In October, the health care industry experienced minor job creation—adding only about 11,600 positions. The overall unemployment rate in the U.S. was 9 percent. Based on statistics from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, health care jobs held steady at 14.2 million, with an increase of only 0.1 percent. In September, the Bureau reported the overall U.S. unemployment rate at 9.1 percent. According to seasonally adjusted numbers, health care added an average of 27,957 jobs per month during the previous 12 months (ending in October). During that time, the industry added 367,500 jobs. Back in October 2010, there was a 2.7 percent increase. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, outpatient care centers saw the biggest rise, increasing close to .5 percent with 2,900 new positions. All in all, outpatient care employs about 630,000 people. Doctor offices (which also saw an increase in September) continued to grow, with a 1 percent increase (adding 2,200 jobs). This brings the total number of people w ...

It’s a term you may have heard…professional employer organization (PEO)…but you may have no idea what it means. A PEO normally offers a comprehensive approach to help you manage all of your company’s human resource needs. A PEO in Tampa and beyond can let you leave the majority of your time-consuming payroll and HR tasks to a dedicated and experienced team of HR professionals who can give you immediate guidance—based on your individual needs. This lets local companies focus on their business, whether it be: Growing their tourism revenue Tending to their orange groves Managing their customer service business Comprehensive PEO Advantages: Any Tampa PEO will run your payroll and handle the deductions. Handing over day-to-day administrative tasks to HR experts. Qualified employees handle your HR needs.  PEO’s will guide you through the often complicated process of regulatory compliance. There are a variety of federal and state employment laws t ...

According to forecasters, the average salary increases expected for 2012 are about 3 percent, about the same as 2011. This news comes as some Americans were hoping for increases in pay to accompany the recovering marketplace. At the same time, a Scottsdale, AZ organization that focuses on human resources issues, WorldatWork, noted that for a recent 12-month period, inflation rose faster than base pay for the first time since 1980. These kinds of industry effects can hurt your company’s ability to retain employees. Each company is different; make sure your policies and processes for compensating employees reflect your company’s mission and culture. Here are a few tips that you can take into consideration during your next meeting with your leadership staff. To retain your employees and help motivate them, consider: As a business owner trying to keep costs down, you might consider going with the trend to ramp up your bonus system, rather than base pay. A bottom line increase can fund ...

Currently, employee and employer contributions to a 401(k) plan are limited to $49,000 or 100 percent of a worker’s pay, whichever is lower. Two proposals that could take effect in 2012 threaten the financial benefits of the 401(k) program and affect how much employees can place into their accounts. Currently the 401(k) system and the IRA rollovers that occur from them are some of the largest sources of retirement financing in the country. One proposal is from 2010 and one is more recent. The first proposal, drafted by the bipartisan National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform (NCFRR), is called the “20/20 cap.” It proposes to limit 401(k) annual contributions to $20,000, or 20% of an employee’s salary, whichever is lower. The second proposal, also drafted by the NCFRR, attempts to remove the tax deduction aspect of a 401(k) plan and replace it with a flat-rate refundable credit that would act as a matching contribution to a retirement savings account, outside of a 401(k ...

Either by mistake, or to avoid paying overtime to employees, many companies incorrectly classify nonexempt works as exempt. The normal rule is to pay nonexempt employees overtime for work in excess of 40 hours per week. So, if you’re going to classify an employee as exempt, take the following into consideration: To avoid penalties, the exempt employee generally has to be paid on a salary basis and receive a minimum salary. That means a preset amount each pay period. And, you can’t reduce the amount because of a change in the quantity or quality of the employees work. In addition, if your employee performs ANY work during a week, they usually must be paid for that entire week. If your exempt employee performs some hourly-paid work, that may break their entire exempt status. If that is the case, you may owe overtime on all work in excess of 40 hours per week. Note also, that if you issue a smart phone to a non-exempt employee and they check email after work hours for more than 15 minutes ...