Facts from the world of HR

Each month I receive a free subscription to Human Resource Executive which helps keep me up to date all things HR. At the end of every edition they have a full page of “Factoids from the Workplace and Beyond” I thought a few of them were really interesting this month (May 2009) and wanted to share them with you.

- 49.1% of the nation’s jobs are now held by woman, a record high number due partly to the recession, which has been disproportionately harder on men’s jobs than women. Eighty-two percent of job losses in the past 12 months have befallen men.

- 69% decline in United Auto Workers union from its peak in 1979.

- 10.6% unemployment rate in Michigan (my lucky residence), the state with the highest level of unemployment. At the other end of the scale Wyoming, with a 3.4% unemployment rate.

- 108 the number of different occupations that Barbie has held during her 50-year run. Tickets to July’s National Barbie Doll Collector’s Convention sold out within two days.

- $17.94 the average hourly wage for rank and file workers in the Unites States as of May 2008.

The facts each month are slightly random but they always get me thinking. I wish my hourly wage was closer to the national average, anyone else?