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Recent Editions
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Human Times
North America
Employment costs maintain steady growth in second quarter

U.S. employment costs increased at a steady pace in the second quarter, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, with the Employment Cost Index rising 0.9% from the previous quarter and 3.4% from a year earlier, indicating that labor costs are not adding significant inflationary pressure to the economy. However, after adjusting for inflation, both overall compensation and wages declined over the year, suggesting workers' purchasing power has weakened despite continued nominal pay increases. The report showed wages and salaries for civilian workers rose 0.9% during the quarter and 3.2% year over year, while private-sector employer spending on health benefits increased 6%, outpacing wage growth. The data support the Federal Reserve's assessment that the labor market remains broadly balanced as policymakers continue to monitor inflation and employment trends ahead of the July jobs report.

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Human Times
UK
Virtual interviews don't show bosses your personality, Burnham says

Employers should not rely so heavily on virtual job interviews when hiring because they don't capture candidates' personality and passion, UK prime minister Andy Burnham has said. "One thing I really don't like is this culture now of interviewing via Zoom or Teams," he told a careers podcast, adding: "How do you get over some of your personality, your passion?" Burnham said: "It seems to me to then work against people who have that side to their character and work for those who are just giving the more formulaic answer." Maxine Bligh from the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) said: "AI tools are helpful, even essential, when dealing with a huge volume of applications, but it takes skill and professionalism to make the right call . . . The key message from us to recruiters is to go digital where it matters and human where it counts."

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Human Times
Europe
UK hiring falls amid increased demand for AI skills

UK hiring declined in the first half of 2026, with job postings down 11% since the start of the year and 32% below pre-pandemic levels, according to Indeed. Graduate vacancies fell to their lowest level for this point in the year since 2020, while summer job postings hit a four-year low, highlighting ongoing challenges for younger workers. Advertised wage growth also slowed to 3.9%, the weakest since early 2022. Meanwhile, the data shows that demand for AI skills reached a record high, with AI-related tools mentioned in 9.4% of UK job adverts. "The UK's labour market is under sustained ​pressure. Hiring demand is falling across most parts of ​the economy, while posted wage growth is gradually cooling," ⁠Indeed senior economist Jack Kennedy said.

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Human Times
Middle East
Extreme heat costs world's poorest workers their health and wages

Extreme heat is reducing productivity and increasing illnesses, with one study finding rising temperatures could be costing informal workers the equivalent of 2% of their country's GDP annually. "Wage losses are only going to worsen as temperatures continue to rise," observes Ameena Kidwai, lead researcher at People's Courage International, a US-based nonprofit organisation aiming to strengthen informal workers' rights. "Workers are now putting in many more hours than they did before to complete the same amount of work." Kidwai said the organisation's survey of informal workers in five Asian cities found that tasks once completed in eight hours now take 10 to 12 hours during the hottest months, as workers slow down to cope with dangerous heat that is becoming a major occupational hazard. Researchers say an inability to recover is a defining feature of urban heat for informal workers such as construction labourers, street vendors and delivery riders.

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