Men Losing Jobs At Faster Rate Than Women, Study Finds.
The Detroit News (12/8, Gavin) reports, "Men are losing jobs at far greater rates than women as the industries they dominate, such as manufacturing, construction, and investment services, are hardest hit by the downturn." Roughly "1.1 million fewer men are working in the United States than there were a year ago, according to the Labor Department. By contrast, 12,000 more women are working." Economists say that the "gender gap is the product of both the nature of the current recession and the long-term shift in the US economy from making goods, traditionally the province of men, to providing services, in which women play much larger roles." The Detroit News notes, "The divide is far starker than in the last recession, when the technology crash battered professional and technical sectors in which women now hold more than 40 percent of jobs."
Article Details "12 Skills That Employers Say They Want."
The Kansas City Star (12/6) reported on "12 skills that employers say they want," according to ACT, "a nonprofit research and information service." The article included a list of the twelve skills, which include thinking "before speaking and [planning] before acting," the ability to "follow through on tasks without being distracted or bored," maintaining "composure and rationality under stress," and having "high aspirations and" the will to "work to achieve those goals." Having "an accurate self-analysis" of one's current abilities is also recommended. The article added that "having those 'soft skills' is a very big deal in today's workplace, where a lot depends on interpersonal relationships," and noted that "many employers are measuring those traits through pre-employment testing. (Fair disclosure: ACT is a purveyor of such assessments.)"
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