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<h2 class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Whatever
You Reward You Get More Of</font></b></h2>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Journalist
Juan Williams, in a speech before the Society for Human Resource Management
(SHRM) some years ago, stated his belief that pay increases should be distributed
evenly among all employees and not favoring some employees over others.
His key message was that the American workplace is not a meritocracy and the
system of paying employees based on merit never existed. </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">He
pointed out that companies have always paid more to their friends, relatives,
the most popular employees and the best negotiators, whether they were the most
productive workers or not. He made the point that if companies really
rewarded employees based solely on their merit, companies would certainly be
far more successful. </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Although
most of us would disagree with William�s pay strategy, it seems that many companies
have been practicing it. The three to four percent �merit� pay increase
budgets have been pretty solid since 1991. The term �merit� may be losing
its meaning when the difference in pay increase between the top and the average
performer is one or two percent. Some organizations have resorted to just
giving everyone the same annual base pay increase-thus reinforcing an entitlement
mentality. Many better performers see little advantage to staying for
what seems to be very little recognition of their performance. If everyone knows
you reward top performance, you will get more top performance. If everyone
knows you reward mediocrity, you will get more of that. </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Making
that change from the easy road of rewarding everyone about the same to rewarding
performance based on merit can be, like all major change, a difficult process.
But recent research from Christian M. Ellis and Jim Kochanski of Sibson Consulting
has found companies have developed several strategies to start the process of
making merit matter.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>1
Set aside a special pool of money for the highest performers.</b></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Once
the word gets out that the �Bogie� this year is 3.5 percent increase, managers
fear telling any employee that he/she is getting less. So they tend to
�game� the system by over-grading their employees. Rather than budget
for an overall base pay increase, it�s sometimes helpful to budget in pieces:
i.e. 3 percent for merit, .5 percent additional for top performers and 1 percent
for promotions. The 3 percent is awarded, then in addition to that, .5
percent and/or the 1 percent is compounded onto the 3 percent. This strategy
means that high performers really do receive more money. </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>2
Eliminate the �Gaming� by validating the process with all departments in advance.
</b></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Have
each department head submit a rough draft of his/her expected increases.
Assemble the department heads and review those expectations across the board.
Managers who tend to rate too high will be encouraged to differentiate more
between individuals. Those who rate low will be encouraged to align their
ratings and merit increases to their department�s overall performance. These
�calibration� meetings are proving to create stronger and healthier norms about
what performance justifies the highest ratings and what performance justifies
the lowest. These meetings are establishing stronger links between pay
and performance. They also result in performance evaluations being completed
on time.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>3
Do the merit increase calculations after the performance ratings are complete.</b></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">The
problem of comfortably giving everyone approximately the same overall increase
is a problem in many companies. One major corporation avoids this problem
by having all the pay increases completed and distributed to employees before
the company decides the additional amount for the high-performers increase.
Some companies do this right after the calibration meeting. The company
decides the amount of each department�s budget for these additional increases
based on the performance evaluations in each department. </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Department
heads recognize that if they intend to distribute the amount equally throughout
their group, the increase amount for each individual will be very small indeed.
So they begin to focus more on identifying and ranking the truly high performers.
That way the amount of increase to the top performers can be significant.
Under performers can see that difference. The company
in question targets the highest high-performer increase to be two to three times
more than what the average performer receives. The message comes across
clearly that high performance is rewarded. You want more high performance.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>4
Link the merit budget to the performance of the department.</b></font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Make
managers accountable for the increase amounts their departments are allotted
by basing it on the actual performance their department delivers. Top
performing departments that meet or exceed their targets are given higher increase
budgets than underperforming departments. In some companies there is one
department that pulls down the overall performance of the company. Not surprisingly,
there are often just as many individual �exceeds expectations� performance ratings
in that department as in the others. The past practice has been to then have
the same increase percentage allowance for all departments. It should
be no surprise that the merit budget becomes more like a cost of living increase.
</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Although
the highest performing departments will have the largest increase budgets, there
will likely be individuals doing an outstanding jobs in low performing departments.
That department head must recognize the high performer with a significant increase.
But he/she will be paying less to the mediocre or low performing employees.
Some may get less than the average, some may get nothing. A poor performing
department, just like a poor performing employee, should not be rewarded for
doing poor work at the same rate that high performers earn. </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Each
of the approaches outlined above has been successfully used in organizations
for putting the merit back in merit pay. Most companies will find that
a careful analysis of their current and desired performance for the company
as a whole and each department as a separate unit is a good starting point if
you want to make merit matter again. </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: October 2007</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="3030">
<tr valign="top">
<td width="100%" height="2976">
<blockquote>
<div align="center">
<h2 class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Baby
Boomers, You Are Not Alone In This World</font></b></h2>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">We�ve
all been warned about the coming retirements of the American Baby
Boomers. Despite that, many of our politicians tell us not to
worry, that Social Security is doing just fine and will continue to
do so through 2042! Most of us however, know that there�s going
to be a major problem as more of the population begins to retire and
fewer workers are left to pay for those retirements. And what�s
going to happen to those who are doing the paying when <i>they</i>
retire? But know, Baby Boomers, that you are not alone.
You can take some comfort in the knowledge that Europe also had a
Baby Boom, and they�re also starting to retire. According to
the president of the European Commission, by the year 2025, almost
one-third (1/3) of the entire population of Europe will be on retirement!
And they�re not too hot on 401ks or any other private or personal
pension funding. Almost all of those retirees will be living
solely on government pensions. With shorter workweeks, lower
productivity and earlier retirements, European governments are seeing
a potential disaster coming. How does a country�s economy survive
when so such a high percentage of the population is paid to produce
nothing while so few are left working to pay for them?</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="left"> </p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">European
governments are looking at:</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: -.25in; margin-left: .5in" align="left">
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="font-family: Symbol">�<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span>Increasing private investment pensions</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: -.25in; margin-left: .5in" align="left">
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="font-family: Symbol">�<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span>Cutting the generous entitlement programs (including
pension benefits)</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: -.25in; margin-left: .5in" align="left">
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="font-family: Symbol">�<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span>Withholding pensions until age 70</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: -.25in; margin-left: .5in" align="left">
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="font-family: Symbol">�<span style="font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"">
</span></span>Raising taxes much higher on everyone</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left:60.0pt"> </p>
<table border="4" width="50%" id="table17" cellpadding="2" height="102" bordercolor="#000000">
<tr>
<td valign="top" height="78">
<h3 class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center">
<b><i><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">�I
don�t feel like an old man. I feel like a young man who�s
got something wrong with him�</font></i></b></h3>
<h3 class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center">
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b><i>-Dick
Cavette</i></b></font></h3>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<h1 align="center" style="text-align:center"> </h1>
<h2 class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">You
Da Man!</font></b></h2>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Many
Americans still believe that big business controls the job market
and that the IBMs, Microsofts, oil companies and the pharmaceutical
giants create the new jobs. But according to the Dept of Labor,
that�s just not so. It�s small business that runs the job generating
machine in the U.S. and that�s always been the case. In 1990
Almost 80% of all new jobs were created by small business. In
2001 <i>all</i> job growth was in small business. In 2007 that
number has dropped back to over 80% due in part to the enormous increases
in federal and state government hiring. According to Uncle
Sam, in 2007 small businesses represent 97.7% of all employers in
the U.S. </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<p>
</div>
<span style="mso-ignore: vglayout">
<div align="center">
<table border="4" width="50%" id="table19" height="87" bordercolor="#000000">
<tr>
<td height="109" valign="top">
<h3 class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center">
<b><i><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">�People
need to be reminded more often than they need to be instructed�</font></i></b></h3>
<h3 class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center">
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b><i>-Samuel
Johnson</i></b></font></h3>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<p> </p>
</div>
</span>
<div align="center">
<h2 class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Counting
America�s Money</font></b></h2>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="left"><b><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">Income:</font></b><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
The median annual income for the American household is now at $48,201
adjusted for inflation, that�s two consecutive years of actual growth.
(Median = half of all households make more and half of all households
make less) </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><b>Poverty:</b>
The poverty level for a family of two adults and two children is now
set at $20,444 per year. 12.6% of the population is considered
in poverty. That number has gone down for the second consecutive
year.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<table border="4" width="50%" id="table20" bordercolor="#000000">
<tr>
<td valign="top">
<h3 class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center">
<b><i><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">�Some
people just can�t make the connection between spending money
and not having it anymore�</font></i></b></h3>
<h3 class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center">
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b><i>-Lee
Seats</i></b></font></h3>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<h2 class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">State
School Systems Are �Dumbing Down� Our Kids?</font></b></h2>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">The
U.S. now ranks about 30<sup>th</sup> on the list of countries ranked
for educational standards. Our literacy rate continues to drop
as has our high school graduation rates. A recent report showed
that the number of words in the average high school graduates vocabulary
has dropped over 40% since the early 1960s. </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">So
how should we react to this continuous failing? Well the U.S.
department of Education has just released a report showing how some
states want to solve the problem. The report shows that some
states are �Dumbing Down� the difficulty of the Standard Student Proficiency
test in order to get more passing grades. There is a threat
that federal funds may be cut off from such schools but the schools
are fighting that. How many companies will be willing to lower
the quality and productivity of their work if they fail to measure
up on the job? </font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"> </p>
<table border="4" width="50%" id="table21" bordercolor="#000000">
<tr>
<td valign="top">
<h3 class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center">
<b><i><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">�If
a cluttered desk is a sign of a cluttered mind, what is the
sign of an empty desk?�</font></i></b></h3>
<h3 class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center">
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b><i>-Albert
Einstien</i></b></font></h3>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<h2 class="MsoNormal" align="center" style="text-align:center"><b> <font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Ever
Been Arrested for Getting a Bad Performance Review?</font></b></h2>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">A
McDonalds worker in Union City Ga. Was arrested and jailed in early
September for putting too much salt and pepper in a police officer�s
hamburger. Kendra Bull accidently spilled too much salt and
pepper mixture into the hamburger mixing bowl. She and her manager
cooked some of the hamburgers, ate them and found them okay.
</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">But
when a police officer purchased one of the hamburgers he claimed it
made him sick. He accused the girl of doing it purposefully and had
her arrested. She spent the night in jail and in the morning
was released on a $1,000 bond. Her attorney, a public defender,
asked the judge to dismiss the case but the judge refused.</font></p>
<p class="MsoNormal" align="left"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">And
did I tell you the one about the judge who sued his dry cleaners for
millions because they lost his pants? But that�s another story.</font></p>
</div>
<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>Federal Minimum Wage:</b></font></p>
</div>
</td>
<center>
<td width="100%" valign="top">
<h3><font
face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">$5.85/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"> <u><font size="-1"><b>August</b></font></u><b><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><u>
2006</u></font></b><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><br>
$16.84</font></td>
<td width="25%" height="50">
<p align="center">
<span style="text-decoration: none"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
<u><font size="-1"><b>August</b></font></u></font></span><b><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><span style="text-decoration: none"><u>
2007</u></span></font></b><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><u><br>
</u>$17.59</font>
</td>
<td width="25%" height="50">
<p align="center">
<span style="text-decoration: none"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
<u><font size="-1"><b>August</b></font></u><b><u>
2006</u></b><br>
</font></span>
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
$569.19</font>
</td>
<td width="25%" height="50">
<p align="center">
<span style="text-decoration: none"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
<u><font size="-1"><b>August</b></font></u><b><u>
2007</u></b></font></span><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1"><u><br>
</u>$591.50</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>
$20,444</font>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<hr noshade color="#000000">
<hr noshade color="#000000">
</font><table border="0" width="100%">
<b></b><tr>
<b><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
<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>
</font></b><center><b></b><td width="63%" style="border-left-style: solid; border-left-width: 1">
<div align="left"><b>
<font size="-1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">48.5</font><font face="Verdana" size="-1">
cents</font><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
per mile</font></b></div>
<div align="left"><b>
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">20
cents per mile for medical travel or moving purposes</font></b></div>
<div align="left"><b>
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">14
cents per mile for travel for charitable organizations<br>
</font></b></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">.41</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">.17</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">.26</font></td>
</tr>
</table>
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
<hr noshade color="#000000">
<b>
<p>
<table border="0" width="38%" bgcolor="#FFFFFF" style="border-collapse: collapse" bordercolor="#111111" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0">
</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">300
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">
<span style="text-decoration: none"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
<u><font size="-1"><b>August</b></font></u></font></span><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b><u><font size="-1">
2006</font></u></b></font></td>
<b>
<td width="12%" align="center">
<span style="text-decoration: none"><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">
<u><font size="-1"><b>August</b></font></u></font></span><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> 2007</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">151,734,000</font></td>
<td width="12%" align="center"><font size="-1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">152,891,000</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">144,618,000</font></td>
<td width="12%" align="center"> <font size="-1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">
145,794,000</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">7,116,000</font></td>
<td width="12%" align="center">
<font size="-1">7</font><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">,097,000</font></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="48%"><span style="text-decoration: none">
<font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"
size="-1">Persons Who Currently Want A Job</font></span></td>
<td width="12%" align="center">
<span style="text-decoration: none">
<font size="-1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">4,887,000</font></span></td>
<td width="12%" align="center">
<span style="text-decoration: none">
<font size="-1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">4,744,000</font></span></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">4.8</font><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">%</font></p>
</td>
<td width="12%" align="center">
<p><font size="-1">4.6</font><font face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif" size="-1">%</font></p>
</td>
</tr>
</table>
<hr noshade color="#000000">
<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>2006</b></font></span></td>
<td width="68%">
<span style="text-decoration: none">
<font size="-1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">3.0%</font></span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%">
<span style="text-decoration: none">
<font size="-1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>2007 1<sup>st</sup>
Quarter</b></font></span></td>
<td width="68%">
<span style="text-decoration: none">
<font size="-1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">up 1.6%</font></span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="32%">
<span style="text-decoration: none">
<font size="-1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><b>2007 2<sup>nd</sup>
Quarter</b></font></span></td>
<td width="68%">
<span style="text-decoration: none">
<font size="-1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">up 2.6%</font></span></td>
</tr>
</table>
</font></span></td>
</tr>
<tr>
<td width="100%" height="21"> </td>
</tr>
</table>
<p><font face="Verdana" size="2">� William J. Cook</font></p>
</body>
</html>