According to EM-Power Services, a provider of long-term care insurance and employee benefits services, LTCI is an important benefit that should be offered by employers in 2012, especially as the U.S. is expected to face rapid growth among the age 65 and older population.

Over a one-year period, industrial employment in South Dakota grew 1.8 percent, according to the 2012 South Dakota Manufacturers Register, an industrial directory published yearly by Manufacturers' News, Inc. in Evanston, Ill.

As employers are settling into the new year, talent management remains a large problem that many companies are facing, says Jason Carney, director of human resources at WorkSmart Systems Inc., a professional employer organization in Indianapolis.

The U.S. Department of Labor is offering a $306,838 National Emergency Grant to provide help approximately 150 workers impacted by the closure of Ocean Logistics LLC's Dunmore, Pa., facility with re-employment services.

There is expected to be a continued focus on well-being, and more employees believe their employers should provide the tools and resources to help them simplify their lives and be healthy, according to the 2012 Workplace Trends Report by Sodexo, a provider of daily life solutions.

While employers continue to struggle finding qualified workers for skilled positions, 32 percent say they are willing to pay for relocation expenses in 2012, according to a nationwide study by CareerBuilder.

Workers compensation costs per claim in Florida, which fell after 2003s system reforms, appear to have grown from 2005 to 2009, according to the CompScope Benchmarks for Floridasurvey by the Workers Compensation Research Institute.

According to two independent surveys commissioned by Grant Thornton, executives are becoming more optimistic regarding the economic outlook for U.S. businesses, despite the problems in Europe and growing concerns from China.