FederalDaily - January 19, 2007

Feds Like Their Work; Less Satisfied with Senior Management

Federal employees like the work they do and generally have high regard for their immediate supervisors, according to respondents to the Office of Personnel Management’s (OPM) 2006 Federal Human Capital Survey (FHCS). They don’t, however, have the same feelings for their agency’s senior staff, said the survey, a tabulation of 221,479 federal employees. The FHCS included 84 items intended to gauge employee perceptions on whether they are effectively led and managed and if their contributions are valued and recognized. Ninety percent of respondents said they believed their work is important and 83 percent believe they understand how their work contributes to fulfilling the agency's mission. About 66 percent answered positively about their immediate supervisor’s performance, but that positive rating dropped to 49 percent when employees were asked to judge their senior leadership. OPM released only the government-wide results Jan 17. Survey findings for individual agencies will be released Jan. 30. To see more, go to: www.fhcs2006.opm.gov/Published

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Unemployment Rate Drops for Young Vets

The unemployment rate for young veterans—ages 20-24—fell to 10.4 percent in 2006, from 15.6 percent in the previous year, according to new Department of Labor (DOL) data. The reduction in the young vets’ unemployment rate is the largest decline in more than a decade, DOL said. Also, the unemployment rate for all veterans remained lower than that of non-vets. DOL credits its Veterans’ Employment and Training Service (VETS) programs—which offer personalized assistance to find jobs and build post-service career skills. Prior to a servicemember’s separation from the military, VETS conducts employment workshops under the Transition Assistance Program. “It is encouraging to see this significant drop in the unemployment rate of young veterans," said DOL Secretary Elaine Chao on Jan. 12. “Helping America’s servicemen and women successfully transition to civilian jobs when they leave the armed forces is a top priority of this department and these latest numbers show that progress is being made.” To see more, go to: www.dol.gov/opa/media/press/vets/vets20070017.htm

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NRC Needs Flexibility, Funding for New Hiring

Facing an anticipated tidal wave of new nuclear reactor applications, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) needs to ramp up its hiring process to replace a significant portion of its retiring veteran workforce, a new government report says. The Government Accountability Office, in a Jan. 17 report, looked at how well the NRC was handling its staffing and recruitment as the agency prepares to review up to 20 nuclear applications expected to be filed beginning in October. Complicating the NRC picture is the pending retirement—by 2010—of about one-third of NRC’s workforce with mission-critical skills. Also, with the Continuing Resolution funding government operations this fiscal year at FY 2006 levels, NRC managers are telling auditors they may have to halt new hires until Oct. 1 because of an anticipated $95 million budget shortfall. “NRC needs flexibility, staff commitment and sustained human capital management to adapt to any workforce climate shifts,” the report said. “A failure to achieve these human capital goals could potentially hinder NRC's ability to inspect existing reactors and license new ones, which might ultimately limit the availability of electricity in the U.S.” To see more, go to: www.gao.gov/docsearch/abstract.php?rptno=GAO-07-105.

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