CareerBuilder + Monster filing bankruptcy: CareerBuilder + Monster, which once dominated the online recruitment industry, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Tuesday and said it plans to sell its businesses.  Created through the September merger of CareerBuilder and Monster, the Chicago-based company said it agreed to sell its job board operations, its most recognizable business, to JobGet, which has an app for so-called gig workers. CareerBuilder + Monster also agreed to sell its software services business for federal and state governments to Canadian software company Valsoft, and the military.com and fastweb.com websites to Canadian media company Valnet. According to papers filed in Delaware bankruptcy court, CareerBuilder + Monster has $50 million to $100 million of assets, and $100 million to $500 million of debts. The company is lining up $20 million of financing to keep operating in bankruptcy.  Source: USA Today 6/24/25

HR Leaders confident they can manage the turbulent times:  Nearly three in four HR leaders in the United States remain confident that they can navigate the changes brought about by the current administration’s policies according to a survey from The Conference Board.  The survey found that 73% of HR leaders are positive that they can lead despite the shifts in the political, social, and regulatory landscapes.  This includes 55% who feel confident, and 18% who feel very confident in their ability to manage change, according to the report. The findings come despite 35% of HR leaders believing that these policies negatively impact their workforce.  Among these policies are the recent actions placing DEI employees in the federal workforce on leave, with a later memo from the Department of Justice that will review "illegal" DEI programs in the private sector.  Further, the tariffs are also expected to impact the workforce globally, with some employers already implementing layoffs to cushion any impact. According to The Conference Board, some employers are implementing layoffs to proactively manage costs ahead of greater economic headwinds.  Its poll revealed that 41% of employers have already implemented layoffs in the past six months, up from 30% in 2024.  Source: HRD 5/28/25

Want stability? Gen Z men looking at blue collar jobs: 42% of Generation Z adults are currently working in or pursuing a blue-collar or skilled trade job, according to a May 20 report from Resume Builder. Of those, 37% have earned a bachelor’s degree. In the survey of more than 1,400 Gen Z adults, men were significantly more likely to choose blue-collar careers, regardless of education level. Among those with college degrees, 46% of men are working in or pursuing skilled trades, as compared with 27% of women. Gen Z workers with degrees noted several reasons for this, including better long-term prospects (30%), an inability to find a job in their field (19%), not earning enough with their degree (16%), and their degree not leading to the career they expected (16%). In addition, Gen Z workers said they want more flexibility or independence, believe trade careers are in high demand and believe blue-collar jobs are less likely to be replaced by artificial intelligence. Among Gen Z workers without degrees, they pointed to motivations such as earning income sooner (60%), avoiding student loan debt (40%), gaining better long-term security (36%), earning more without a degree (31%), and believing these jobs are less likely to be replaced by AI (28%).  Source: HR Dive 5/28/25

AI being integrated into workforce planning: According to KPMG, 85% of organizations have already started implementing AI into their business operations, with 47% leveraging AI for workforce planning and management. Integrating AI agents into the organizational structure requires meticulous workforce analysis, where strategic workforce planning must define the roles AI agents will play. Organizations must be intentional about redefining roles and the structure, size, and shape of their workforce. This involves considering the interplay of AI agents between people, technology, and leadership.  Companies reported an average increase in productivity by 35% after integrating AI agents into their regular workforce operations. Since AI agents function as team members, they should be included in the organizational chart with clearly defined roles, responsibilities, and reporting lines based on their structure and capabilities. As AI agents continue to evolve in maturity, there will be a need for continuous course corrections across the human-digital workforce, including budgeting, critical skills, and even the size of the organization. 62% of organizations are using AI to identify skill gaps and develop targeted upskilling programs to fill those gaps. 69% of companies plan to integrate AI-powered continuous learning platforms within the next two years to ensure their workforce remains agile and adaptive.  Source: KPMG

Washington state updates pay transparency law: The state of Washington amended their pay transparency law, which will take effect on July 27, 2025. Specifically, RCW 49.58.110 requires employers with 15 or more employees to affirmatively disclose in each job posting the salary range or wage scale offered for the position, in addition to a general description of all benefits and other compensation offered for the position.  SSB 5408 updates the law to allow Washington employers to list a fixed pay amount instead of a wage range if only one amount is offered, including for internal transfers. In addition, the law will exempt job postings that are “digitally replicated and published without an employer's consent” from the pay equity requirements. The law will also allow employers five business days to correct noncompliant job postings after receiving a written notice and avoid penalties from the effective date of July 27, 2025, through July 27, 2027.  Job applicants affected by an allegedly noncompliant job posting will be able to either seek administrative remedies, including civil penalties up to $1,000 and statutory damages between $100 and $5,000 per violation, or pursue a private civil action to recover “statutory damages of no less than $100 and no more than $5,000 per violation, plus reasonable attorneys' fees and costs.” The remedies are exclusive of each other.  Source: Ogletree 5/27/25