This Week's Herman Trend Alert Women---Expanding their Sphere of Influence

The Herman Trend Alert April 15, 2009 Veteran Unemployment According to the United States' Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) the unemployment rate among veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan is an outrageous 11.2 percent. During the same period, the jobless rate for non-veterans of the same age group was 8.8 percent. In all fairness, we must add that there is a margin of error for the veteran demographic that could put these veterans on par with the non-veterans. However, we believe there may be something else is going on here. In the past, the Guard and Reserve were branches of military service that that mostly served domestically for periods of one to two years. Historically, the US government, Department of Defense (DOD) called up these members of the military for active-duty service only once every six years. Employers supported these citizen soldiers, because it was patriotic and that support did not cost the resources of the organization. A few years ago, the DOD changed the rules. Although their “policy” is still to call Guard and Reserve members once every six years, the reality is quite different. During recent years the Guard and Reserve have not been used as "strategic reserves", but rather as supplements to the active duty forces. In fact, many members of these service branches are on their third and fourth activation since 2001. We believe that the recent uptick in unemployment among these veterans is reflected in the various survey findings of the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM), Business Law Review, and Workforce Management Magazine. They found that upwards of 70 percent of companies will not now hire as a new employee anyone who is active in the Guard and Reserve. Armed with this knowledge, many may choose not to enlist. Anecdotally, as a rule recent veterans who totally separate from the service are not having as hard a time as others finding jobs, particularly those who have marketable skills, a college degree, or a security clearance. The lesson for governments everywhere is "Consider the effects on business and industry, when you make decisions". The lesson for service members is "Make sure you have a marketable skill". © Copyright 1998- by The Herman Group, Inc. -- reproduction for publication is encouraged, with the following attribution: From "The Herman Trend Alert," by Roger Herman and Joyce Gioia, Strategic Business Futurists. (800) 227-3566 or http://www.hermangroup.com. The Herman Trend Alert is a trademark of The Herman Group, Inc." EMPLOYERS AND JOBSEEKERS: MARK YOUR CALENDARS Advertise at or attend VetJobs Virtual Career Fairs. VetJobs, the top veterans' job board, and PSI, the premier diversity job fair producer, are teaming up to launch these VeteransCONNECT events. Employer registration is now open with loading by February 15th. Candidate loading begins March 1st. Expect 25-30 employers and an attendee goal of 2,000 skilled jobseekers. Promoted extensively, early registration begins NOW. To register or request additional information, contact VetJobs at 877-838-5627 or email info@vetjobs.com; Employers: Mention the Herman Trend Alert to receive a Bonus. LOOKING FOR A UNIQUE VALENTINE’S GIFT? Give the gift of leadership advice in our weekly Lessons in Leadership to help your supervisors and managers remind your leaders about what’s really important The 52-week subscription is only $47, a bargain when you think about the savings to your organization in reduced turnover. Quantity discounts available by emailing Joyce at joyce@hermangroup.com. http://www.hermangroup.com/store/subscription_all.html#3 Order today! PREVENT EMPLOYEE TURNOVER IN 2012 Yes, you can prevent costly employee turnover, when you train your supervisors, managers, and executives. They will learn dozens of low and no-cost strategies and tactics that they can implement right away. We have an impressive track record and stand ready to help you. Call Carl at 336-210-3547 for a no-obligation conference call. Herman Trend Alerts are produced by the Herman Group, strategic business futurists, Certified Management Consultants, authors, and professional speakers. New subscribers are welcome. There is no charge for this public service. The Herman Trend Alert is received by over 30,000 subscribers in 78 countries, in addition to other websites and printed magazines. Do you enjoy receiving this weekly e-mail update? Contact us about our co-branded Trend Alert service. Click here to sign up for the Herman Trend Alert. Subscribe or Unsubscribe to weekly Herman Trend Alert View this week's Herman Trend Alert Archived Weekly Herman Trend Alerts

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