Employee Participation

Labor unions, saying they can't hope to compete with the new breed of conservative fundraising groups, plan to spend less money this year on specific candidates and political party organizations and more on door-to-door canvassing, phone banks and registration drives to help President Barack Obama and other Democrats.

Cigarette and tobacco producer Reynolds American Inc. says it will eliminate 10 percent of its U.S. jobs, effecting about 540 workers, by the end of 2014.

According to Harris Allied, a New York City-based recruiting firm, the first quarter is often when employees look for new job opportunities, but employers can proactively take steps to retain their top talent.

The unemployment rate fell in 45 U.S. states in January, a sign that nearly all of the country is benefiting from an improving economy and job market.

The number of U.S. jobs openings fell in January from a three-and-a-half year high. The modest decline suggests hiring could continue at its healthy pace but may not accelerate.

Republicans in the Massachusetts Legislature have formally introduced a series of bills they say will create jobs and encourage economic growth in the state.

Minnesota Republican senators got a taste Monday of the fight over labor rights that gripped other Midwestern statehouses in the last year, with a committee narrowly passing legislation to curb union power even as hundreds of demonstrators chanted and yelled just feet away.

Its hardly news that employers and would-be workers often see things differently. And its admittedly been a buyers market for employers the last couple of years with a glut of out-of-work, qualified candidates, but as the job market recovers, so will the clout job seekers bring to the interviews.