Don’t assume that no one is hiring. There are some bright spots in today’s economy:

According to one Information Technology hiring index, 12 percent of the more than 1,400 CIOs polled planned to hire employees during the first quarter of 2009, Microsoft is among this group, as are the thriving tech giants, Google, Cisco and Apple. Look particularly for hiring in the areas of security, wireless support, applications, servers and storage.

In 2008, more wind power was installed in the EU than any other electricity generating technology. Statistics released by the European Wind Energy Association (EWEA) today show that 43% of all new electricity generating capacity built in the European Union last year was wind energy, exceeding all other technologies including gas, coal and nuclear power.

For the first time, wind energy is the leading technology in Europe. A total of 64,949 MW of installed wind energy capacity was operating in the EU by end 2008, 15% higher than in 2007. “The figures show that wind energy is the undisputed number one choice in Europe’s efforts to move towards clean, indigenous renewable power”, said Christian Kjaer, EWEA Chief Executive.

On average, 20 wind turbines were installed for every working day of 2008.

Productivity of US workers rose 2.8 percent in the fourth quarter of 2008, and overall gained 2.8 percent for the year.

Hourly wages rose 5.0 percent in the fourth quarter of 2008 following a 4.2 percent increase in the third quarter. When the steep drop in consumer prices was factored in, real hourly compensation jumped 15.6 percent during the fourth quarter. This was the largest increase in real hourly compensation since the beginning of the series in the second quarter of 1947.  (Read the details at HRBHR.com)

Thanks to GNN-i member, Graeme Thickins for the heads up!