hit especially hard by the Great Recession. CNNMoney reported findings from the Joint Economic Committee (JEC): One in five workers between 16 and 24 were unemployed in April. The unemployment rate for this section of the workforce is 19.6 percent -- the highest that it's been since the JEC began tracking data in 1947. Unfortunately, repercussions are likely to continue for young workers, as they are more likely to feel reduced earnings for the next 10 to 15 years.
