Hopefully by the time you read this, we will have fallen, jumped or been pushed off the “fiscal cliff.” I’m at the point I really don’t care…just spare me hearing any more about it.

As this column goes to print, the dog days of summer are behind us and the pit bulls (sometimes referred to as politicians) are front and center, covering the airways with their attack ads.

As summer approaches and the presidential race begins to take shape, employment and the economy will, of course, be a major issue.

A Google search of the phrase “dog days of summer” reveals: In ancient times, when the night sky was unobscured by artificial lights and smog, different groups of peoples in different parts of the world drew images in the sky by “connecting the dots” of stars. 

Last year certainly ended with some excitement with the 3M acquisition of Aearo, Showa acquiring Best Glove, Bacou-Dalloz changing its name to Sperian, and Hagemeyer NA apparently being sold to Sonepar SA. While it remains to be seen what impact those developments will have on the market, one thing is pretty certain: changing dynamics in the age of the workforce will create challenges for hiring companies to find qualified candidates for their openings.

Well, the annual NCAA men’s basketball tournament is history and once again American productivity took a significant hit. Some employers say that work time lost to Web surfing, e-mail and phone calls is a small price to pay for stronger morale, less turnover and higher productivity.

As reported in our previous article (May FDO), we are noticing a trend to higher salaries, reflecting a stronger job market and a shift towards an employee-driven market.