Posts tagged with “economy”

Of course we all already know that things are really bad out there in terms of unemployment -- it's pretty much all anybody talks about anymore -- but the map shown above has an interesting take on the situation. By showing how unemployment has changed over recent months and years it paints a scary picture of it spreading and growing worse like a disease pandemic.

Just click above and you'll go to the interactive map that shows how unemployment numbers have changed by both state and by individual county from January 2007 (about a year before the trouble hit) to today. How has your corner of the country fared? I can't help but notice that this map pretty well supports the recovery statistics I wrote about before.

Experts say there are some signs of economic recovery starting to peek through the clouds here and there -- a few hints that things are starting to get better finally instead of worse. But what does that mean for the nation's record high 10.2% unemployment rate? How long will that take to get better?

According to this article it could be well into 2015 or beyond before some states (Michigan, Ohio, and Connecticut) get back to their pre-recession employment statuses, and for most others predictions for total recovery land somewhere in the 2013 range. So although it's great news that things might finally be on an upswing don't expect things to change overnight -- there's a lot of struggling left to do.

How does your state stack up? Do you think the numbers make sense for your area? Check the map and let us know.

The economy appears to be getting better and when you turn on the news the positive thoughts are really starting to outweigh the negative emotions. However, were not out of the deep water yet and there are still a lot of job seekers and still very few jobs.

While employers have decreased the amount of lay offs that we are seeing from major companies, a recent article from the New York Times states that employment prospects are still getting worse.

"Job seekers now outnumber openings six to one, the worst ratio since the government began tracking open positions in 2000. According to the Labor Department's latest numbers, from July, only 2.4 million full-time permanent jobs were open, with 14.5 million people officially unemployed. And even though the pace of layoffs is slowing, many companies remain anxious about growth prospects in the months ahead, making them reluctant to add to their payrolls."

How does it look in your market? Are you seeing any changes that can provide insight, motivation, or a positive thought to other job seekers?

According to an article published recently in USA Today one of the latest economic surveys reports statistics that are actually good. For the first time since the recession began more companies say they're planning to hire people over the next 6 months versus cutting them. The difference is small, 24% predicting growth versus 20% still predicting cuts, but at this point I think we're all happy to take what we can get. The industries that are seeing the most positive growth are service related, while those still suffering are mostly in the manufacturing realm.

Recovery might be slow, but slow and moving is forward is a hell of a lot better than standing still or sliding backwards.

Via BloggingStocks

The Federal minimum wage in this country is $7.25, but the only jobs that really pay that are fast food joints and other entry-level or 'no-brainer' type positions, right? Wrong. You might be surprised but some very low paying jobs come with shockingly high levels of responsibility.

• EMT (Emergeny Medical Technician) Despite having people's lives in their hands on a daily basis the U.S. median wage is less than $10/hr, and some earn as little as $8-something.
• Pharmacy Tech Gathering patient information, sorting pills, and assisting pharmacists doesn't pay as well as you'd think: try an average of $9.93 with a bottom of only $7.88/hr.
• CNA (Certified Nursing Assistant) CNA's are responsible for the care and safety of people in need. It's a physically demanding, thankless job that pays less than $10/hr (average $9.81, low end $8.12).
• Preschool Teacher They're responsible for teaching your kids, keeping them safe, and having the unlimited patience it requires to deal with bunches of them running around all day. All that for as little as $8.19/hr and an average of $10.50.
  
• Lifeguard They have to both be ready and have the skills to swim out and save someone's life at a moment's notice -- resuscitation and all. Not to mention they often play referee keeping everybody safe around the pool or lake all day while doing it. The pay for that kind of pressure? As little as $7-8 per hour.

The economy has tanked and is starting to get better, but unemployment continues to grow as companies restrict their budgets and look for more ways to save during this time of need. As such, the fewer companies who are hiring are inundated with resumes from applicants with a broad range of skills and experience. Recently, I placed an advertisement on the job boards for a Business Analyst and had a variety of candidates apply, from landscapers to 20+ year Project Managers.

More and more employers are receiving resumes from candidates who would typically be overqualified for their positions. Often times these candidates will receive an interview request, later to be informed that they are overqualified for the position. In my opinion, there are few things more frustrating than being told you are too good for a position. I am sure others agree, but being that I am in a position to understand the hiring managers' point of view, I will share it with you.

June payrolls fell by 467,000, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That was higher than the 365,000 jobs economists surveyed by Bloomberg had expected employers would shed.

The BLS said job losses were widespread across the major industry sectors, with large declines occurring in manufacturing, professional and business services and construction. While the BLS called the 9.5 percent unemployment rate "little changed," the rate did climb from the previous month's rate, reaching a 26-year high. Still, the rise wasn't as steep as economists had projected. The number of unemployed persons (14.7 million) was little changed.

The job search just got that much more competitive. Get that resume together!

Read more over at DailyFinance.com

Many companies trying to stay afloat amidst the current economic slump are starting to trend away from layoffs and towards pay cuts as a way to save money. And like it or not most employees are stuck dealing with it, since rising unemployment rates mean they have fewer options and even less negotiating power.

Being underemployed and dealing with a significant drop in income can be almost as bad as being altogether unemployed, as both can mean important bills can't be paid and making less money now can have enormous impacts on the future in the way of 401K values and social security earnings.

Ugh, what a mess.

Consumer confidence has risen to an eight month high, as reported by the The New York-based private research organization Conference Board. What does this mean for you? More spending by the general public and private/public companies. As a direct result we will see the economy slowly start to strengthen, triggering less employment cuts by some companies and new hiring by others.

"Looking ahead, consumers are considerably less pessimistic than they were earlier this year, and expectations are that business conditions, the labor market and incomes will improve in the coming months," Lynn Franco, director of The Conference Board Consumer Research Center, said. "While confidence is still weak by historic standards, as far as consumers are concerned, the worst is now behind us."

With confidence in the economy strengthening you can prepare for future opportunities by developing your own insight and knowledge to your specific industry that you are involved with, updating your resume, and applying for jobs now if a move is warranted.

The most recent numbers are in and the job market still doesn't look good: all but 6 states reported losing jobs in April with California leading the pack (for the 5th straight month) by reporting more than 63,000 jobs gone. Texas came in second, reporting job losses of 39,500, and Michigan was third with 38,400. The industries of manufacturing, construction, and retail are some of the hardest hit in the states with the highest unemployment rates, and the nation has a whole has lost a total of 5.7 million jobs since the recession began back in December of 2007.

So have we finally hit bottom? Will we finally start seeing some positive news in the job market? I hope so, it's about time!