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<p align="center"> <img border="0" src="../graphics/hronthejob.jpg" width="504" height="54"></p>
<h2 class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">DO
WE NEED RULES FOR RUDENESS?</font></b></h2>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Communication
plays an important part in your life everyday. It�s a tool, a skill and
an art. When you communicate you deliver a message. Whether that
message is positive or negative, how you deliver it will sometimes be more important
than what you deliver. If all the presents under your Christmas tree were
wrapped in paper sacks instead of bright cheerful, warm holiday wrapping you
would not be nearly as happy to see them. If they were wrapped in dirty
laundry, you would likely avoid them altogether. Rudeness in any communication
is like delivering your message in dirty laundry. </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Common
courtesy is not so common anymore. According to the reports, rudeness
is on the rise. We have all had difficult moments when we acted discourteously,
or said something we later regretted. Addressing the incident and apologizing
can heal those wounds. But rudeness seems to be becoming a second language
in today�s world and it�s carrying over into the workplace.</font></p>
<h3><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>Escalating Rudeness</b></font></h3>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">In
a University of North Carolina study �Workplace Incivility: The Target�s Eye
View�, 1400 employees surveyed said that their co-workers are getting ruder
by the year. The majority -78 percent - of them said incivility has been
growing much worse over the last 10-year period. The survey also said
that rude people are more likely to be in higher positions than those on the
receiving end of the nasty behavior. </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Lack
of manners does affect a company�s productivity. 12 percent of the participants
said that they had quit a job to avoid a rude co-worker. More than half
said that they lost work time avoiding rude people. Employers were stunned
to find that 22 percent of the participants said that they deliberately slowed
down or delayed their work effort in response to rude treatment. That
definitely affects customers! </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Traits
like being polite, saying �please� and �thank you� and waiting for our turn
are taught to us as children. These are not just childhood niceties.
These are life skills. You can get through life without social graces,
but rudeness doesn�t have to be part of your world or your workplace.
Other research shows that it takes a person twice as long to understand a sentence
stated in a negative manner as it does to understand the same information in
a positive tone. Apparently it�s in our DNA. </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">So,
do we need to have rules for rudeness? I think we do. Here are some
guidelines:</font></p>
<h2><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">RULES FOR RUDENESS</font></h2>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: -.5in; margin-left: .75in"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">1<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span>All company communications will be courteous. This includes phone
calls, letters, e-mails, memos, meetings and conversations. Even bad news
will be delivered in a positive manner.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: -.5in; margin-left: .75in"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">2<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span>Respectful behavior is the only acceptable behavior. You don�t
have to agree with what is said, you can disagree respectfully. There
are polite ways to end conversations. Bad news is bad enough you don�t
have to destroy someone to communicate it to them. </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: -.5in; margin-left: .75in"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">3<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span>Listen when you are listening! You may not be totally ignoring
what�s being said, but if the end result is a perception that what they are
saying isn�t important, that translates into rudeness. </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: -.5in; margin-left: .75in"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">4<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span>Give credit where it�s due. The more you can promote a positive
work environment the more win-win it becomes. You may retain good employees,
increase productivity and even improve morale.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: -.5in; margin-left: .75in"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">5<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span>Encourage teamwork. Rudeness makes it difficult for people to cooperate
and collaborate. A well-managed team recognizes the contributions of everyone.
You don�t have to blow out the other person�s light to make yours shine.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: -.5in; margin-left: .75in"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">6<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span>Lead by example. If you�re the boss from hell who screams, belittles,
criticizes publicly or unfairly and needs to have everyone hear your tirades,
you may be the cause of turning off employees and creating a loss of productivity
and an increase in turnover. Can you �play well with others?�</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: -.5in; margin-left: .75in"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">7<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span>Have some fun at work. They haven�t regulated that yet, it�s not
illegal. It won�t make your place look less professional. There
are no points given out for irritable surliness. Getting people
to laugh together sets a better tone and eases workplace tensions. A joke
a day, an occasional party or finding the humor in this mess we�re in gives
your staff an excuse to like the people they work with. </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">These
are the people you have chosen to work with. Treat them like people you
want to like.</font></p>
<hr>
<h2 style="margin-left:.75in" align="center">
<font face="Verdana" color="#008000">Have an employment question?</font></h2>
<h3 style="margin-left:.75in" align="center"><font face="Verdana">Send it to
<a href="mailto:[email protected]?subject=From HR On The Job">
[email protected]</a></font></h3>
<p style="margin-left:.75in" align="center"><b><font face="Verdana" size="2">
Please include Company Name and Association in your e-mail. Company
identification will be kept confidential.</font></b></p>
<hr>
<h2 align="left"><b><u><font
face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Hitchhiking on the Information
Highway</font></u></b></h2>
<p align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b><font
size="4" color="#FF0000">Dateline: August 2006</font></b></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><i><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1">Note. Although we attempt to provide the HRU update on the first
of each month, we are normally delayed awaiting the release of several
monthly government statistical reports. We will hereafter update the information
as each report becomes available without waiting for all of them to be
released.</font></i></p>
<p> </p>
<table border="0" width="100%" height="4525">
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<td width="100%" height="4031">
<blockquote> <span style="mso-ignore: vglayout">
<div align="center">
<h3 class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b> <span style="font-size: 16.0pt"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">MOST
COMPANIES NEVER FIRE (OR HIRE) ANYONE</font></span></b></h3>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="left"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">According
to the U.S. Census Bureau, over 70 percent of America�s 27 million
companies never fire or hire employees because they don�t have any.
No paid employees!</font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
Typically referred to as �Mom and Pop� companies. These small
companies make up the overwhelming bulk of all the businesses in the
U.S. 17 million are individual proprietorships, 1.3 million
are corporations and 1.2 million are partnerships, all with no paid
employees. And they rack up annual receipts of $887 Billion. </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Of
the 17 million:</font></p>
<div align="left">
<table border="0" width="53%" id="table16" align="left">
<tr>
<td valign="top">
<ul>
<li> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
22.5% are</font></li>
</ul>
</td>
<td width="472" valign="top"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
Building Finishing Contractors</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top">
<ul>
<li> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
14.7</font></li>
</ul>
</td>
<td width="472" valign="top"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
Internet Service Providers</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top">
<ul>
<li> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
12.7</font></li>
</ul>
</td>
<td width="472" valign="top"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
Electronic Shopping and Mail Order Houses including Internet
based consumer trade</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top">
<ul>
<li> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
9.7</font></li>
</ul>
</td>
<td width="472" valign="top"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
Real Estate Leasing Services</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top">
<ul>
<li> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
8.0</font></li>
</ul>
</td>
<td width="472" valign="top"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
Formal and Evening Wear and Costume Rental Stores</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top">
<ul>
<li> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
7.4</font></li>
</ul>
</td>
<td width="472" valign="top"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
Motorcycle Dealers</font></td>
</tr>
</table>
<p> </p>
<p> </div>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: -.25in; margin-left: .3in" align="left"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: -.25in; margin-left: .3in" align="left"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: -.25in; margin-left: .3in" align="left"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: -.25in; margin-left: .3in" align="left"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: -.25in; margin-left: .3in" align="left"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: -.25in; margin-left: .3in" align="left"> </p>
<table border="1" width="50%" id="table17" cellpadding="2" height="102">
<tr>
<td valign="top" height="121">
<h4 class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center">
<b><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">�We are
built to conquer environment, solve problems and to achieve
goals. And we find no real satisfaction or happiness in
life without obstacles to conquer and goals to achieve.�</font></b></h4>
<h4 align="center"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><i>Maxwell
Maltz</i></font></h4>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<h3 class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align: center; margin-left: .05in">
<b><span style="font-size: 16.0pt"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">STRESSED
OUT?</font></span></b></h3>
<p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt"> </span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="left"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">A
recent poll on stress management asked the question </font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>
�What area of your life causes you the most stress on a regular basis?�
</b></font></p>
<div align="left">
<table border="0" width="45%" id="table18" align="left">
<tr>
<td valign="top">
<ul>
<li> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
31% said</font></li>
</ul>
</td>
<td width="345" valign="top"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">My
Job</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top">
<ul>
<li> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
19 </font></li>
</ul>
</td>
<td width="345" valign="top"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">My
Relationships</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top">
<ul>
<li> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
18 </font></li>
</ul>
</td>
<td width="345" valign="top"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">My
Finances</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top">
<ul>
<li> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
11</font></li>
</ul>
</td>
<td width="345" valign="top"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">My
Children</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top">
<ul>
<li> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
9 </font></li>
</ul>
</td>
<td width="345" valign="top"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
School</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top">
<ul>
<li> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
2 </font></li>
</ul>
</td>
<td width="345" valign="top"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
Fear of a disaster or terrorist attack</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td valign="top">
<ul>
<li> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
6 </font></li>
</ul>
</td>
<td width="345" valign="top"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
Other</font></td>
</tr>
</table>
</div>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="left"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="left"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="left"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="left"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="left"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="left"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="left"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="left"> </p>
<p> </div>
<div align="center">
<table border="1" width="50%" id="table19">
<tr>
<td height="114" valign="top">
<h4 class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">�<b>There
are three kinds of men. The ones that learn by reading.
The few that learn by observation. The rest of them have
to pee on the electric fence and find out for themselves</b>.�</font></h4>
<h4 align="center" style="text-align:center"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><i>Will
Rogers</i></font></h4>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</div>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<div align="center">
<h3><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Government Hiring
Lots More People </font></h3>
<h3 class="MsoBodyText2" align="center" style="text-align:center"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">And
</font></h3>
<h3 class="MsoBodyText2" align="center" style="text-align:center"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">
They�re Being Paid More Than You.</font><span style="font-size: 14.0pt"> </span></h3>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="left"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">The
growth of local, state and federal government is exploding, particularly
in the number of new employees. And more and more their pay
and benefits are better than their counterparts in private industry.</font></span></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">A
related observation is that, although union membership is declining
in all areas of private industry, it is only growing in government
jobs. As in the collapsing American auto industry, the wages
and benefits are skyrocketing the costs of operations.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">In
some areas of the country, government employees are averaging double
the annual increase percentages of private industry. According
to a report by Human Events, a weekly government watchdog publication,
the average taxpayer earns $10,000 <b><i>less</i></b> than the average
government employee. The report warned of oncoming fiscal disasters
as the benefit packages of government workers continues to outgrow
the nation.</font></p>
<table border="1" width="50%" id="table20">
<tr>
<td valign="top">
<h4 class="MsoBodyText3"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">�Someday
I want to be rich. Some people get so rich they lose all
respect for humanity. That�s how rich I want to be�</font></h4>
<h4 class="MsoBodyText3" align="center"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><i>Rita
Rudner</i></font></h4>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<h3 class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b> <span style="font-size: 16.0pt"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">IMMIGRATION
HELP IS ON THE WAY</font></span></b> </h3>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="left"><span style="font-size: 14.0pt"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">If
you�re having a problem with fake social security numbers from your
employees, Uncle Sam has a plan. Up until now, if an employment
candidate submitted a fake social security card when he/she hired
on, you processed it the same way as any other. But months or
even a year later you may receive a �no match letter� from the Social
Security Administration or the Department of Homeland Security.
This notice tells you that you may have made a mistake and that you
should check it out. But if the employee brought in a different
Social security card, you were to reprocess it as before. </font></span>
</p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
Two changes are developing:</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
First is a proposed change to the regulations that will describe legal
obligations and procedures you must follow upon receiving a �no match
letter�. They will also set up a �safe harbor� option that may
protect you from liability in such a process. </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
Second is a voluntary program called IMAGE (U.S. Immigration and Custom
Enforcement Mutual Agreement Between Government and Employers).
In short, this program allows employers to voluntarily participate
in a program wherein you agree to follow newly established guidelines
in processing worker documents. You will also be allowed to
submit any social security number to the social security master database
for immediate verification. You can look into this program at <u>
<a style="color: blue; text-decoration: underline; text-underline: single" href="http://www.ice.gov/partners">
www.ice.gov/partners</a></u> or you can call (202) 272-8720
and request information on the employment verification program.
Over 10,000 employers have already signed up.</font></p>
<table border="1" width="50%" id="table21">
<tr>
<td valign="top" height="114">
<h4 class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center">
<b><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">�The secret
of getting ahead is getting started. The secret of getting
started is breaking your complex, overwhelming tasks into small
manageable tasks, and then starting on the first one�</font></b></h4>
<h4 align="center"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><i>Mark
Twain</i></font></h4>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</div>
</span>
<blockquote>
<hr width="75%">
<p></p>
</blockquote>
</blockquote>
<span style="text-decoration: none"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
<table border="0" width="33%">
<tr>
<td width="64%" valign="top">
<div style="border-style: solid; border-width: 1; padding-left: 4; padding-right: 4; padding-top: 1; padding-bottom: 1">
<p align="left"><font size="-1"
face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>Minimum Wage:</b></font></p>
</div>
</td>
<center>
<td width="100%" valign="top">
<h3><font
face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">$5.15/hr.</font></h3>
</td>
</center>
</tr>
</table>
<table border="0" width="99%">
<tr>
<td width="13%" valign="middle" style="border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1; border-right-style: solid; border-right-width: 1; border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1"><font
face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>Average
Income:</b></font></td>
<td width="67%" style="border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1">
<table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse" bordercolor="#111111" width="100%" id="AutoNumber4" height="76">
<tr>
<td width="100%" height="76">
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse" bordercolor="#111111" width="100%" id="AutoNumber5">
<tr>
<td width="50%" align="center"><b><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Hourly</font></b></td>
<td width="50%" align="center"><b><font size="-1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Weekly</font></b></td>
</tr>
</table>
<table border="1" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse" bordercolor="#111111" width="100%" id="AutoNumber6" height="50">
<tr>
<td width="25%" height="50">
<p align="center"> <b><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><u>
July
2005</u></font></b><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><br>
$16.14</font>
</td>
<td width="25%" height="50">
<p align="center"> <b>
<span style="text-decoration: none"><u>
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
July</font></u></span><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="text-decoration: none"><u>
2006</u></span></font></b><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><u><br>
</u>$16.76</font></td>
<td width="25%" height="50">
<p align="center">
<span style="text-decoration: none"><b><u>
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
July</font></u></b><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><u><b> 2005</b></u><br>
</font></span>
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
$545.53</font>
</td>
<td width="25%" height="50">
<p align="center">
<span style="text-decoration: none"><b><u>
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
July</font></u></b><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><u><b> 2006</b></u></font></span><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><u><br>
</u>$568.16</font>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
<td width="20%" bgcolor="#C0C0C0">
<table border="0" width="99%" height="96">
<tr>
<td width="100%" height="40" colspan="2">
<h3 align="center"><span style="text-decoration: none"><font
face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>Federal<br>
Poverty Level:</b></font></span></h3>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="50%" height="48">
<p align="center"><b><u><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">One
(1) Person<br>
</font></u></b><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">$10,160</font>
</td>
<td width="50%" height="48">
<p align="center"><u><b><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Family
of Four</font></b></u><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><br>
$19,806</font>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<hr noshade color="#000000">
<hr noshade color="#000000">
<b>
<table border="0" width="100%">
<tr>
<td width="37%" style="border-style: solid; border-width: 1">
<p align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1"><b>IRS Mileage Allowance :</b></font></p>
</td>
<center>
<td width="63%" style="border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1">
<div align="left"><font size="-1"><b>44.5</b> </font><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1">cents per mile<br>
</font></div>
</td>
</center>
</tr>
</table>
<table border="0" width="100%" bgcolor="#C0C0C0">
<tr>
<td width="32%" style="border-style: solid; border-width: 1">
<p align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1"><b>Postage:</b></font></p>
</td>
<center>
<td width="68%" style="border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1"> </td>
</center>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%" style="border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1">1 oz.</font></td>
<td width="68%"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1">.39</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1">Each additional ounce</font></td>
<td width="68%"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1">.24</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1"><i>Postcards</i></font></td>
<td width="68%"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1">.24</font></td>
</tr>
</table>
</b>
<hr noshade color="#000000">
<b>
<p>
<table border="0" width="38%" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" style="border-collapse: collapse" bordercolor="#111111" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
<tr> </tr>
</table>
<table border="0" width="98%">
<tr>
<td width="34%" style="border-style: solid; border-width: 1">
<p align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1"><b><u>Population:</u></b></font></p>
</td>
<center>
<td width="82%" style="border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1"> </td>
</center>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="34%" style="border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1"><b>World</b></font></td>
<td width="82%">
<p align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1">6.5 Billion</font>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="34%" valign="top"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1"><b>U.S.</b></font></td>
<td width="82%" valign="top">
<p align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1">298.9 Million</font>
<p align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><i>One
birth every 8 seconds<br>
One death every 13 seconds<br>
One new immigrant every 30 seconds<br>
Net gain = 1 person every second</i></font>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</b>
<hr noshade color="#000000">
<table border="1" width="99%" bgcolor="#C0C0C0">
<tr> <b>
<td width="48%" style="border-style: solid; border-width: 1">
<p align="left"><b> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">U.S.
Workforce</font></b></p>
</td>
</b>
<center>
<td width="12%" align="center">
<b>
<span style="text-decoration: none"><u>
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
July</font></u></span></b><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b><u><font size="-1">
2005</font></u></b></font></td>
<b>
<td width="12%" align="center">
<b>
<span style="text-decoration: none"><u>
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
July</font></u></span></b><u><span style="font-weight:700"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
</font></span>
</u><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><u>
<b>
2006 </b></u></font></td>
</b>
</center>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="48%"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1">U.S. Civilian Workforce</font></td>
<td width="12%" align="center"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">149,605,000</font></td>
<td width="12%" align="center"><font size="-1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">151,534,000</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="48%"><font size="-1">Number Employed</font></td>
<td width="12%" align="center"> <font size="-1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">142,111,000</font></td>
<td width="12%" align="center"> <font size="-1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">
144,329,000</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="48%"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1">Number Unemployed</font></td>
<td width="12%" align="center"> <font size="-1">7,494,000</font></td>
<td width="12%" align="center"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
7,205,000</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="48%"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1">Unemployment Rate</font></td>
<td width="12%" align="center">
<p><font size="-1">5.0</font><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">%</font></p>
</td>
<td width="12%" align="center">
<p><font size="-1">4.8</font><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">%</font></p>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<hr noshade color="#000000">
<table border="0" width="100%" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" style="border-collapse: collapse" bordercolor="#111111" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" height="96">
<tr>
<td width="43%" style="border-style: solid; border-width: 1" height="38">
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b><font size="-1">2005
Absentee Rates </font></b></font></td>
<center>
<td width="56%" align="center" valign="top" height="38"> </td>
</center>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="44%" style="border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1" height="31">
<font size="-1"><span style="text-decoration: none"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Men
</font></span> </font></td>
<td width="56%" align="center" valign="top" height="31">
<div align="center"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">2.5%</font></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="44%" style="border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1" height="27">
<font size="-1"><span style="text-decoration: none"> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Women</font></span></font></td>
<td width="56%" align="center" valign="top" height="27">
<div align="center"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">4.4%</font></div>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="44%" style="border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1" height="23">
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>Total</b></font></td>
<td width="56%" align="center" valign="top" height="23">
<h4 align="center"><font size="-1"><b><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">3.3%</font></b></font></h4>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<hr noshade color="#000000">
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse" bordercolor="#111111" width="100%" id="AutoNumber3" bgcolor="#C0C0C0">
<tr>
<td width="100%">
<h4><b><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">PRODUCTIVITY
OF THE AMERICAN WORKFORCE</font></b><font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><br>
(The amount of goods produced, divided by the number of work hours
it took to produce it)</font></h4>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p>
<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" style="border-collapse: collapse" bordercolor="#111111" width="100%" id="AutoNumber2" bgcolor="#C0C0C0">
<tr>
<td width="32%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>1992</b></font></p>
</td>
<td width="68%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">3.7%</font></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>1993</b></font></p>
</td>
<td width="68%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">0.5%</font></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>1994</b></font></p>
</td>
<td width="68%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">1.3%</font></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>1995</b></font></p>
</td>
<td width="68%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">0.9%</font></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>1996</b></font></p>
</td>
<td width="68%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">2.5%</font></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>1997</b></font></p>
</td>
<td width="68%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">2.0%</font></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>1998</b></font></p>
</td>
<td width="68%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">2.6%</font></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>1999</b></font></p>
</td>
<td width="68%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">2.4%</font></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>2000</b></font></p>
</td>
<td width="68%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">2.9%</font></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>2001</b></font></p>
</td>
<td width="68%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">1.1%</font></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>2002</b></font></p>
</td>
<td width="68%">
<p><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">4.7%</font></p>
</td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>2003</b></font></td>
<td width="68%"><font size="-1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">4.5%</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%"><font size="-1"><b>2004</b></font></td>
<td width="68%"><font size="-1">4.0%</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%">
<span style="text-decoration: none">
<font size="-1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>2005</b></font></span></td>
<td width="68%">
<span style="text-decoration: none">
<font size="-1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">2.6%</font></span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%">
<span style="text-decoration: none">
<font size="-1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>1st
Quarter 2006</b></font></span></td>
<td width="68%">
<font size="-1">+3.7%</font></td>
</tr>
</table>
</font></span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="100%" height="30"> </td>
</tr>
</table>
<p><font face="Verdana" size="2">� William J. Cook</font></p>
</body>
</html>