The Conference Board Employment Trends Index increased 0.73 percent during January to 105.81, up from the revised figure of 105.04 in December. The January figure is also up 5.9 percent from the same month a year ago.

"The Employment Trends Index has been improving rapidly for four straight months, suggesting somewhat more robust job growth is likely to continue in this quarter," said Gad Levanon, director of macroeconomic research at The Conference Board. "Beyond that we still remain cautious. We expect sluggish growth in economic activity in the first half of 2012 and therefore we do not foresee the strengthening of the labor market to be sustained in the second quarter of 2012."

Despite the addition of 21,000 jobs during January, the nation's construction industry unemployment rate jumped to 17.7 percent, up from 16 percent the previous month, according to U.S. Labor Department. However, construction employment is up by 116,000 jobs, or 2.1 percent, compared to January 2011, and is down from the 22.5 percent rate posted the same time last year.

The nonresidential building construction sector added 6,000 jobs in January and has added 12,000 jobs year over year, or 1.8 percent, as January employment levels stood at 662,000. The residential building construction sector added 3,000 jobs for the month and has added 14,000 jobs, or 2.4 percent, year over year as January employment levels stood at 575,000.

Though far more companies are expected to hire than lay off this month, the numbers will lag compared to a year ago, according to a report from the Society for Human Resource Management.

The Leading Indicators of National Employment Report shows that on an annual basis – comparing February 2012 to February 2011 – service sector hiring will drop by a net of 12.3 points and manufacturing sector hiring will fall by a net of 2.5 points.

Last month, the nation's employers announced plans to cut 53,486 jobs from their payrolls. That was the largest monthly layoff total since 115,730 job cuts were announced last September, according to the latest report by global outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc.

The January total was 28 percent higher than the 41,785 job cuts announced during December. It was 39 percent higher than January 2011, when employers announced just 38,519 planned cuts.

Online advertised vacancies rose 61,300 during January to 4,383,400, according to The Conference Board Help Wanted OnLine Data Series. Nationally, there are 8.8 million more unemployed than advertised vacancies and the supply/demand rate stands at 3 unemployed for every vacancy.

"The monthly increase for the last two months averaged 93,000 per month, giving hope that labor demand will continue to improve," said June Shelp, vice president at The Conference Board.

Employment in the U.S. nonfarm private business sector increased by 170,000 from December to January on a seasonally adjusted basis, according to the latest ADP National Employment Report.

The estimated advance in employment from November to December was revised down to 292,000 from the initially reported 325,000.

Unemployment rates were lower in December than a year earlier in 329 of the 372 metropolitan areas, higher in 36 areas, and unchanged in seven areas, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

In Olympia, the jobless rate rose from 7.7 percent during December 2010 to 7.9 percent in December 2011. Unemployment held steady in Tacoma at 9.1 percent.

Is it good to LOL at work? A new survey from Accountemps suggests it could be.

Nearly eight in 10 (79 percent) chief financial officers interviewed said an employee's sense of humor is important for fitting into the company's corporate culture.

Compensation costs for civilian workers increased 0.4 percent, seasonally adjusted, for the fourth quarter of 2011, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Wages and salaries (which make up about 70 percent of compensation costs) also increased 0.4 percent, and benefits (which make up the remaining 30 percent of compensation) increased 0.6 percent.

Compensation costs for civilian workers increased 2 percent for 2011, the same as the increase a year earlier. Wages and salaries increased 1.4 percent last year and benefit costs increased 3.2 percent.

U.S. small businesses created 50,000 new jobs during January but paid employees less and gave them fewer hours, according to the latest Intuit Inc. Small Business Employment Index.

The monthly report found that small business employment nationwide grew by 0.2 percent, equating to an annual growth rate of 2.9 percent. Hiring in Washington grew by 0.7 percent. Average monthly hours worked nationwide decreased by 0.05 percent, or six minutes, while average monthly compensation also decreased by 0.1 percent, or $3.

Want to know the way to an employee's heart? Professionals interviewed by OfficeTeam identified work/life balance (28 percent) and opportunities to learn and grow (27 percent) as the top contributors to their job satisfaction. The results are in line with those from a similar survey in which managers were asked about the factors most tied to employee morale.

The survey of workers also revealed differences by age: Respondents between the ages of 35 and 44 were most concerned with work/life balance (46 percent), and those between the ages of 18 and 34 indicated the greatest interest in opportunities to learn and grow (37 percent).

After rising to its highest level in nearly two years during the first half of 2011, the percentage of job seekers relocating for new positions dropped to a near record low to finish the year, according to global outplacement and executive coaching consultancy Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc.

The latest data provides further evidence that one of the biggest obstacles to economic recovery could be the lack of mobility among the nation's unemployed.

Washington employers will collect a record $56 million in 2011 federal tax credits because they hired certain hard-to-place job seekers.
 
The Work Opportunity Tax Credit provides up to $2,400 in tax savings per worker to businesses that hire military veterans, the disabled, ex-inmates, food-stamp recipients and individuals who receive Supplemental Security Income.  Additionally, businesses that hire long-term welfare recipients can save as much as $9,000 per person over two years.

The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission received a record 99,947 charges of employment discrimination and obtained $455.6 million in relief through its administrative program and litigation during Fiscal Year 2011.

For the second year in a row, despite a record number of receipts, the commission resolved more charges than it took in with 112,499 resolutions (7,500 more resolutions than FY 2010 – an increase of 7 percent) – leaving 78,136 pending charges, a 10 percent decrease in its inventory, the first year the agency has seen a reduction since 2002.

Job seekers who want potential employers to "show them the money" may be in luck, a new Robert Half survey suggests. More than one-third (38 percent) of executives interviewed said they are more willing to negotiate salary with top candidates than they were a year ago. Just 5 percent of respondents said they are less willing to negotiate.

"Job seekers, especially those with skills in high demand, are gaining leverage in salary discussions today," said Max Messmer, chairman and CEO of Robert Half International. "Still, there are many things that can go wrong when negotiating pay and candidates should approach these discussions with a clear understanding of how far they should take the conversation."

December's labor statistics from the Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics once again produced conflicting data about what's happening in Washington's economy. According to the bureau's monthly survey of Washington households, the estimated unemployment rate dropped from 8.7 percent in November to 8.5 percent during December. This was the lowest since February 2009, when the unemployment rate was 8.3 percent.

At the same time, a survey of Washington businesses showed an estimated job loss of 10,700 from November to December.

Real average hourly earnings for all employees rose a seasonally adjusted 0.2 percent from November to December, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The change stems from a 0.2 percent increase in average hourly earnings, while the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers remained unchanged.

Real average weekly earnings rose 0.5 percent over the month as a result of the increase in real average hourly earnings and a 0.3 percent rise in the average workweek.

Costs for a family vacation, wedding anniversary dinner and pet food are items you'd expect to see on personal credit card statements. Unfortunately, they've also appeared on employee expense reports, according to a new Robert Half Management Resources survey.

Chief financial officers were asked to name the most unusual things they've seen employees include in expense reports – and the results are bound to raise the eyebrows of any financial executive. Here are a few of the most questionable items:

The end of 2011 saw continued slowdown in CEO turnover as 83 chief executives left their posts in December. For the year, 1,178 CEOs left their posts, down from 1,234 announced departures during 2010, according to the year-end report on CEO turnover from global outplacement and executive coaching firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc.

The 83 December CEO departures were one more than the 82 exits tracked in November. Last month's total was 22 percent lower than December 2010, when 107 chief executive departures were recorded.

Employers who have provided light-duty jobs to injured workers may be entitled to a reimbursement from the state Department of Labor & Industries as part of a new program to keep injured workers at work and help employers make that happen.

The Stay at Work program, available to employers who pay premiums to L&I, partially reimburses employers for the cost of bringing injured workers back to safe, light-duty jobs before they are medically cleared to return to their old jobs.