Cost of Living Comparison by City and State

CostofLiving.net has your city and state covered. Cost of Living.net provides easy to use cost of living comparisons for over 4,500 cities.

For professionals they offer a free demo of Cost of Living Software. The Relocation Assessor provides Cost of Living data for over 7,500 cities including Canada.

View Cost of Living Data in the 100 Most-Requested Cities, providing Local Cost of Living Comparisons by City and State.

More info at: www.costofliving.net

Everything You Should Know about Your Salary – CareerBuilder.com

It happens all the time.

An employee marches into her boss’s office demanding a raise. A college graduate looks forward to a high starting salary because he “deserves” one. A job seeker researches the average salary for a position she’s interested in, expecting to automatically be offered something in the same arena.

Although salary information is one of the most important aspects of finding a new job, it’s also the most under-researched. Unfortunately, with so many salary resources out there, there is always conflicting information and people who always disagree with, or don’t understand, the information presented.

What you, the job seeker, must understand is that the information provided to you via salary information sites should merely be a starting point in your research. What you find as the average salary for a position doesn’t guarantee that is what you will earn; there are too many other factors things that come into play.

To help understand how you can analyze the salary information you find online and apply it to your situation, we’ve brought in compensation expert Jim Brennan, senior associate with the ERI Economic Research Institute, to help.

Q: How do starting salaries compare to median or average salaries?
Starting salaries are usually the lowest amount employers will pay for work, Brennan says. Companies expect new hires to know less about a new position, so they typically start them lower than someone with an established track record.

“Employers generally take care to assure that entry starting rates match the hiring market requirement and that new folks will start at a lower salary than veteran job peers,” he says.

Median salaries are the amount in the center between the lowest and highest paid compensation. If workers in an organization are paid $30,000, $45,000 and $50,000, the median salary at that company would be $45,000.

Average salaries are the product of the sum total of all the salaries, divided by the number of observations. With the above figures, for example, the average salary would be $41,666.

“Median salaries are better measures of ‘normal’ pay, being central values. Averages can swing wildly with the addition of extremely high or low values to the group,” Brennan says. “No matter how high the high, or how low the low, the median is still the middle.”

Read the Full Article at: http://www.careerbuilder.com

Article information provided by SalaryExpert.com

7 Hiring Trends to Follow in 2009 from MSN-CareerBuilder.com

7 Hiring Trends to Follow in 2009…
Source: http://msn.careerbuilder.com

2008 proved to be a difficult year for the job market. Though employers were cautious in the beginning of the year, they still anticipated a slow, yet steady hiring environment with continued job creation through 2008. The market continued to suffer, however, as the U.S. economy weakened and entered into a recession while employers maintained prudence.

While recruitment levels in 2009 are expected to be lower, employers are not out of the mix completely. Instead, they are taking a “wait and see” approach to hiring, according to CareerBuilder.com’s “2009 Job Forecast,” which tracks projected hiring trends for the new year. The survey, conducted by Harris Interactive, surveyed 3,259 hiring managers and human resource professionals in private sector companies.

Fourteen percent of employers plan to increase their number of full-time, permanent employees in 2009, compared to 32 percent who expected to expand their staff in 2008. Sixteen percent plan to have staff reductions, 56 percent foresee no change and 13 percent of employers are unsure of their hiring plans.

Here are some other key findings from the survey:

• Fifty-six percent of employers plan to raise compensation levels in the next three months. Forty-three percent estimate the average raise to be 3 percent or more, while 12 percent expect a raise of 5 percent or more.
• Staff expansions should be strongest in the Southern and Western regions of the U.S. in 2009, with 18 percent of employers in the South and 14 percent in the West planning to add full-time, permanent employees.
• Nineteen percent of employers in the Northeast expect to reduce staff in 2009, followed by 17 percent in the Midwest.
• Job creation is projected to be the highest in information technology and professional and business services, with 28 percent and 23 percent of employers planning to hire full-time employees in those sectors, respectively.

As employers approach the job market with a cautious attitude, they also plan to utilize the resources already at their disposal. Here are seven major hiring trends to expect from employers in 2009:

Trend No. 1: Bigger paychecks

Despite the fact that many employers are looking for ways to cut costs, they don’t anticipate trimming salaries as a way to do so. Sixty-six percent of employers plan to increase pay for existing employees and one third of hiring managers estimate increasing salaries on initial offers to new employees in 2009.

Trend No. 2: Flexible work arrangements

Companies are catching on to the flexible work arrangements that allow employees more freedom in the office. Thirty-one percent of employers say they plan to provide the following options for workers in 2009: alternate schedules (70 percent); telecommuting (48 percent); compressed workweeks (40 percent); summer hours (19 percent); job sharing (13 percent); and sabbaticals (7 percent).

Trend No. 3: Green jobs

Employers have tried to gain traction using environmentally friendly policies for a while and the New Year shows more of the same. Last year, one-in-ten hiring managers added “green jobs,” which are environmentally conscious positions, compared to 13 percent of employers who plan to add them in 2009.

Read all 7 trends at: http://msn.careerbuilder.com

Career Searches for Those with Lessened Capabilities

Career Searches for Those with Lessened Capabilities…

For those unexpectedly unemployed, ERI’s free job search module of the Occupational Assessor™ eDOT® contains a complimentary application to assist individuals with disabilities in seeking employment, aged workers considering alternative careers, and those returning from the military. Review over 23,000 jobs, matched to 7,000 locations and 12,000,000 employers. Download it free of charge anytime. See why ERI’s employer-supplied data and analyses are unique and how PAQ’s eDOT Skills Project fits with the Assessor Series® methodology.  (PAQ’s eDOT Skills Project is evolving into PAQ’s Competencies Project and, as a consequence, ERI’s Occupational Assessor is to be renamed the Competencies Assessor™. See www.paq.com.)

Other Free Research Links and Products for Researchers

ERI has expanded its provision of free resources to researchers, students, and instructors (with the latter able to receive other complimentary ERI and PAQ materials):

• ERI Distance Learning Center: Online HR courses are provided free of charge for those new to compensation. To date, more than 20,000 individuals have spent an hour or more on the 53 subject matter topics for either certification credit or continuing education.
• Free Global Salary Calculator®: Download a calculator that converts job family data into specific job value estimates (for over 100,000 job titles). See www.erieri.it, www.erieri.co.uk, or any of 190 other countries’ similar URLs.

• Free for Charities: ERI is assisting PAQ Services, Inc., which supplies free, web-based salary planning services using conservative data (typically 15% below competitive norms) for use by nonprofit organizations. See www.paq.com.
• Free International Pay Data: See why Assessor Series datasets and software make ERI unique among those who provide compensation survey data. Click on a dot and review the source data. Review ERI’s C3 job family matrix that allows US specific job methodologies to complement European (and US public entity) job family classification systems.
• Free Looks at Selected Characteristics of Occupations: PAQ and ERI have teamed to make their worker trait measures for over 10,000 specific jobs available to the public. See www.paq.com.
• Download Support: Chat with a seasoned ERI compensation specialist while you download any demo program from our site. We see the “comp world” changing:

Salary Assessor Geographic Assessor Relocation Assessor

Executive Compensation Assessor Nonprofit Comparables Assessor Occupational Assessor

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See more at ERI’s January 2009 Update newsletter.

6 Job Search Strategies for a Web 2.0 World from CIO.com

To outshine your competitors and land a new job in today’s economy, don’t abandon steadfast career advice. Rather, refine it with Web 2.0 tools that will enhance your job search.

With unemployment at a 14-year high and 240,000 workers laid off in October alone, many Americans are scrambling to update their résumés and turning to job boards and networking sites. Some are panicking as they try to devise new ways to get in front of employers. But even in trying times like these, prospective employees shouldn’t completely reinvent their job-seeking styles.

Indeed, much of the tried-and-true career advice we’ve all heard is relevant in your next job search. To outshine your competitors and win the gig in today’s economy, here’s a secret to success: Don’t abandon the steadfast career tips passed down from generations, but rather, refine them—with a keen eye for the value in Web 2.0 tools like social networking.

Whether you’re one of many IT professionals out of work or among the few making career leaps despite rocky economic times, consider these six ways to express your candidacy with flair.

Read ALL 6 Strategies at CIO.com…

Executive Pay Drops in the Past 12 Months, According to ERI Economic Research Institute

News – For Immediate Release from ERI Economic Research Institute…

REDMOND, WA – November 2008 – During the most recent 12 months, the average total compensation of the highest paid executives in US publicly-traded companies decreased by 4.0%. This continued the decrease in total compensation during 2008, first evidenced in ERI’s August study of executive compensation. While overall total compensation decreased, three components of pay reported increases: non-equity based incentives (up 17.8%), restricted stock awards (up 24.5%), and pensions (up 45.5%). However, the ultimate value of the restricted stock awards and stock options may be affected by the most recent drop in share prices. Decreases were reported in components of base salaries, stock options, LTIP, and “All Other.”

ERI Economic Research Institute created this index of Executive Compensation 11 years ago. Since its inception in 1997, revenues of the US companies studied increased nearly 7 times faster than the dollar amounts paid to the companies’ highest paid executives, with total revenues increasing by 118% compared to an 18% increase for executive compensation.

Compensation Changes during the Past 12 Months

During the past 12 months, Overall Total Compensation of the highest-paid executive decreased by 4%, while revenues increased nearly 7%, with the average top executive receiving Overall Total Compensation of $17,760,518.

Compensation Changes Since 1997

The highest paid executives of US companies saw an increase in Overall Total Compensation of nearly 18% during the past 11 years, but the compensation components reported have changed significantly during this time period due to SEC reporting requirements.

Comparing Revenue growth to Total Compensation growth during this same period shows the average dollar amount of company revenues increased by nearly 118% as compared to 18% for total compensation. This means the dollar revenues increased nearly 7 times faster than the average dollar amount of the Executive Total Compensation Package.

Read the FULL Press Release at:
ERI Economic Research Institute News Room.

Seven Salary Survey and Resource Links for Human Resource Executives

Here is a List of Seven Salary Survey and Resource Links for HR Execs…

Salary Surveys
Providing salary surveys in both software and hard copy formats.

Cost of Living Comparisons
Calculate relocation allowances and per diem rates for 10,000 cities.

Executive Salary Surveys
Competitive executive total cash compensation survey data for 400 top management job titles in all industries.

Geographic Salary Comparisons
Set branch office salary structures based on geographic pay differentials.

Non-Profit Executive Salary
Executive compensation software and reports for employees at non-profits.

International Salary Comparisons
Research salaries for 100,000 jobs in 200 countries. This is the only salary database available for many hard-to-research international locations.

Job Analysis Software
Analyze thousands of positions. Update job documentation (titles and descriptions).

Find more salary resources at: SalaryExpert.com

Revised Salary Survey Website Provides Salary Resources to HR Professionals Worldwide

The newly revised easy to use ERI Salary Survey Website portal provides salary survey resources to management and HR professionals worldwide.

As seen on PRLog.org: ERI Salary Survey provides Human resource managers, directors and executives worldwide, compensation data tools and software to set individual pay, adjust branch office salary structures, and set relocation allowances.

ERI Economic Research Institute was founded in 1987 to provide salary survey and cost-of-living research to HR professionals in the form of survey software databases, published salary reports, and online salary surveys.

The new website portal, ERI-Salary-Survey.com is aimed to provide choices to Human Resource professionals such as Salary Calculators, Salary Surveys, Surveys by Industry, Salary Reports, Geographic Pay Data, Global Salary Tools, resources and more.

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SalaryExpert.com is an ERI affiliate providing FREE Job Search software to students and job recruiters, HR execs and Professionals. Professionals use ERI salary survey software to plan compensation increases and set wage/salary structures.

New ERI Salary Survey Website – Providing salary survey data to management and HR professionals

ERI-Salary-Survey.com provides salary survey data to management and HR professionals… The NEW site is so easy to use!

ERI Economic Research Institute was founded in 1987 to provide salary survey and cost-of-living research to HR professionals in the form of survey software databases, published salary reports, and online salary surveys. Human resource managers, directors and executives all over the world rely on our compensation analyses to set individual pay, adjust branch office salary structures, and set relocation allowances.

Visit: http://www.eri-salary-survey.com/

For 2009 Grads, Job Prospects Take a Dive – Wall Street Journal

As seen on Wall Street Journal…

College seniors may have more trouble landing a job next spring than recent graduates, as employers trim their hiring outlooks in response to the slowing economy and financial-sector turmoil.

Employers plan to hire just 1.3% more graduates in 2009 than they hired this year, according to a survey by the National Association of Colleges and Employers.

That’s the weakest outlook in six years and reflects a sharp recent downturn. Just two months ago, a survey by the same group projected a 6.1% increase in hiring. The August survey included 219 employers, 146 of whom responded to the new survey, conducted earlier this month. The big drop in hiring projections is “extremely unusual,” says Edwin Koc, the association’s director of strategic research.

The results continue a pattern of diminishing job prospects for college graduates. A year ago, employers told the association they would increase hiring for the class of 2008 by 16%. By this spring, though, the projected increase had fallen to 8%. The association doesn’t report how actual hiring compares with its projections.

Some of the decline reflects the weakened financial sector, with employers like Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. in bankruptcy protection and others, including Merrill Lynch & Co., being acquired. But other employers are tightening their belts as well. Insurer Progressive Corp. last fall expected to hire 4,000 college graduates in 2008. In fact, the company has hired fewer than 1,000 this year. Mari Pumarejo, who works with employment and recruiting for Progressive, says the company expects to hire fewer new grads in 2009, although she declined to offer a precise projection. “Things are changing very rapidly, and we are reassessing everything right now,” she says.

General Electric Co. hired about 900 undergrads and M.B.A. graduates for full-time positions in the U.S. this year, but expects that number to shrink by 10% next spring, while hiring grows overseas. “It’s going to be tougher for the class of ‘09 than it has been for the previous couple of years,” says Steve Canale, manager of recruiting and staffing services.

Retailers Target Corp. and Walgreen Co. also have trimmed hiring projections for 2009. Maureen Reim, director of recruitment for Walgreen, says the company plans to open fewer stores next year and sees more recent hires staying in their jobs, in part because of the weaker job market.

The new survey comes amid the fall corporate recruiting season on college campuses and reflects the weakening U.S. labor market. Employers shed 159,000 non-farm jobs in September, and the unemployment rate was near a five-year high at 6.1%. According to the Department of Labor, the number of unemployed people has risen by 2.2 million in the past 12 months.

READ THE FULL STORY!