Sunday, January 1, 2012

Job Prospects for the New Year

We are certainly getting mixed signals from reports from Washington and from Wall Street about job prospects for this coming year. Washington tells us that the unemployment rate has dropped while Wall Street tells us that more businesses are shuttering stores and laying off people. Employment agencies and companies are still reporting that anyone who has been unemployed for over six months has a very small chance of finding work. The employers are saying that their “skills are rusty” after being out of work for six months or more, especially in any of the hi-tech industries.

It will be interesting to see what happens now that the holidays are over and once again stores will lay off temporary help that they hired just for the season. Those reports should be out soon.
Add to this all of the returning military personnel who are National Guardsmen and we have an additional influx of people either returning to jobs that they left behind, that were temporarily filled in with other people and we are going to see a huge surge of people looking for work.

Companies continue to hold tight to their purse strings, not knowing how the effects of the new Healthcare bill are going to impact their business With many who are unemployed, their benefits ran out and of course are no longer counted in the unemployed figures. Many who have been out of work for over a year have just given up looking for work. Add to that, the average American just isn’t spending as much as they were, they don’t have it to spend and the cycle continues to spin down the proverbial drain.

Without new companies starting up, without some of those being in the manufacturing sector, bringing industry back to our own shores, we are going to continue to struggle to find work for all of those who want and need a job.

Some tips that might help in your job search will be to get out there and find a place where you can volunteer your time to a company or a charity. By doing so, you will at least keep your skills up and be out among others who might be able to assist you in your job search. Try working for a temporary employment agency, start your own business if you have the funds to so, or try one of the work from home jobs. I hate to say it but the well is running dry! There are not a lot of options left out there. You may have to be very creative, reinvent yourself using your own God given talents to survive. Try doing contract labor on your own either working for yourself or as a contractor with a company.

As we go into 2012 I will try to bring you any job leads that I come across, be they working from home or at a “brick and mortar” company.