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NAHRMA UPDATE
The NAHRMA Board met in Los Angeles, California, on March 20, 2007 during the SHRM Global Forum Conference and Exposition.
Upcoming Projects
1. NAHRMA members will participate in an upcoming immigration survey which results will be completed by September 2007. 2. NAHRMA Brochure will be updated. This leaflet contains basic information about the Association is used to promote awareness of the organization.
Country Reports
I. CANADA Economic Outlook
The Canadian economy recovers
The labour market remains healthy In January 2007, employment rose 0.5% in its third straight solid advance. Canadian employment was unquestionably driven by the booming economies of Alberta and British Columbia, which contributed to two out of three of the jobs added in January. However, an influx into the Canadian labour force offset this increase and the unemployment rate edged up to 6.2% in the first month of 2007 (compared to 6.1% in December 2006). Employment growth is equally split between part-time and full-time jobs. In addition, jobs in the private sector account for almost all of this employment growth, rising 393,000 since January 2006, while the ranks of the public sector and the self-employed workers remained relatively unchanged.
Lastly, the average weekly earnings increased by 3.0% last year, amounting to $757.27 in December 2006, while the average hourly earnings rose to $18.58.
Canadian Council of Human Resource Associations (CCHRA) Update In October 2006, the CCHRA Board approved the following new vision and mission: Vision The Canadian Council of Human Resources Associations is a world class organization leading the advancement of the profession built on credible and essential designations.
Mission The Canadian Council of Human Resources Associations is a national voice on the enhancement and promotion of the profession across Canada, through established and credible designations, collaborating on national issues related to the profession, leading federal government relations, and proactively positioning the national human resources agenda at the international level. In line with the new mission and vision, the Board approved moving the CCHRA office from Toronto to Ottawa, the national capital. CCHRA wants to strengthen its government relations strategy and develop a closer alignment to the federal government on HR issues of national importance. In addition, as part of the move to the nation’s capital, CCHRA will hire its first CEO.
CHRP Designation Update The strategic priorities for 2007-2008 focus on building and strengthening the CHRP designation. As part of this process, CCHRA will work with the business community to ensure the competencies required by a certified CHRP are relevant and continue to be relevant in the future. Research will also be conducted to determine the value and viability of offering a designation specifically for senior HR professionals. On a more operational note, the CCHRA launched a revamped, more user friendly website which integrates information and study tools for the national exams with information on CCHRA activities in general. Following is the link to the English site: www.cchra.ca, and French site : www.ccarh.ca. New features were also added:
These improvements have been well received by users.
2. U.S.AUS Macroeconomic Data
SHRM/Rutgers Leading Indicator of National Employment Report The LINE index is an economic indicator that identifies early economic trends and changes in the national job market by surveying human resource executives at manufacturing and service- The March LINE employment expectations report references the same March period as the report the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) will release on April 6. The responses in the survey are weighted using the proportion of total employment represented by the respondent’s industry. Beginning this month, these weights have been recalculated to incorporate the annual benchmark revisions that the BLS released on Feb. 2. While the latest LINE employment expectations index indicates strong expansion for manufacturers and service-sector employers through March, there still are clear indications that organizations continue to find it increasingly difficult to recruit the skilled talent they need. This also was the case in February, when both industry sectors revealed new-hire compensation appears to be rising more slowly than in 2006. The recruiting difficulty index measures how hard it is for firms to recruit highly qualified candidates to fill their most strategically important positions. To date, recruiting difficulty continues to be a major concern for both industry sectors. Within manufacturing, the February index (18.5) is slightly below the level of February 2006 (23.3); however, the February recruiting difficulty index for the service sector (10.4) is above the level of February 2006 (8.5). For the full article visit: http://www.shrm.org/hrnews_published/articles/CMS_020641.asp#P-8_0 For the LINE: http://www.shrm.org/line/
US Employment Situation for January 2007 from Bureau of Labor Statistics In January in the service-providing sector, health care employment was up by 18,000, professional and business services employment continued to trend up (+25,000), and food services employment was up by 21,000. Elsewhere in the service-providing sector, employment was essentially unchanged over the month. The number of unemployed persons (7.0 million) and the unemployment rate (4.6 percent) were about unchanged in January. Over the month, the unemployment rate for Hispanics (5.7 percent) increased, while the rates for the other major worker groups--adult men (4.1 percent), About 1.6 million persons (not seasonally adjusted) were marginally attached to the labor force in January--essentially unchanged from a year ago. These individuals wanted and were available for work and had looked for a job sometime in the prior 12 months. They were not counted as unemployed, because they had not searched for work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey. Among the marginally attached, there were 442,000 discouraged workers in January, about the same as a year earlier. Discouraged workers were not currently looking for work specifically because they believed no jobs were available for them. The other 1.1 million persons marginally attached to the labor force in January had not searched for work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey for reasons such as school attendance or family responsibilities. For the full BLS report, visit: http://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.nr0.htm
Trends Corporate Social Responsibility Survey
With more than 30 immigration-related bills circulating in Congress, a new coalition of HR groups—including the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM)—is urging lawmakers to create an employment verification system that does not require employers to become enforcement arms of the government.
Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) Update SHRM Opens Representative Office in Beijing, China SHRM Leads People to People Delegation of US HR Professionals to India: April 3-13, 2007 SHRM Annual Conference
3. Mexico
Macroeconomic Trends • For 2007, the exchange rate for the Mexican peso is expected to be between $10.60 and $11.20 per USD$. • The expected annual inflation rate for 2007 is between 3.75% and 4.25%.
Political Trends President Felipe Calderón said that his first objective is to achieve a hard hand by fighting crime and corruption. The second is to make the economy more competitive by improving energy prices and standards and creating a more flexible job market. The President declared that, he firmly believes in a country with Mexico's potential for growth. The infrastructure can be financed; it is financially viable because of private investment, and we are going to back it strongly. His third objective involves guaranteeing equal opportunities to be achieved through a number of health programs implemented since the start of this administration. The fourth objective is sustainable development and the fifth is the reversal of deforestation. In fact, Felipe Calderón began his period with a fierce battle against lack of security, organized crime and drug traffic that in the last years developed an exponential and dangerous growth. He extended the Medical Insurance of the New Generation health services to Mexicans born during his term. He started making decisions in all senses, being one of the most important ones, the wages increase for those in the militia in charge of fighting lack of security and drug dealers of great scale. He sent to the United States more than 40 criminals that were extradited and held in Mexicans prisons. Additionally, special security measures have been conducted in Cities such
HR Trends
Social Trends
President Calderón stressed the fact that the Federal government’s efforts are conducted for the workers’ welfare and the creation of more investment and jobs for the country. The president underlined the importance of dialog in dealing with the legitimate concerns of the working class, which focus on preserving sources of employment, training, social security and welfare and sustaining workers’ purchasing power. Nevertheless, last January 31ST a large meeting organized by non official unions took place demanding the Government to stop price increases of basic products such as tortillas and also demand an emergency salary increase.
AMEDIRH Update
Board of Directors According to statutes of the Board of Director, board elections for the 2007-2008 term took place on December 8th 2006. New criteria were developed for the president’s position, and Mr. Luis Garcia Orozco was elected as the new Board of Directors President. Board President At the December meeting outgoing president Miguel Angel Sánchez presented a full report of his achievements during his presidency.
Membership All through 2006, membership recruitment steadily increased in number of private companies, government institutions, unions and retired members of the HR community. For the first time in the last 5 years the number of new members was higher than the number of those who decided not to renew their membership. Traditionally, January used to be a not very good month for attracting new members, however,
AMEDIRH Annual Conference This year AMEDIRH commemorates its 60° Anniversary with a Human Resources Congress that will take place on September 11 & 12 at the World Trade Center in Mexico City. More than 1,500 executives from private and public companies throughout Mexico are expected to attend the event which is being regarded as the top HR event in Mexico. Competitors in the area are organizing similar events during the year without same results as AMEDIHR’s. This year’s exhibition area will offer 20 spaces for sponsors and 64 booths, many of which have already been sold. We are working on different collateral social activities to be sponsored by different companies including lunch – conferences and dinner - conferences with some of the key note speakers. The educational program will include concurrent and plenary sessions and we have six international re-known keynote speakers.
Other Activities • The new Board of Directors was increased to 22 members, including 7 vice- presidents representing different production sectors, 12 counselors representing important companies and universities and a Secretary and a Treasurer. • AMEDIRH’s staff and its five Work Committees created programs last year addressing Health, Benefits, Security, Compensation and Social Security Trends in which monthly reunions take place to analyze and propose different modifications and regulations to benefit the Human Resources areas, specially the work force. Participants are delighted and truly motivated to collaborate and participate in the sessions. • January saw main events: 84 attendees to analyze Challenges in Collective Bargaining. • February: 167 attendees and breakfast with the new Labor Secretary and 2 Undersecretaries. • March: Sunday March 4th has been declared Families Day by a Presidential decree. AMEDIRH organized a Mexico rodeo , expected number of attendees about 5000 people. • AMEDIRH has published a complete calendar of events for 2007.
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