Eye on the Recession: If the Recession is Over, Why Can’t I Find a Job?
Posted by Menachem Lubinsky on July 14, 2010 under Out of the Box, Recession | 
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Miriam, an office manager with seven years of experience, was laid off nearly six months ago when her company made some drastic cutbacks in the face of the continuing recession. The company consolidated her position with another key job to save one salary. At first she thought that her experience would help her land a job quickly but that has not happened. Miriam, like so many other unemployed workers has been hearing that the recession may be winding down, but for some reason she is still out of her job. She has stayed in touch with her former employer “just in case” he is hiring again, but that has not happened as yet, and she may just not be able to wait too much longer. The few interviews she did receive were more suitable for entry-level with a severe cut in salary.
Each month, when some of the key economic indicators are released, it seems that the number of jobs continue to decline, but a closer look at the jobs picture in June might offer a glimmer of hope. The nation is said to have lost 125,000 jobs in June, but the unemployment rate actually dropped to 9.5%, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. But many of those jobs were temporary employees working on Census 2010. The private-sector payroll employment actually increased by 83,000.
If the most recent data holds up, Miriam should soon be back either at her former employer’s business or somewhere else. Perhaps seasonal, employment rose by 28,000 in amusements and recreation. Approximately 21,000 jobs were added in temporary help services. There were also additions in professional and business services, management and technical consulting (+11,000), business support services (+7,000), transportation and warehousing (+15,000), health care employment (+9,000), and manufacturing employment (+9,000).
For people like Miriam, a temporary solution might be a temporary job. Many forms who are still not sure about rehiring full-time employees are instead hiring people for projects or on a temporary basis. There is evidence to suggest that many of these temporary jobs are indeed turning into full-time jobs as many businesses continue to experience an improved business climate.
The added jobs in various sectors is noteworthy for a variety of reasons. For one, it gives a job seeker an idea just where the jobs might be. Clearly, there are various industries that are in a recovery mode while others are not. While health care is one of the growing categories, for example, the hospitality industry is not. There may always be an opportunity for temporary jobs such as the Census workers, the clean-up crews for the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and perhaps with the midterm elections around the corner, there will be many temporary jobs helping governors, senators and congressmen get elected.
In speaking with several job counselors, it seems that becoming disillusioned about finding a job is one of the worst problems they face with job seekers. One told me of a young man who had been looking for a year and out of sheer frustration said: “I will give this one more week and then I will have to consider an alternate course.” He found a good job within the week. The counselors say that timing is everything in a job search. Just because someone has failed to get an interview for weeks on end does not mean that it cannot happen and often revisiting an earlier potential employer can work out as well.
Many people like Miriam have found success in looking for employment with competitors who may just cherish the idea of hiring an experienced employee who knows the industry and the business. It seems that the recovery may not be on a level playing field in that while some businesses in an industry are indeed recovering, others may still be mired in the recession. This appears to be the case in retail as several chains have recovered nicely while others are still in the throes of the recession.
“Looking for a job,” said one of the counselors, “requires a bit of common sense and a bit of research.” The commons sense, he pointed out, was to approach potential employers who might have shown an interest in the past or in fact going back to past employers. The research is to know exactly what is happening in the industry you’ve been involved with before.
For job seekers this period might be a bit confusing because of the mixed signals that one gets reading the press these days. Perhaps the good news is that the signals are mixed as opposed to the “One Way” downward direction of just a year ago. It might make it a bit more difficult to negotiate, but there is activity and there is hope. The fact that the private sector has added 83,000 jobs in just one month is encouraging. If the July numbers, due out in August, continue that trend, it will be a clear signal that the economy has turned the corner and more jobs may be on the horizon.
Out of the Box is a collection of strategic marketing articles that Menachem Lubinsky has published on various topics, trends and ideas in the marketing world. The articles have been published in the Hamodia weekly newspaper circulated on three continents to a readership of well over 100,000.The name, “Out of the Box” is a term used frequently in business nowadays to describe creative thinking that is not the norm. It is meant to help a business pull away from the pack or separate oneself from the competition. It is to some extent fraught with risk, simply because it is not the run of the mill thinking, but it is at the same time the key to reaching the next opportunity.
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