The question-and-answer publication by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission covers what an employer may ask, what to do if an applicant voluntarily discloses a hearing impairment, and types of reasonable accommodation companies can consider.

From January 2007 to January 2008, job openings, hires, quits, and total separation rates fell significantly for the total nonfarm and private sectors in the U.S., reports the Bureau of Labor Statistics. There were 3.97 million job openings in January 2008, compared to 4.3 million in January 2007; hires were down by 447,000 in January 2008 compared to 2007.

BLS also reports that private sector employment declined by 101,000 in February 2008; however the overall nationwide unemployment rate was essentially unchanged at 4.8 percent. Employment fell in manufacturing (-52,000), construction (-39,000), real estate (-34,000) and retail trade (-34,000). Industries seeing job growth included health care (+36,000); over the past 12 months, health care has added 360,000 jobs.

Software developers, nurses, sales representatives and accountants are examples of highly skilled, high demand positions, according to Jobfox Top 25 Most Wanted U.S. Professions. The report reflects the professions most often targeted by employers and recruiters using Jobfox, an employment website, to find workers during a 120-day period ending February 21, 2008.

Combined food preparation and serving workers were among the lowest paying occupations in 2007, but were among the occupations with the highest U.S. employment in 2007, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports. Retail salespersons, cashiers, general office clerks, and registered nurses were the other occupations with high employment last year.

The highest paying occupations included physician specialists, dentist specialists, and chief executives, according to BLS.

Mean hourly wages for office and administrative support group occupations ranged from $18.83 in the utilities sector to $11.60 in accommodation and food services. Hotel, motel, and resort desk clerks ($9.66 per hour); stock clerks and order fillers ($10.93); and tellers ($11.36) were among the lowest paid occupations in the group.

In an additional report, BLS says that real average weekly earnings fell by 0.5 percent from March 2008 to April after seasonal adjustment. A 0.1 percent increase in average hourly earnings for the period was offset by a 0.3 percent decrease in average weekly hours and a 0.2 percent increase in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, 30 occupations projected to have the largest declines between 2006 and 2016 will account for about 1.2 million in job losses. Stock clerks and order fillers will have the largest decline, followed by cashiers (except gaming cashiers), packers and packagers, file clerks, farmers and ranchers, order clerks, sewing machine operators, electrical and electronic equipment assemblers, cutting/punching machine press operators, and telemarketers. BLS observes that advances in information technologies have automated many clerical tasks, causing fewer workers to be needed. Jobs that are difficult to automate or move overseas will remain in demand, says BLS.

Although Hawaii experienced the largest over-the-month percentage decline in December employment compared to other states, it still had the lowest jobless rate (2.0 percent) in the nation, according to the latest report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. For the full report, see Regional and State Employment and Unemployment: December 2006.

The employment of temporary and contract workers in the U.S. declined by 1.7 percent in the first quarter of 2008 compared to the same period in 2007, reports the American Staffing Association.

According to the ASA, this was the second consecutive quarter of year-to-year declines and marks only the fourth time since the second quarter of 2002 that quarterly employment in the staffing industry decreased from the same period of the previous year. Previous declines occurred in the fourth quarter of 2006, the first quarter of 2007, and the fourth quarter of 2007.

The proportion of youths 16 to 24 years old working or looking for work was 65 percent in July 2007, down from about 67 percent in July 2006 and about 14 percentage points below its peak for that month in 1989, says the Bureau of Labor Statistics. July is the traditional summertime peak for youth employment. This year, 22 percent of employed youth worked in the leisure and hospitality industry (including food services), and 20 percent worked in retail trade.

The average weekly wage in Honolulu was $744, compared to $784 nationally in the third quarter of 2006, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports. Honolulu ranked 165 in average weekly wages among the 325 largest counties in the U.S. as of Sept. 2006. Honolulu’s growth in employment was 2.3 percent compared to the previous year, above the national average of 1.5 percent, which ranked 89 among the counties. See County Employment and Wages: Third Quarter 2006 for the full report.

Hawaii and Alaska posted the second largest over-the-month percentage declines in employment (-0.4 percent each) for October, according to the latest figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Arizona and Michigan had larger declines of -0.5 percent each. Hawaii, however, also recorded the second lowest rate of unemployment among the states at 2.7 percent for October. Idaho continued to have the lowest jobless rate of 2.5 percent. The national unemployment rate was 4.7 for the period.