RSSIssue 7:10 – Sunday, October 1, 2006
The VetJobs Early Eagle is for member employers, recruiters, friends and
supporters of VetJobs.
VetJobs is sponsored and partially owned by the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the
United States.
VetJobs is the only job board endorsed by the Vietnam Veterans of America.
This month’s Early Eagle is sponsored by: TECHEXPO Top Secret
Contents:
1. Message from the Top
2. Career Call on Radio Sandy Springs
3. USCIS SAVE Program
4. New Changes to Get a Social Security Card
5. Most Employers Report Plans to Increase Hiring
6. National Guard and Reserve Mobilized as of September 27, 2006
7. Significant Events this Month in Military History
Thank you for reading the VetJobs Early Eagle employer newsletter. If you like
this newsletter and what VetJobs and the VFW do to assist veterans and their
family members find employment, please go to www.weddles.com/ and
vote VetJobs for the WEDDLE’s User’s Choice Award.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * *
1. Message from the Top
October is National Disability Employment Awareness Month. Despite the passage
of the ADA, and the equal-opportunity path it paved for people with physical and
mental challenges, unemployment is still a critical issue for the 54 million
Americans with disabilities. A National Organization on Disability-Harris Survey
found that only 35% of working-age people with disabilities are in fact working
compared to 78% of those without disabilities. Two-thirds of the unemployed and
disabled respondents said they would like to work but could not find jobs.
A Work Trends study conducted by the John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce
Development at Rutgers University also found that people with physical and
mental disabilities continue to be vastly underrepresented in the American
workplace. Misconceptions by employers appear to be the driving reason.
One-third of the employers surveyed said that people with disabilities can not
effectively perform the required job tasks. The second most common reason given
for not hiring the disabled was the fear of costly accommodations.
Both assumptions are completely wrong. National job studies, including a 30-year
analysis by DuPont de Nemours, show that people with disabilities have equal or
higher performance ratings, better retention rates and less absenteeism. And
among the Work Trends respondents who said they had actually hired workers with
disabilities, three of four said no workplace changes were needed. Recent
studies conducted by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Disability
Employment Policy show that 15% of accommodations cost nothing and 51% cost
between $1 and $500.
There are many returning veterans from the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq that are
disabled due to injuries sustained in combat and providing support to the wars.
The federal government, VetJobs and others are working hard to assist the
returning disabled veterans find jobs. I hope that your company is doing all it
can to ensure inclusion of disabled workers, especially our disabled veterans!
This month we celebrate the 231st birthday of the United States Navy. On Friday,
October 13, 1775, meeting in Philadelphia, the Continental Congress voted to fit
out two sailing vessels, armed with ten carriage guns, as well as swivel guns,
and manned by crews of eighty, and to send them out on a cruise of three months
to intercept transports carrying munitions and stores to the British army in
America. This was the original legislation out of which the Continental Navy
grew and as such constitutes the birth certificate of the navy. If you meet a
current or former member of the Navy, say Happy Birthday! October is also
Hispanic Heritage Month. Members of Hispanic origin now comprise nearly 14% of
the military. Other celebrations this month include Yom Kippur on October 2,
Columbus Day on October 10 and Navy Day on October 27.
Finally, the job market has definitely turned around. Companies now realize that
the United States is entering a labor shortage the likes of which we have never
seen. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, unemployment rates were lower
in August than a year earlier in 238 of the 367 metropolitan areas, higher in 94
areas, and unchanged in 35 areas. Twenty-six metropolitan areas registered
jobless rates below 3.0 percent! 115 metropolitan areas reported unemployment
rates below 4.0 percent, up from 87 areas a year earlier, while 24 areas posted
rates of at least 7.0 percent, down slightly from 26 areas in August 2005. The
national unemployment rate is now 4.6 percent, not seasonally adjusted, down
from 4.9 percent a year earlier. With normal unemployment being 5.0 percent,
this means there are more jobs available in the United States then there are
people to fill the jobs! Your ability to find quality employees is only going to
get harder! Fortunately, you have VetJobs as a source to assist you.
As always, if there is anything we at VetJobs can do for you, please do not
hesitate to call or email.
And remember, Freedom Is Never Free – Support Our Armed Forces and Veterans!
Best regards,
Ted Daywalt
President
/—-October Early Eagle sponsor is TECHEXPO—-\
TECHEXPO Top Secret job fairs bring you face to face with security-cleared professionals Tuesday, October 10 in Reston, VA; Thursday, October 12 in Baltimore, MD; Wednesday, November 1 in McLean, VA; and Thursday, November 2 in Baltimore at the BWI Hilton. For 2006 event schedule, contact Seth Berk at 212-655-4505 x 244 or SBerk@TechExpoUSA.com. http://www.TechExpoUSA.com
\—–Please visit your October Early Eagle sponsor TECHEXPO —–/
2. Career Call on Radio Sandy Springs
Career Call is a national career radio show sponsored by VetJobs. Each program
is aired Sundays at 3:00 PM EST on 1620 AM in Sandy Springs (North Atlanta), GA.
Be sure to tune in on the Internet for these exciting programs at
www.radiosandysprings.com . If you would like to have your company highlighted on
Career Call, email Ted Daywalt at info@vetjobs.com.
3. USCIS SAVE Program
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has established the
Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) Program, which is an
intergovernmental information-sharing initiative designed to aid eligibility
workers in determining a non-citizen applicant’s immigration status, and thereby
ensure that only entitled non-citizen applicants receive Federal, state, or
local public benefits and licenses. The SAVE Program is an information service
for benefit issuing agencies, institutions, licensing bureaus, and other
entities. The SAVE Program does not make determinations on any non-citizen
applicant’s eligibility for a specific benefit or license. The SAVE Program
enables Federal, state, and local government agencies and licensing bureaus to
obtain immigration status information they need in order to determine a
non-citizen applicant’s eligibility for many public benefits. The SAVE Program
also administers employment verification pilot programs that enable employers to
quickly and easily verify the work authorization of their newly hired employees.
For more information about how an employer can use SAVE, visit
http://www.uscis.gov/graphics/services/SAVE.htm.
4. New Changes to Get a Social Security Card
A new law, Public Law 108-458, includes several provisions that change rules for
assigning a Social Security number and issuing a Social Security card. To get a
Social Security number or a replacement card, you must prove your citizenship or
immigration status and your identity. Under the new law, only certain documents
can be accepted as proof of citizenship. These include your U.S. birth
certificate, a U.S. passport, a Certificate of Naturalization or a Certificate
of Citizenship. If you are not a U.S. citizen, different rules apply for proving
your immigration status, and those rules have not changed. Also under the new
law, only certain documents can be accepted as proof of identity. An acceptable
document must show your name, identifying information about you and preferably a recent photograph.
5. Most Employers Report Plans to Increase Hiring.
September hiring projections appear strong as most employers from the
manufacturing and service sectors plan to increase hiring in the coming five
weeks, according to the latest report of the Leading Indicator of National
Employment (LINE), a collaborative effort between SHRM and the Rutgers
University School of Management and Labor Relations.
6. National Guard and Reserve Mobilized as of September 27, 2006
Total number currently on active duty in support of the partial mobilization for
the Army National Guard and Army Reserve is 86,831; Navy Reserve, 6,100; Air
National Guard and Air Force Reserve, 7,205; Marine Corps Reserve, 7,337; and
the Coast Guard Reserve, 317. This brings the total National Guard and Reserve
personnel, who have been mobilized, to 107,790, including both units and
individual augmentees. A cumulative roster of all National Guard and Reserve
personnel, who are currently mobilized, can be found
at http://www.defenselink.mil/news/Sep2006/d20060927ngr.pdf
7. Significant Events this Month in Military History
1781 – British troops under General Lord Charles Cornwallis surrendered to
General Washington at Yorktown, Virginia, effectively ending the American
Revolution.
1775 – The US Navy was established.
1901 – The first British Navy submarine was commissioned.
1944 – Battle of Leyte Gulf
1950 – The invasion of North Korea started.
1952 – Battle of Hill 598 began, Korean War
1957 – The Soviet Union launched Sputnik I, first man-made earth satellite.
1962 – The U.S. began its blockade of Cuba to compel the Russians to remove
long-range missiles aimed at the United States.
1964 – The Chinese exploded their first atomic bomb.
1965 – The Battle of the La Drang Valley, Vietnam War.
1968 – The Bombing of North Vietnam ended.
1969 – Battle of Loc Ninh, Vietnam War
1971 – Operation Jefferson Glenn, the last major operation in which US ground
forces participated in Vietnam
1973 – Egypt and Syria launched military offensive against Israel
1983 -Terrorist attack on Marine Barracks, Beirut
1983 – Operation Urgent Fury, Grenada
1993 – Battle of Bakhara Market, Mogadishu, Somalia
2000 – Bombing of the USS Cole by Al-Queda terrorists
2001 – Operation Enduring Freedom began in Afghanistan