Despite 500,000 Leaving Employment Market, Job Openings Surge by 300,000

Last week’s employment report was quite disappointing as only 88,000 net jobs were created. The unemployment dropped from 7.8 to 7.7 percent, but the reason was that some 500,000 people left the labor force. If you’re not employed and not looking for employment then you aren’t counted in the ranks of the unemployed. Some of those who left the workforce came from the increasing number of Baby Boomers reaching retirement age but pretty clearly many came from those who would prefer to be working but gave up their search after reaching the conclusion that it was fruitless.

Today, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics issued a report that should provide some comfort to those who are still looking for work as well as those who stopped but may re-start their search. According to the BLS, there were 3.9 million job openings on the last business day of February, up from 3.6 million in January, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. The hires rate (3.3 percent) and separations rate (3.1 percent) were little changed in February. This release includes estimates of the number and rate of job openings, hires, and separations for the nonfarm sector by industry and by geographic region. Continue Reading

4 Proactive Ways Job Seekers Should Use Twitter

How can Twitter benefit job seekers?  The following post offers four ways the social media site can help those looking for a new position.

If you’re a job seeker, don’t use Twitter to retweet a Kardashian or favorite something equally criminal. Twitter offers much more than snarky trends and celebrity gossip. The platform is actually full of thousands of job posts, rich learning resources, top-notch professionals in your field and much more. With such a smorgasbord

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4 Proactive Ways Job Seekers Should Use Twitter

Despite More Government Layoffs, 157,000 Net New Jobs Added in January

Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 157,000 in January, and the unemployment rate was essentially unchanged at 7.9 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported yesterday. Retail trade, construction, health care, and wholesale trade added jobs over the month.

Household Survey Data

The number of unemployed persons, at 12.3 million, was little changed in January. The unemployment rate was 7.9 percent and has been at or near that level since September 2012. Continue Reading

What to Do About Gaps in Your Resume

A job seeker may worry about leaving a negative impression with potential employers once they see any gaps on his or her resume.  So, how can a job seeker overcome this issue?  Learn more in the following post.

This is probably one of the most common questions job seekers face when creating a new resume. The traditional chronological resume can be daunting when there is a gap in employment. Knowing that you will have to explain the gap during an interview can be even more daunting. No worries!  There are several ways to deal with this problem, and any expert resume writer can easily communicate your value regardless of whether or not you’ve been unemployed for a period of time.

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What to Do About Gaps in Your Resume

Recent Grads: 5 ways to build confidence in your job search

A job search can take some time, which means you must be patience during the process.   As a recent college graduate, you must stay positive no matter what happens along the way.  The following post offers some ways to boost your confidence while looking for a job.

For recent grads, the job search may be a mid to long-term proposition. Your confidence may be challenged. By keeping these five ideas in mind, you can make progress without getting worn down. 1. Focus on what YOU control. You can’t control the unemployment rate, or how many people apply for the job you want

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Recent Grads: 5 ways to build confidence in your job search

With Unemployment High for Returning Vets, Nine Tips for Acing the Job Interview

Jim Camp, Vietnam vet, and President and CEO of The Camp Negotiation Institute

There’s bad news and good news for post 9/11 returning veterans, known as the Gulf War Era II vets. The government’s October 2012 employment figures show that the unemployment rate for Gulf War Era II vets is 9.7%; but for the youngest vets, age 20-24, it’s a whopping 14.5% (compared to 12.1% for nonveterans), and for vets age 25-29, it’s 11.5% (compared to 8.7% for nonveterans).

Unemployment Rate for New College Grads Plummets

The unemployment rate for new college graduates is down significantly from last year, continuing a decrease in unemployment for this group, according to an analysis of the numbers released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics last week.

In September 2012, the unemployment rate for new college graduates—defined as college graduates ages 20 to 24—fell to 6.3 percent from 8.3 percent in September 2011 and 9.4 percent in September 2010. Continue Reading

Unemployment Rate Falls to 7.8% as 114,000 New Jobs Added in September

Great economic news out of Washington this morning. The employment numbers for July and August were revised to reflect the fact that some 80,000 additional jobs were created during those months than initially estimated and the economy added another 114,000 jobs in September. This 194,000 surge combined with no increase in the number who have stopped looking for work resulted in the unemployment rate plummeting from 8.1 to 7.8 percent.

The unemployment rate decreased to 7.8 percent in September, and total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 114,000, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Employment increased in health care and in transportation and warehousing but changed little in most other major industries.

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2.1 Million Young Adults Hired Since April

From April to July 2012, the number of employed youth 16 to 24 years old rose 2.1 million to 19.5 million, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. This year, the share of young people employed in July was 50.2 percent. (The month of July typically is the summertime peak in youth employment.) Unemployment among youth increased by 836,000 from April to July 2012, compared with an increase of 745,000 for the same period in 2011. (Because this analysis focuses on the seasonal changes in youth employment and unemployment that occur each spring and summer, the data are not seasonally adjusted.)

Labor force

The youth labor force–16- to 24-year-olds working or actively looking for work–grows sharply between April and July each year. During these months, large numbers of high school and college students search for or take summer jobs, and many graduates enter the labor market to look for or begin permanent employment. This summer, the youth labor force grew by 2.9 million, or 14.2 percent, to a total of 23.5 million in July.
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If you fix the housing foreclosure crisis, you fix the job market

Two news stories this morning illustrate the daunting challenges the economy continues to face on the road to recovery.  First, a New York Times articles points out that the Obama Administration was too slow to address the housing market crisis, which has been a major drag on the economy.

Meanwhile, a report from the Federal Reserve Bank of New York estimates that about one-third of the jump in unemployment from 5 percent to its 10 percent peak in October 2009 can be traced to a mismatch between the supply of labor and job openings.  The remaining two-thirds of the increase is due mainly to a lack of demand.  Continue Reading