The owner of my company received one of these the other day. He's in his 70's, but he's on the ball.
He had one the other day where the operator relayed that the person wanted to know what credit cards our company accepted. He told the operator to tell them that we only accepted certified checks or wire transfers, and then told the operator that the person was going to hang up when they got that message.
The operator relayed the message, and there was a pause. Then she said "I'm sorry sir, but it is my job to relay this message: 'Fuck you. Fuck you. Fuck you.'"
Coming soon: Plenty of jobs
Despite today's grim talk of `jobless recovery,' experts say several signs point to an upcoming shortage of talent in the workplace--and a bright future for job seekers.
By Rebecca Theim
Special to the Tribune
Published April 13, 2003
Rising unemployment, a steady increase in the number of "discouraged workers" and constant talk of a "jobless recovery" have disheartened even the most determined job seeker in the past two years.
But against today's depressing employment backdrop, economists and demographers steadfastly predict that we're on the brink of a significant labor shortage. Experts contend the reversal of fortune will be driven by a convergence of trends, including the steady retirement of Baby Boomers (with much smaller generations following them into the labor force), tighter immigration policies and an economy that increasingly demands better-educated, more highly skilled workers.
"When you're sitting there without a job . . . it's a difficult scenario to believe," said Sylvester Schieber, chief economist and director of research for global human resource consulting firm Watson Wyatt. "But when you look at the labor market's underlying numerics, the picture is relatively clear: if anything, we've got less surplus labor now than we did (in the early 1990s), which means the economy doesn't have to heat up nearly as much as it did then for us to be in a much tighter labor market."
In a recent report studying the U.S. labor force, The Aspen Institute, a non-profit think tank, pointed out that while the native-born workforce between the ages of 25 and 54 grew 44 percent in the past two decades, that demographic is projected to have zero growth between now and 2020. "With the labor force leveling off in the next 20 years, every worker will be needed," the report concludes.
And in a recent study, electronic recruiting analyst Interbiznet projects that between now and 2010, for every new member added to the workforce there will be 2.6 new jobs created. The report projects steadily increasing labor shortages across virtually every job function--from management to maintenance.
The only thing experts can't seem to agree on is how quickly the boom will arrive and how dramatic its arrival will be.
"It's not a matter of `if,' but absolutely a matter of `when,'" said Jeff Taylor, chief executive officer of online job site Monster.com.
"Will the current economic downturn and uncertainty over terrorism and Iraq mean the peak will happen later than some of the earlier predictions? Maybe. But you can't get away from the reality that the only difference between now and the booms of the early 1980s and late 1990s is that we will have much smaller numbers of workers going forward."
Certain professions and industries already are feeling the pinch. The growing shortage of health care professionals--particularly the already well-publicized dearth of nurses--will develop into a more serious problem as Baby Boomers age and increase the demand for health care.
Of the 30 occupations projected to grow the fastest between 2000 and 2010, 17 are healthcare-related, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. These include imaging technicians, registered and practical nurses, technicians, pharmacists and even medical billers and coders, according to a 2001 First Consulting Group report done for several non-profit hospitals.
Belying the current battered state of the information technology sector, the fastest-growing occupation in the next decade is projected to be computer software engineer. Another area of opportunity is government services because roughly half of the U.S. government workforce is expected to retire in the next five to eight years, according to both Taylor and Schieber.
Opportunities will not be limited to white-collar occupations. The country already is experiencing shortages in specific occupations, including collision mechanics, truck drivers, kitchen and bath designers and plumbers and electricians, according to Roger Herman, a workforce consultant and co-author of "Impending C
Slashdot Mirror
The owner of my company received one of these the other day. He's in his 70's, but he's on the ball.
He had one the other day where the operator relayed that the person wanted to know what credit cards our company accepted. He told the operator to tell them that we only accepted certified checks or wire transfers, and then told the operator that the person was going to hang up when they got that message.
The operator relayed the message, and there was a pause. Then she said "I'm sorry sir, but it is my job to relay this message: 'Fuck you. Fuck you. Fuck you.'"
Google Link to story
Coming soon: Plenty of jobs Despite today's grim talk of `jobless recovery,' experts say several signs point to an upcoming shortage of talent in the workplace--and a bright future for job seekers. By Rebecca Theim Special to the Tribune Published April 13, 2003 Rising unemployment, a steady increase in the number of "discouraged workers" and constant talk of a "jobless recovery" have disheartened even the most determined job seeker in the past two years. But against today's depressing employment backdrop, economists and demographers steadfastly predict that we're on the brink of a significant labor shortage. Experts contend the reversal of fortune will be driven by a convergence of trends, including the steady retirement of Baby Boomers (with much smaller generations following them into the labor force), tighter immigration policies and an economy that increasingly demands better-educated, more highly skilled workers. "When you're sitting there without a job . . . it's a difficult scenario to believe," said Sylvester Schieber, chief economist and director of research for global human resource consulting firm Watson Wyatt. "But when you look at the labor market's underlying numerics, the picture is relatively clear: if anything, we've got less surplus labor now than we did (in the early 1990s), which means the economy doesn't have to heat up nearly as much as it did then for us to be in a much tighter labor market." In a recent report studying the U.S. labor force, The Aspen Institute, a non-profit think tank, pointed out that while the native-born workforce between the ages of 25 and 54 grew 44 percent in the past two decades, that demographic is projected to have zero growth between now and 2020. "With the labor force leveling off in the next 20 years, every worker will be needed," the report concludes. And in a recent study, electronic recruiting analyst Interbiznet projects that between now and 2010, for every new member added to the workforce there will be 2.6 new jobs created. The report projects steadily increasing labor shortages across virtually every job function--from management to maintenance. The only thing experts can't seem to agree on is how quickly the boom will arrive and how dramatic its arrival will be. "It's not a matter of `if,' but absolutely a matter of `when,'" said Jeff Taylor, chief executive officer of online job site Monster.com. "Will the current economic downturn and uncertainty over terrorism and Iraq mean the peak will happen later than some of the earlier predictions? Maybe. But you can't get away from the reality that the only difference between now and the booms of the early 1980s and late 1990s is that we will have much smaller numbers of workers going forward." Certain professions and industries already are feeling the pinch. The growing shortage of health care professionals--particularly the already well-publicized dearth of nurses--will develop into a more serious problem as Baby Boomers age and increase the demand for health care. Of the 30 occupations projected to grow the fastest between 2000 and 2010, 17 are healthcare-related, according to the U.S. Department of Labor. These include imaging technicians, registered and practical nurses, technicians, pharmacists and even medical billers and coders, according to a 2001 First Consulting Group report done for several non-profit hospitals. Belying the current battered state of the information technology sector, the fastest-growing occupation in the next decade is projected to be computer software engineer. Another area of opportunity is government services because roughly half of the U.S. government workforce is expected to retire in the next five to eight years, according to both Taylor and Schieber. Opportunities will not be limited to white-collar occupations. The country already is experiencing shortages in specific occupations, including collision mechanics, truck drivers, kitchen and bath designers and plumbers and electricians, according to Roger Herman, a workforce consultant and co-author of "Impending C
Outlook 2000 has on more than one ocassion suggested I replace a misspelled 'inconvenience' with 'incontinence'...
I can't wait for the day I send I client a message with "Sorry for the incontinence..."