Fear of social exclusion and discrimination force many employees to hide their sexual orientation in the workplace, often leading to anxiety and depression, according to Dawn Hough from Pride in Diversity. Speaking in Sydney yesterday at the official launch of Australia’s first LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) inclusion program for the workplace, Hough said that this group of people is often excluded from diversity programs and can be unintentionally discriminated against.

There may be increased demand for experienced HR professionals specialising in learning and development, recruitment and talent management in 2010, a recruitment firm has suggested. In its annual Salary Survey, Robert Walters said that with projected market changes, companies will be looking to invest in their existing staff to aid retention and attract new talent in 2010.

Nearly 1.4 million back office jobs will be lost at the world's largest companies between 2008-2010, according to a study from The Hackett Group. These losses are just part of a longer-term trend that started in 2001 and will result in nearly 3.6 million general & administrative (G&A) jobs being eliminated by 2014. According to Hackett, more than 630,000 G&A jobs are expected to be lost in 2009 alone, over three times the average number of jobs lost annually from 2000 to 2007. This dramatic spike is likely to lead to an extended jobless recovery in IT, Finance, Procurement, HR, and other G&A areas.

This year's class of MBAs arrived on campus in September expecting a challenging fall recruiting season and now many are bracing themselves for an even tougher spring ahead. One of them is Aashini Shah, an MBA student looking for a job in the entertainment industry, who is feeling the pressure because most movie studios and entertainment companies don't hire until the spring. To get an edge, she's spent every spare moment she has networking with alumni, going on informational interviews, and keeping in touch with the contacts she made last summer, she says.

Employers have been advised to urge workers not to work while on holidays to avoid burnout for the new year. The call comes after a study by Robert Half revealed that three in four people (76 percent) worked during their summer holiday. A total 76 percent of senior office workers made business errands at least a few times a week while on holidays and a further 33 percent engaged in business activities at least once a day when away from the office.

Almost one half of organisations are not effective in finding and developing leaders, which identifies some critical challenges for employers if they are to take advantage of the economic recovery, a recent study has revealed.

The CIPD and KPMG released the migrant worker findings from their quarterly Labour Market Outlook survey, to coincide with the ONS Migration Statistics Quarterly Report. The findings from the Labour Market Outlook survey show that the recession has not dampened employers’ enthusiasm for hiring migrant workers. Around one in five (19%) employers recruited migrant workers in the past three months, with public sector employers more likely to hire migrant workers than private sector employers (24% compared to 15%).

The European Restructuring Monitor (ERM) recorded a total of 285 cases of restructuring in the European Union between 1 October and 31 December 2009, involving some 100,000 announced job losses and 20,000 announced job gains. Restructuring activity as captured by the ERM has continued to reflect more normal levels of activity in the recent quarter. Levels of restructuring job loss continue to decline from the peak levels of the fourth quarter of 2008 to the first quarter of 2009. So too did levels of job creation, which fell to their lowest level since the ERM started systematically recording such cases in 2004.

While employers plan to be more active on campus over the next three months, they have scaled back their hiring plans, according to results of a monthly poll conducted by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE). NACE’s latest poll, reported as an index, found that the overall recruiting activity index for January 2010 is 98.6. “This continues the trend toward increased on-campus activity first evident last month, when the recruiting activity index was 95.4,” says Marilyn Mackes, NACE executive director. “However, the January college hiring index took a significant step back from the steady increases witnessed during the fall.”

A quarterly survey of hiring and firing trends around the world has found that not only have recruitment levels in India increased significantly since September 2009, they are now among the highest in the world. The ‘Global Snapshot’ from the international recruitment firm, Antal surveyed more than 6000 organisations in 30 countries on whether they were currently hiring and firing at professional and managerial level. It then asked whether they planned to do so in the coming quarter. 71% of Indian companies said that they were currently hiring compared to around half in September. The only country to have a higher rate of hiring was Nigeria.

For the second straight year, foreign companies collectively captured a slight majority of new U.S. patents awarded to corporations by the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO). According to an annual corporate ranking released today by IFI Patent Intelligence (www.ificlaims.com), part of Wolters Kluwer, U.S. corporations garnered 49 percent of all U.S. utility patents issued in 2009 with the remainder going to foreign firms. This is only the second time that foreign companies collectively received more U.S. patents than U.S.-based firms.

Even with a high unemployment rate, more than half of large and mid-sized companies report not having enough management successors currently on board, according to a survey by OI Partners, a leading global career transition and executive coaching firm.

A quarterly global survey of hiring and firing trends covering more than 6000 organisations in 30 countries has found job prospects for professionals and managers continuing to improve.

Employers in the UAE and GCC are significantly more positive about hiring and the business environment than at this time last year, according to a corporate survey conducted by BAC Middle East. The survey was sent to individuals with significant involvement in or responsibility for the HR and recruitment processes of their organisation. The responses were gathered from over 250 UAE and GCC-based companies from all major sectors, ranging from blue chip multinationals to leading local firms and SMEs.

A recent global study of over 11,000 corporations across 15 countries commissioned by Regus, the global provider of innovative workspace solutions, found that 58 percent of U.S. firms have experienced a significant rise in their workplace stress levels over the last two years. The study found that the U.S. results were consistent with global respondents also saying that on average, 58 percent of workers reported an increase in stress.

Business Analysts, Estimators, Change Managers and Transport Analysts are some of the skills employers seek this New Year reports Hays, the leading recruiting experts in qualified, professional and skilled people. In the January - March edition of the Hays Quarterly Report, Hays reveal that the growing list of skills in demand by employers is the result of several factors.

Manpower, a world leader in the employment services industry and a strategic partner of the Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum, announced four World of Work Mega Trends that are transforming where, when, why and how individuals and companies work. "In recent weeks, the status and significance of the rapidly expanding temporary workforce has been widely discussed - and woefully misunderstood," said Jeff Joerres, Manpower Inc. Chairman and CEO. "Companies will increasingly look to temporary workers to gain the flexibility and agility required to appropriately and strategically adjust to consumer demand. At the same time, individuals are increasingly exercising more choice when it comes to pursuing employment that meets their expectations and taps their motivations."

Despite the fact that over 70 per cent of drug users in Australia are employed, some organisations are unaware of a drug and alcohol problem that might exist in their workplace. According to drug and alcohol screening specialist Frontline Diagnostics, the percentage of workers testing positive to a drug and alcohol screening process has been fairly similar from one year to another.

Recent improvements in the economy may have some workers preparing to move to a new job in the new year, with nearly one-in-five workers (19 percent) reporting they plan to leave their current job in 2010 to find a new one. Nine percent said they plan to leave in 2011. This is according to CareerBuilder’s latest survey conducted between November 5 and November 23, 2009, among more than 5,200 workers.

UK workers report plummeting job satisfaction and falling standards of living, despite the likelihood of GDP's figures marking an end to the recession. These are among the headline findings from the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development’s (CIPD) quarterly Employee Outlook survey of over 2,000 employees. The survey, conducted by YouGov, shows job satisfaction levels have hit an all-time low of +35, down from +48 in Summer 2009*, with a large proportion reporting a worsening of their standard of living in the last six months (29%). However, less than one in 10 say their standard of living has improved (9%), compared to 14% last quarter.

Unpaid overtime is a normal part of office life for the majority of workers in the United Kingdom, found a survey by Monster.co.uk: 56% of U.K. workers regularly work overtime and don’t expect extra pay. The survey found that just 7% of people polled said that their managers encouraged them to leave on time, and only 12% said that working overtime was the exception rather than the rule.

2009 was a tough year for many. But employers are now strengthening their operations in preparation for the economic recovery. So what can we expect from the recruiting market in 2010? Here recruiting experts Hays share their market insights:

U.S. Employee Confidence Declines 0.6% since the Third Quarter; However, Increases 3.5% since the First Quarter. Kenexa (NASDAQ:KNXA), a global provider of business solutions for human resources, today announced the results of its employee confidence study, a quarterly measure of worker opinions and component of the forthcoming Kenexa Composite.

The number of jobless worldwide reached nearly 212 million in 2009 following an unprecedented increase of 34 million compared to 2007, on the eve of the global crisis, the International Labour Office (ILO) said in its annual Global Employment Trends report. Based on IMF economic forecasts, the ILO estimates that global unemployment is likely to remain high through 2010. In the Developed Economies and European Union unemployment is projected to increase by an additional 3 million people in 2010, while it will stabilize at present levels, or decline only slightly, in other regions.

Findings from a recent BlueSteps survey show that senior executives around the world are equally as willing to relocate overseas (70%) for a new career opportunity as nationally (74%), indicating an increased interest in and importance of global opportunities. The willingness of BlueSteps members to relocate has stayed constant over the past 2 years (a 2008 survey showed that 78% would consider relocation), but their equal interest today in international career progression is particularly striking. With the recession taking it’s toll on executive opportunities, it appears these senior candidates have realized it is essential to cast a wider net when searching for and considering their next career move.

New McGill research shows that temporary and short-term contract jobs contribute to psychological distress and depression. Workers hired for temporary, contract, casual or fixed-term positions face a higher risk of developing mental health problems. "Temporary workers-those lacking long-term, stable employment-seem to be susceptible to declining mental health for as long as they continue to work in these so-called 'disposable' or 'second class' jobs," said Amélie Quesnel-Vallée, a medical sociologist at McGill University and the study's primary investigator.

A new ASQ (American Society for Quality) survey shows a majority of manufacturers are optimistic about a small economic uptick in 2010 at their organizations. However, respondents believe further cost-cutting measures will continue to be implemented. The results show a majority of respondents (64.7%) employed in the manufacturing sector predict their organizations will experience some financial recovery in 2010. More than 1000 manufacturing professionals around the world responded to the online survey from December 2-13.

A third of UK employees (33%) say they have not felt valued by their employer during the recession and would leave for another job if they could, found a poll of around 950 workers commissioned by PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP (PwC).

The Conference Board Employment Trends Index (ETI)™ continued to rise in December, its sixth consecutive increase. The index now stands at 91.8, up 1.7 percent from the November figure. The index is down 5.2 percent from a year ago. This month’s increase was driven by positive contributions from all eight components.“Given the sharp and widespread improvement in the Employment Trends Index in recent months, it is very likely that we will see at least some job growth during the first quarter,” said Gad Levanon, Associate Director, Macroeconomic Research at The Conference Board.

Here is the release of Vitrue's second annual ranking of the most social brands, The Vitrue 100. 2009 certainly marked the tipping point for social media with Facebook crossing 350 million month active users worldwide (100 million US users) according to “Inside Facebook”, December 2009.

Americans of all ages and income brackets continue to grow increasingly unhappy at work—a long-term trend that should be a red flag to employers, according to a report released by The Conference Board. The report, based on a survey of 5,000 U.S. households conducted for The Conference Board by TNS, finds only 45 percent of those surveyed say they are satisfied with their jobs, down from 61.1 percent in 1987, the first year in which the survey was conducted.

The new year has brought more signs that the country's two-and-a-half-year-old jobs crisis remains severe. On January 8, the Labor Department reported an additional 85,000 jobs were lost in December, making it official that the past 10 years were a lost decade for jobs creation. Although the U.S. population grew by about 25 million since the year 2000, the country added just 129,000 jobs over that entire period. EPI continues to push for policy action on a scale large enough to address the deep jobs crisis in which more than 15 million Americans are currently out of work.

IBM, Procter & Gamble and General Mills head the 2009 list of Global Top Companies for Leaders, the most comprehensive study of organizational leadership in the world. The Global Top Companies for Leaders study is conducted by Hewitt Associates, a global consulting and outsourcing company, in partnership with The RBL Group, a strategic HR and leadership systems advisory firm, and FORTUNE. This year's winners were selected and ranked by an expert panel of independent judges based on criteria including strength of leadership practices and culture, examples of leader development on a global scale, impact of leadership in communities in which they operate, business performance, and company reputation. The 2009 list, attached below, can be found on Fortune.com today and will appear in the December 7 issue of FORTUNE, on newsstands November 23.

While the job market for new college graduates remains tough, there are signs that the job market is improving, according to results of monthly polls conducted by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE). NACE’s latest poll, reported as an index, shows that the index for college hiring stands at 98.2—up from 87.2 in the November poll. The current poll covers employer expectations over the January, February, and March time frame, but is updated monthly to reflect expectations on an ongoing basis.

How valuable is a summer internship in a recession? Consider Goldman Sachs, the leading choice for students interested in a career on Wall Street. This year, the investment bank hired 600 fewer entry-level employees. That's not surprising given the stunted economy and the government bailout of banks. What is noteworthy is nearly 90% of Goldman's new hires were former interns. The previous year, Goldman wasn't as concerned about hiring a high percentage of students it had already invested time and money to train only 58% of entry-level hires had spent a summer at the company.

Most large companies love to talk about developing strong leaders. But when it comes down to it, many of them don't know how to turn their words into action. So Fortune teamed with human resources consultants Hewitt Associates and the RBL Group to find out which companies do it best.

The Vietnamese government is attempting to tackle its ongoing brain-drain problem by persuading students who went overseas to study to return home. Some four million Vietnamese now live and work in 101 countries around the world, including a large number of tertiary-level students in America, Australia, Canada and Singapore.

Online advertised vacancies rose by 255,000 to 3,642,000 in December, according to The Conference Board Help Wanted OnLine Data Series (HWOL)™ released today. Nationally, growth in job demand has been mildly positive since the low point in April 2009, with an average monthly increase of less than 60,000. The 2009 annual average stands at 3,357,000, a figure that is 1.1 million below the 4,481,000 annual average for 2008 and 1.3 million below the average for 2007. “Employers’ modest increase in demand for labor in the second half of 2009 is a nice way to end what has been a very challenging year,” said Gad Levanon, Senior Economist at The Conference Board. “The gap between the number of unemployed and the number of advertised vacancies is still very high, but the recent six months indicate that things are slowly moving in the right direction. The gap between the number of unemployed and the number of advertised vacancies is about 12 million, with 4.5 unemployed for every online advertised vacancy.”

Organizations are rehiring former employees because they are familiar with the job and understand the culture, according to a study released by Right Management. Only 10% of over 1,000 employers surveyed said they don’t rehire past employees. Right Management is the talent and career management expert within Manpower, the global leader in employment services.

What gives a new college graduate an edge in the job market? Internship experience, say employers responding to a recent survey conducted by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE). Employers taking part in NACE’s Job Outlook 2010 survey expressed a strong preference for candidates who had taken part in an internship. More than three-quarters of responding employers said they prefer candidates with the kind of relevant work experience gained through an internship.

On the eve of the launch of the Government’s January Guarantee for 16-17 year-olds, the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) warns that the Guarantee package does not go far enough to address the alarming rise in the number of long-term unemployed 16-17 year olds.

According to the global Manpower Employment Outlook Survey results released today by Manpower Inc., job seekers across most of the Asia Pacific region should start the new year with employment opportunities similar to those seen prior to the global downturn; Indian employers are reporting the strongest hiring plans globally. Meanwhile, employment prospects in the Americas remain muted but are generally improved from three months ago. In the U.S., employers are more optimistic than three months ago, but are still forecasting the weakest first-quarter hiring pace since 1982. Across Europe, hiring sentiments are mixed with employers in eight countries indicating modest improvements compared to three months ago.

Employee turnover is expected to rise next year as a new survey shows that many workers are unhappy with their present jobs. Sixty percent of employees intend to leave and an additional one-in-four are networking and updating their resumes, according to research from Right Management. Right Management is the talent and career management expert within Manpower, the global leader in employment services.

In its annual employment Barometer Report for 2010, the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) forecasts that the coming year will be better for jobs than 2009, but unemployment will continue to rise until at least the summer and there will be below inflation pay increases for most people in work.

Workers have navigated increased workloads, longer hours and strained resources during this recession. Some of these challenges have taken their toll on workplace morale. A new CareerBuilder survey of more than 2,900 employers reveals that nearly a quarter (23 percent) rate their organization’s current employee morale as low. Additionally, 40 percent of workers report that they have had difficulty staying motivated at work in the last year and a quarter (24 percent) do not feel loyal to their current employer. The survey was conducted between August 20 and September 9, 2009.

More than 3,100 private and public sector hiring managers weighed in on the effect of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act on their business performance. Twenty-three percent of all employers reported that their organization experienced an increase in business in the third quarter tied to the economic stimulus program while 77 percent did not. Both employers who received funding and those who did not receive funding reported they have added employees this year as a result of the economic stimulus program. The survey was conducted nationwide across industries.

The CIPD welcomes support for the young unemployed and the introduction of measures to tackle public sector pension costs, contained within the Pre-Budget Report, but has called for: A jobs guarantee to be extended to older jobseekers, the scrapping of the “tax on jobs” increase in employers’ National Insurance Contributions (NICs), particularly in the wake of the new increase in employees’ NICs, a more fundamental review of public sector pay and pensions policies.

U.S. employers anticipate a moderate increase in their hiring plans for Quarter 1 2010, according to the seasonally adjusted results of the latest Manpower Employment Outlook Survey, conducted quarterly by Manpower Inc. "There is still a lot of ground to make up in the labor market, but the overall increase in hiringintentions is clearly a positive," said Manpower Inc. Chairman and CEO Jeff Joerres. "The first quarter is a seasonally slow hiring quarter. To see an increase over the fourth quarter is unusual and seems to indicate increased confidence levels from employers."

The hiring outlook for new college graduates shows signs of improvement, according to results of monthly poll conducted by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE). Results of NACE’s latest poll, reported as an index, show that the index for college hiring stands at 87.2—up slightly from 86.8 in the October poll. "The uptick is small, but when coupled with other signs, suggests improvement in the outlook for college hiring,” says Marilyn Mackes, NACE executive director.

As the economy begins to rebound, the optimism has spread to workers, many of whom believe the jobs market is on the road to recovery. Fifty-two percent of respondents to the Monster Global Poll said they feel the same or more optimistic about the job market than they did six months ago.