Unemployment, Jobless Claims, and other Financial Terms

Yesterday Astronology had a fabulous rundown of financial terms you might want to learn before talking to a CFO. I have a Masters in International Economics and Finance but even I need some help sometimes with understanding what certain financial terms mean. My favorite site to use as a refresher for financial terms is Investopedia which is basically a dictionary of financial terms.

One term that has been thrown around the news the past few years is "unemployment". But what type of person actually qualifies as "unemployed"? Is it the guy who is not searching for a job? Is it the woman who has been out of work two years? Who qualifies? Well, according to Investopedia: "Unemployment occurs when a person who is actively searching for employment is unable to find work. Unemployment is often used as a measure of the health of the economy. The most frequently cited measure of unemployment is the unemployment rate. This is the number of unemployed persons divided by the number of people in the labor force." If you want to find out more about unemployment and how it is calculated in the United States, follow that link above.

What about jobless claims? This morning the financial world was abuzz with news that initial jobless claims fell 10,000 last week. Investopedia explains: "The number of people who are filing or have filed to receive unemployment insurance benefits, as reported weekly by the U.S. Department of Labor. There are two categories of jobless claims - initial, which comprises people filing for the first time, and continuing, which consists of unemployed people who have been receiving unemployment benefits for a while. Jobless claims are an important leading indicator on the state of the employment situation and the health of the economy. Average weekly initial jobless claims are one of the 10 components of The Conference Board Leading Economic Index."

Again, taking these terms at their base level can be confusing or misleading but actually researching them can lead to a better understanding of the job market and about your current position. If you ever don't understand something, make sure to raise your hand and ask, because trust me, even people with Masters in the subject can sometimes use a refresher. 

Dissecting the Current News

Sometimes it's best to just dig into the current events and find out how it applies to Human Resources...so we'll get right to that..

First, the economy. A topic that should be the hot-button of the presidential race, especially if this downturn (read: recession) in the market continues, took another turn with today's job numbers, as reported by Bloomberg: click here

This is going to have a ripple effect on the entire economy. As people continue to foreclose on homes and pay higher prices for gas, one thing they certainly cannot afford is to be out of work. This will lead a lot more people to switch out of industries such as housing which are in a lull right now and cause even more competition in other fields. This, combined with a class of '08 graduation will create even more turmoil in the economy. So while we may not be predicting the next Great Depression...let's just say: hold on to your seats.

This next story from the New York Times has HIPAA violations written all over it: click here

HR Professionals should definitely check in with their health insurance plans to make sure that their employee's information is not leaking out to the world or they will have to start lining up at the courthouse for lawsuits

Lastly, in a story that doesn't seem to go away, sexual harassment in the workplace is not necessarily confined to just the traditional workplace. As People Magazine reports, this Rob Lowe story isn't going to end anytime soon with accusations and counter-accusations and claims of abuse and extortion: click here

The lesson to be learned here for HR is that even if you don't have a traditional workspace, there may still be sexual harassment issues and a proactive approach is always the best way...