Insights into Weekly News and the APICS OMBOK
updated May 3, 2010
Looking Closer at EmploymentMay employment figures in the United States show a decline in those seeking unemployment benefits. However, experts say the drop is due, in large part, to unemployed workers who have given up looking for jobs. Those people are no longer counted in official polls. According to the Associated Press (AP), “nationally, the unemployment rate dipped to 9.7 percent in May from 9.9 percent in April. But the drop was largely because hundreds of thousands of jobless people stopped searching for work.”
“A total of 431,000 new jobs were added across the country in May, the biggest gain in a decade,” reports the AP. “Still, the surge came from 411,000 temporary census jobs.”
These numbers leave all of us wondering how unemployment is affecting operations and supply chain management professionals. We most certainly can benefit from the information contained in the APICS Operations Management Salary and Employment Report, the most recent of which reflects results from the first quarter 2010.
Data show promising projections of economic upturn supported by anticipated industry hiring. While the 2009 inaugural report revealed only 48 percent of managers anticipated hiring, the most recent surveys reveal 64 percent of those with hiring responsibility anticipate taking on new employees within the next 12 months.
News you can use
Because of the recession, many workers’ salaries remained the same or were cut. Data from the report show positive news for the salaries of APICS-certified supply chain and operations management professionals. In the third quarter of 2009, Certified Production and Inventory Management (CPIM) designees earned 8.3 percent more than their counterparts who were not certified. The latest numbers show an even bigger gap, 9.7 percent, between those with CPIMs and those without the designation.
Among respondents, average annual compensation was ranked the highest, an average of $100,421, for those in the execution and control of operations fields. Resource planning positions earned the lowest, an average of $73,008, among those surveyed.
The APICS Operations Management Salary and Employment Report is unique for a number of reasons. First, it is forward looking: the surveys collect data on anticipated hiring and required skills over the next 6 to 12 months. Next, its results are up to date in a way other surveys can’t be because APICS collects and reports data quarterly, not annually. Finally, APICS researchers work with experts from the University of North Carolina–Wilmington Cameron School of Business to design and administer the surveys.
The entire report is available to APICS members at apics.org/research. Statistics are available based on gender, age, bonus, certification status, and geographic location. A condensed public version also is available. I encourage you to examine the important information this survey provides as you make future career plans. We at APICS are proud to share with you the latest edition of the APICS Operations Management Employment Outlook.
In other News
- Extension of Jobless Aid Still Stalled — The New York Times
- The Future of Oil is the Future of the Gulf — CNN Money
- Yuan Impact: General Manufacturing — The Wall Street Journal
Related APICS Education
- Learning From Mom and Pop
By Ingrid Ostby
May/June 2010, APICS magazine - Greeting the Turnaround
By Charles Park and Wayne Carlson
March/April 2010, APICS magazine - Anticipating the Reemergence of Demand
By Steve Cimorelli, CFPIM
January/February 2010, APICS magazine - APICS Research
- APICS Operations Management Employment Outlook
How Operations Management Now Relates to You
ations management is everywhere. Today, operations management professionals have unprecedented impacts on the global economy. Consider these questions and how today’s edition of APICS Operations Management Now relates to you and your career.
- How has unemployment affected you? Your company?
- What do you find the most surprising statistic from the APICS Operations Management Salary and Employment Report? Why?
- How has APICS certification helped you better navigate your career this year?
Not an APICS member? Join today.
