Now That U.S. Has Won the Olympic Medal Race, It's Time to Vanquish a More Vexing Opponent: Unemployment

SAN JOSE, Calif., Aug. 13, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The United States led the way in medals at the just-concluded London 2012 Olympic Games.   Now it's time for America to take the baton and surpass its rivals in an even more important measure of success: unemployment rates.

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A RiseSmart analysis of unemployment data for the top five medal winners shows that the U.S. lags behind each of its chief athletic competitors.  The U.S. Olympic Team finished the London 2012 Olympic Games with 104 medals, besting its rivals from China, which had 87, Russia (with 82), Great Britain (65), and Germany (44). However, when it comes to unemployment, a ranking among those nations leaves the U.S. in last place. The U.S. unemployment rate of 8.3 percent lags behind those of China (4.1 %), Russia (5.4%), Germany (6.8%), and Great Britain (8.1%), according to an analysis of data compiled by Trading Economics.

"Placing first in the Olympic medal count is great for our country's morale, but we shouldn't let our competitive spirit end with the games.  Let's extend our desire to be No. 1 in the world to the issue of unemployment," said Sanjay Sathe, RiseSmart founder and CEO. "America has long led the world in developing and adopting new technologies.  It's time to leverage this advantage to reduce inefficiencies in the job market.

"Even with jobless rates at historic highs, for example, millions of jobs remain open at any given time nationwide – often simply because qualified candidates aren't being quickly and efficiently matched with openings," Sathe said.  "Job-matching software, semantic search technology, social recruitment and other advances can help put Americans back to work faster.  With a focused commitment from both the public and private sectors, we can get back on top in the international competition that matters the most – the global economic race."

About RiseSmart

RiseSmart is the leading provider of next-generation outplacement solutions. The company leverages a cloud-based technology platform, proven methodologies, and one-on-one support to help employers with their workforce strategy, and displaced employees with their career strategy. RiseSmart drives significant ROI to organizations by offering affordable pricing while reducing unemployment insurance taxes and severance costs. RiseSmart has received a wide range of awards and recognition from organizations including Gartner Inc., the Golden Bridge Awards, the Momentum Index, Red Herring, the San Francisco Business Times, SiliconIndia, the Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal, the Stevie Awards and TiE. For more information, visit http://www.RiseSmart.com.

Stephanie Fedler
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SOURCE RiseSmart