Unemployment: is the truth out there?

The CIPD is claiming that a rise in the number of 'hidden jobless' means that although headline unemployment has remained below 2.5m, the ‘real unemployment figure’ is over 4.5m.

According to the CIPD's chief economist, John Philpott, in addition to the published figure of 2.44m unemployed, there are more than 2.1m ‘hidden jobless' who want to work, plus almost 1m currently working part time because they cannot find full-time positions. He added that: “The best our weak jobs market can look forward to in the near term is an anemic recovery. This might trigger a further avalanche of redundancies later this year."

Just for the record, the published number of unemployed stems from a weighted three month average of a continuous survey of the UK workforce. To qualify as ‘unemployed’, a person must be not employed, seeking work and be available for work. The survey does not ask women over 60, men over 65, nor teenagers under 16 about their job seeking intentions. If these people were included, they could swell the ranks of the unemployed substantially. Also excluded from the figures are those who are not working but who might like to get a job sometime. In addition, those working part time may want a full time job and, although they are not unemployed (and so not part of the statistics), they are under-employed.

Over the years, the unemployment figures have been massaged and redefined by the Government of the day – of whatever political persuasion. Currently, jobs are scarce and the length of time people are in the ‘seeking work’ category increases because they are unemployed for longer.

However, crucially in the current economic climate, the unemployment figure can’t give any indication of any person’s likelihood of getting a job within a given time. And, if you happen to be unemployed, the answer to that should be important than knowing how many other people are in the same state as you are.

The ghost of JR Hartley - and its marketing message

Joe Pélissier, of Pod Communications, www.podcommunications.co.uk, makes a good point when he writes that, while reading an article on fly-fishing: ‘I was struck between the connection between serious, passionate anglers and committed marketers. It’s to do with bait and mindset.’

For every type of creature there’s a bait. You just have to work out what it is.

For anglers, it appears that a successful catch is often due to a mindset that is scientific and experimental in nature. The first book on the subject was published in 1496. And the dry fly that fly-fishermen use today is the result of books published by Frederic Halford in the 1880s. His books lay out a system for fly-fishing based on experiment, observation, dedication and mechanics. A focused mind, willingness to experiment and the need for a system: that’s how to get great results.

As a young boy, the fishing journalist, Brian Clarke, conducted an autopsy on every fish he caught - so that he could see what they preferred to eat. Based on his observations, he designed flies that imitated those he discovered in the autopsy - and found that, from one season to the next, his catch increased by 600%.

How dedicated are you to find the right bait for your customers: to discover what they buy, when, how often and why - and then create products and services they will want? Even fish get bored of the same old thing, so what chance do you have with customers unless you are prepared to ring the changes?

What you market is not down to luck and chance. Like anglers, serious marketers study the swirls and flows of a river and then find the appropriate bait. And when unsuccessful, they change it, move to a different bank, or do both.

Another important lesson to observe is that it’s fun. There’s pleasure and satisfaction in setting out to secure a prize catch. If you can take this approach with winning new customers, you remove some of the pressure and edge.

So is your bait appetising? Are the fish nibbling or biting? Or, are you experimenting and just letting the line drift aimlessly - in the hope that something will eventually bite? If you have reeled in a monster, have you done an autopsy to know why you were successful? Or, are you going to think it was all down to luck and miss out on the opportunity to increase your strike rate by 600%.

Equal employment opportunities for all - even zombies

HR magazine has reported that The London Dungeon has recruited two new zombies to embark on a £30,000 per year career of scaring visitors. There were over 200 applicants for the role and around 60 were auditioned. Louie McKenna and Jeremiah Barnes were selected as the two best suited to take on the role of the undead, after the London Dungeon launched a recruitment campaign for ‘zombies - dead or alive'.

And, again at the end of July, estate agent Carole Bonahan was appointed as the new Witch of Wookey Hole. She beat more than 300 applicants - some who had queued since 5am - to the post, at the visitor attraction near Wells, Somerset.

It’s good to know that Britain’s equal opportunities legislation extends beyond mere men and women to almost all states of being.

It has even been revealed that the Government is considering holding a bank holiday in remembrance of employees who die while at work. So that will extend employment legislation to everyone.

Well done, Gordon – but how many of them will vote for you when the Election comes?

Plato meets science fiction

People are being introduced to the key concepts of philosophy through science fiction in a course run by London-based philosopher Peter Worley. The course, run in London on six evenings in September and October, under the auspices of The Philosophy Shop, explores philosophical questions and themes behind much modern science fiction literature, films and television dramas. That can be The Matrix's introduction to the question, ‘how do we know what is real?’ through issues around personal identity in a film like Bladerunner to complex issues around ethics and epistemology in films like Solaris or 20001: a Space Odyssey.

The programme starts with a general introduction to philosophy, and links science fiction with the key concept of the ‘thought experiment’. Dating back to Plato, the thought experiment is an imagined scenario in which the philosopher is able to consider the various implications of an idea – which is almost a definition of the science fiction of the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries.

The course covers such issues as: personal identity (Bladerunner, The Prestige, Memento, Solaris, Dr Jeckyll and Mr Hyde); free will (Gattaca, Groundhog Day, Minority Report, The Truman Show); knowledge / the external world (Total Recall, Abre Los Ojos, The Electric Ant); space time / time travel (Terminator, The Time Machine, Dr Who, 12 Monkeys, Back to the Future), and philosophy of mind (I Robot, Colossus: The Forbin Project, 2001: a Space Odyssey, A.I.). According to the organisers: ‘Space is limited, so pre-booking essential: to book your tickets please email emma@thephilosophyshop.co.uk or phone 020 8699 9314.’

Isn’t this starting the whole process off by being extremely judgemental? Philosophy – for it to be of value – has to challenge preconceptions and accept no limits. So stating, from the start, that ‘Space is limited’, makes the whole course flawed.

Use of Social Media - Online Reputation Management

A summary of this morning's session may now be redundant given Adam's excellent blog post, so I will offer only the briefest of additional thoughts.

The main message I wanted to convey was the need for each of us to consider our own online presence, and how we manage this. Given the examples discussed, I would argue strongly that ignorance is not a good strategy, and that at the very least we should be aware of what has been written about us, and what is out there that might, rightly or wrongly, impact on others' initial impressions of us.

Using tools such as blogs (including commenting on other blogs - like this one!!), Twitter and LinkedIn can increase our profile in a way that we can, to some extent control. This can be a valuable proactive step in mitigating any negative links that we might suffer at some time.

Comments are welcome as ever.

Have a good week!

The Inaugural PP BBQ

Let's not talk about the softball - ok, it was a mis-match (think Barcelona vs Man Utd); it was men against boys (with some women and children thrown in for good measure); for some of us it signified the first occasion we had broken into a trot since adolescence. But it was fun, and I am sure I am not the only one whose muscles are still reminding me how much fun it was. Ian, who ran tirelessly across the outfield again and again to retrieve a steady stream of home runs from the victors, deserves special praise.

The setting was perfect, and our hosts Andrew and Caroline welcomed this uncertain crowd into their home with warmth and clearly with much preparation. Our thanks go to them for making the afternoon happen.

Any good occasion is judged by the food on offer, and here we have Andy and Veronica to thank for giving up a Saturday morning to bring us a selection of Costco's finest - and then Andy (with notable help from Natasha and Anton) for taking the role of chef to heart; not only in preparing excellent food but in dressing up for the task as well. He has clearly grilled many a burger in his time, and has a second career up his sleeve should he ever need or wish to use it.

As the newest member of PP, it was great to meet the group, and their nearest and dearest, in a relaxed and pleasant environment, and learn that the people I have breakfast with at an ungodly hour every Tuesday are reasonably normal. I look forward to the next one, and in the meantime hope that Andrew is still enjoying left-over sausages and cake, and hasn't yet needed to venture to Sainsbury's to replenish his fridge.

Platinum Point blog blogging

I have set up the necessary account and now feel part of the community.
I might post my X-Rays and MRI scan findings in due course so you don't miss any of the detail; something of a joint effort.
Andrew

Welcome

Hello to all Platinum Point members, and especially to those who are new to blogging.
You will be able to add your blog entries by clicking "New Post" in the top right.

If anyone wants to be "tweeted" when a new blog post is created, the feed to the site is http://feeds2.feedburner.com/PlatinumPointBlog - if this makes no sense to you, but you want this functionality, let me know and I will try and help. (Twitterfeed is a good site to use to make this happen, and fairly logical).

Also, I'm not sure if you can add your blogs to the list below. I have taken the liberty to add Bob's - if you can't add your own let me know and I will add it. If you have a feed set up, this will allow our blog to automatically show your latest post. Again, happy to answer questions.

Happy posting!

Andy