There is growing support from a wide range of government officials and economists for a tax credit to companies that hire new employees. The idea is gaining bipartisan support in Washington as the government looks for solutions to the highest unemployment figures in a generation.

Various proposals for job tax credits are currently being considered. One plan, by economists Timothy J. Bartik and John H. Bishop, would provide a first year tax credit equal to 15% of the cost of adding each new employee. In the second year, the tax credit would decline to 10%. The economists claim that this approach would generate 1 to 2 million new jobs in the first year.

The concept of offering tax breaks to companies that hire new employees is not new. The federal government offered a “New Jobs Tax Credit” from 1977 to 1978, in response to the recession that occurred in the 1970s. The program at its peak provided tax subsidies to 1.1 million businesses that added 2.1 million workers, at a cost of almost $4 billion (or a cost of $13 billion in today’s dollars). Or, put another way, it cost about $7,000 per additional worker added.

During the recent presidential campaign, then-candidate Barack Obama supported the concept of a tax break for companies that hired new employees. However, the Obama administration abandoned this concept in early 2009, as many Democrats suggested that a tax credit for jobs would be abused by businesses or that it would be difficult to administer, and the plan was dropped from the $787 billion economic stimulus bill. 

It remains to be seen whether the new jobs tax credit will be approved or not, and what effect if will have on the US employment landscape. In the mean time, the job market remains tough. Currently, unemployment is 9.8% - the highest it’s been since June of 1983. However, on a brighter note,  temporary help agencies report that they eliminated only 1,700 jobs in September, a decrease from the previous month. Economists see temporary jobs as a leading indicator, as employers are likely to hire temp workers before permanent ones.

It looked promising for Chicago—we had tremendous clout with President Obama, Michelle Obama, and Oprah campaigning for Chicago to get the Olympics in 2016. Michelle Obama spoke impassionedly about growing up in Chicago, and President Obama said powerful statements like “One of the legacies I want to see coming out of the Chicago 2016 hosting of the Games is a reminder that America at its best is open to the world." Chicago also showed videos of the beauty of its lakefront location and mesmerizing Millennium Park to the Olympic committee. So what went wrong? What can job seekers learn from Chicago’s failed “Olympic interview”?

Don’t go for the personal plea in the interview; describe the technical reasons why you would be a good fit for the organization.

There were so many powerful, personal sentiments behind the Obamas plea for the Olympics. Statements including “with hard work and discipline and dedication, [Chicago] can make it if we try” and “That's not just the American dream, that is the Olympic spirit. That's why we see so much of ourselves in these Games. And that's why we want them in Chicago. That's why we want them in America.”

As beautifully said as these statements are, they don’t give any indication as to what Chicago can offer the Olympics. In an interview, describe what you can offer the organization,. It seems as if the Obamas were asking what the Olympics could do for Chicago and not what Chicago could do for the Olympics. In fact, Michelle Obama specifically said: “Chicago's vision for the Olympic and Paralympic movement is about so much more than what we can offer the Games. It's about what the Games can offer all of us. It's about inspiring this generation and building a lasting legacy for the next.” In an interview, however, you should explain what you can an offer an organization.

It had been reported that Chicago avoided reporting “stodgy technical details”…but maybe the Committee wanted to hear technical details. Maybe the Olympic Committe wanted to hear discussions of finances. Chicago instead showed videos of blues legened Buddy Guy and snapshots of the pretty city. Mayor Daley emphatically noted “It’s not about the words. It’s about the heart and soul.” But “some of its speakers looked nervous and parts of the presentation came off as stilted. It also was surprisingly low-key…” If you are relying on an image mainly to sell your point (which you shouldn’t), it should at least come across as professional as possible.

Chicago had the passion, the skills, and the right “references” to sell the city to the Olympic Committee. But it didn’t focus on what the Olympic Committee wanted to hear of  what Chicago could offer the orgnanization. Job seekers may have the passion, the skills, and the right references, but that won’t mean much in an interview unless a job seeker can display how those qualities will benefit the organization.

In the latest ADP National Employment Report, US companies cut jobs by 254,000 between August and September 2009. However, this is considered a sign of improvement in the job market: it is the lowest number of jobs cut since July of 2008.

Automatic Data Processing (ADP), a private company, calculated these figures based on a subset of payroll data collected from about 400,000 of their customers, which reflects 23 million US workers. The company’s payroll services are used to pay 1 out of every 6 employees in the United States, so their findings are considered an accurate reflection of changes in US employment.

While the latest figures suggest that the labor market is slowly improving compared with earlier this year, it remains weak. According to the Wall Street Journal, economists expect the unemployment rate to hit 9.8% in September, up from 9.7% in August.

How long will it be until the trend reverses, and companies start hiring more people then they fire? No one knows. The Federal Reserve said last week that sluggish income growth and tight credit are curbing household spending and slowing the pace of the recovery. According to Rutgers University economists Jim Hughes and Joseph Seneca, it could take the United States more than 7 years to recover from the nation’s worst employment decline since the Great Depression. This means we will have to wait until 2017 before employment rates return to the levels of 2007.

Many job-seekers lack the basic skills needed for today’s tough job market. Some are fresh out of college or graduate school and have never looked for a job before. Others have not had to seek a job in many years. While many younger job-seekers are comfortable with the Internet and social networking sites, older workers may not understand how to use web 2.0 to their advantage. This situation has created a demand for training dedicated to the skills needed to compete for a job in today’s job marketplace.

In response to this need for training, many websites now focus on providing job-seekers with improved job-search skills. While not job boards, these sites are career-training marketplaces that offer convenient, video-based learning and/or live one-on-one career coaching over the Internet. These sites also generally provide a number of other support services, such as networking tips and other job resources to help individuals with career-related issues.

Examples of the types of services these sites provide include help with the following important job-seeking areas:

•   Resumes. This is a crucial tool for the job-hunter; however, many job-seekers have no idea how to bring out resumes' full potential as a selling tool. Many resumes are overly general or unfocused on the potential employer’s needs. A well-written resume will set you apart from the competition. Because of the specific skills needed to prepare a resume correctly, it provides a perfect opportunity for online training. For the job-seeker, an experienced online résumé coach can pass along invaluable tips via video and/or live coaching. It is also essential that people posting resumes online understand how to make their resume “stand out” from millions of online resumes. The answer to this challenge is training by experts who teach the tricks – such as key words or phrases – that make resumes highly visible to electronic searches by employers.

•   Interviewing. Because of technology offered on the Internet, people can now practice interviewing and get feedback from a professional coach via a webcam – without leaving home. This type of feedback can be invaluable for identifying the strengths and weaknesses of the job-seeker. An online coach can provide feedback on subtle defects in the job-seekers’ interview behavior, such as unusual or distracting body language or personal habits (eg, hair-twirling, failing to make eye contact, etc). An online video or live career coach can train the job-seeker to approach the all-important interview with professionalism and confidence, thereby increasing the chances of a good interview and a job offer.

•   Web 2.0. This refers to web-based communities and social-networking sites that allow users to interact with each other. While many younger workers are comfortable using social networking sites – such as Facebook– many older workers are not. And people of any age may not be fully aware how to use social networking sites effectively when searching for a job. This situation presents an excellent training opportunity for teaching the value of social networking sites for making professional contacts and identifying job opportunities.

A new survey from human resources company Hewitt Associates found that millions of Americans will receive the lowest pay increases in three decades, as companies continue to control overhead costs in response to the economic crisis. However, while salary increases are expected to continue to decline, companies remain focused on rewarding key employees by providing variable-pay and performance based rewards – which must be re-earned each year.

These conclusions are based on a survey of 640 large companies, which represent 13.5 million US workers. Specifically, they reported that salaried exempt employees will see an average salary increase of 2.5% in 2009; executive pay increases will be 2.2%, and salaried nonexempt workers will see pay increases of 2.6%.

As might be expected, the lowest pay increases were found in industries that had suffered the most economically. The auto industry had pay raises average 1.4% for salaried exempt and salaried nonexempt employees, and 1.3% for auto industry executives (down from 4% last year). Industries with above-average salary increases included construction/engineering (4.5%), research and development (4%), and pharmaceutical (3.9%).

Today’s job-hunter has to watch out for a new danger – on-line job scams that target vulnerable job-seekers. Although this is a growing problem, you can reduce your risks of being the victim of a job scam by following some simple rules:

1. Don’t assume all jobs posted on the Internet – even on well-known job sites – are legitimate. While these sites are monitored for fraud, the large volume of jobs posted means that some fake jobs may avoid detection, at least temporarily.
2. Never give out personal bank account, PayPal account, or credit card numbers to a potential employer. By creating a fake job ad, scammers can trick job hunters into sending private financial information. This approach is called phishing.
3. Always enter web site addresses manually into your browser – rather than clicking on links from e-mails – to avoid another scam, called pharming, which involves redirecting a user from a legitimate company’s web site to a fake web site that will steal personal information for criminal purposes.
4. Do not agree to have funds or paychecks deposited to any on your personal accounts. Also, do not forward, transfer, or wire money for an employer. Transferring money for an employer may actually make you a victim of a payment-forwarding scam run by organized crime groups.
5. Unless you are applying for a job with the federal or state government, never e-mail your Social Security number to a supposed “employer” until you have confirmed that they are a legitimate company. Make sure you can reach them during regular business hours.
6. Beware of any employer that asks for money upfront for a job.
7. Never mail or fax scans of your driver’s license. One common scam is for a fake employer to respond to an on-line résumé by asking for your Social Security number or driver’s license so they can “do a background check” on you before they hire you. However, a real company will generally want to meet you first before checking your background.

If you want to file a complaint about a fraudulent job posted on an on-line job search web site, you can call the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC) at 1-877-FTC-HELP (1-877-382-4357), or file a complaint on their web site, which is www.ftc.gov. Just click on “File a Complaint Online”.

Remember, if an offer seems “too good to be true” – it probably is! Trust your instincts and always be vigilant.

Back to Work: Information and Inspiration for People Returning to the Workforce