Employee Participation

While the worker confidence level is more than 10 points higher from August 2011, it is 51.6 in August 2012, only 0.8 points down from July 2012, according to the most recent Randstad Employee Confidence Index.

The Canadian economy added 34,300 new jobs in August, topping expectations of only modest gains and reversing the previous month's setback, Statistics Canada reported Friday.

U.S. employers added 96,000 jobs last month, a weak figure that could slow the momentum President Barack Obama hoped to gain from his speech Thursday night to the Democratic National Convention.

Small businesses created no jobs last month, according to a survey released Thursday by the National Federation of Independent Business.

Fewer Americans applied for unemployment benefits last week, and a private survey showed businesses stepped up hiring in August. The data sketched a brighter outlook for the job market one day before the government reports on August employment.

U.S. service companies grew at a faster pace in August than July and stepped up hiring, further evidence that the economy may be improving.

Job vacancies increased in Kansas during the second quarter of 2012 compared to a year earlier, according to a report Wednesday from the state Department of Labor.

LinkedIn Corp.'s shares climbed more than 6 percent Wednesday after an investment research report weighed in with a favorable opinion about the online professional network's growth prospects.