No Light At The End Of The Tunnel

From what I have been seeing in the news, hearing from others who are still unemployed and looking for work, the present employment picture is continuing to look very bleak!

Over the Christmas holidays some workers were hired in anticipation of more people in the stores, letting loose of their hard earned cash buying gifts for loved ones. The sad thing is, not as many people were hired for this time period and few were retained afterward and were thus put back into the unemployment line.

Unemployment figures are deceiving as to the number of people who are currently unemployed as many who were once able to collect their benefits have now fallen off the rolls and are no longer counted in that figure, even though they are not working. Some people have totally given up looking for a job and are now in total despair as to what they are going to do next to keep body and soul together. The two sections of our population who are being most affected by our current economic situation are young college graduates who are anxious to get out into the working world so that they are able to begin paying on their student loans which they encumbered and are now coming due and the older sector of laid off workers who are over forty years of age! Yes folks that is what I said, anyone over forty is having an extremely difficult time finding a job. 

A disturbing article I read the other day, stated that many companies who are in a position to be adding on new employees are not even looking at anyone who has been unemployed for over six months!  Their reasoning according to one executive recruiter, who happened to spill the beans, is that they feel anyone who has been out of work for over six months now has "outdated skills" especially if they are in the hi-tech industry.

Some career positions I am afraid will never come back after this recession is over. Many duties and responsibilities were incorporated into existing positions when companies laid off personnel and I don't see those positions being recreated later on. If you haven't been reading and keeping up with the times about what career positions are hot and will continue to be hot hiring areas, I would suggest you start boning up now.

I can not stress this enough, any position that deals with elder care will be in high demand.  I don't care if it is a community that is geared to just elder living facilities, to in-home care for those who are preferring to "age in place" in their own homes, special medical facilities that deal with care and rehabilitation for the aging population will all be requiring employees now or in the near future.

Lets look at some examples and perhaps this might even give you some ideas about starting your own business:

Senior living apartment complexes often have shuttle bus drivers to take residents to doctor appointments, to the beauty shop, the bank and the shopping mall.


Senior communities, where there is a club house and lawns to be maintained hire yard workers Some of these communities also have a Registered Nurse on staff to help with minor medical problems and to help residents with their medications to be sure they are taking them correctly.

So gyms have special instructors who work with their elderly clientele to be sure that they are exercising properly.

 Nursing homes and assisted living facilities use a variety of nursing staff, kitchen help, a dietitian for creating balance meals, as well as a housekeeping staff  and grounds keeping staff to keep the facilities clean and inviting for both the residents and their guests.

Some seniors are no longer able to drive and might appreciate having some type of service that would either take them to the stores so they can do their own shopping or be willing to pay someone to do it for them.

Home Remodeling businesses are now looking at concentrating on doing nothing but making existing homes safer for the elderly to live in. From widening doorways to make wheelchairs and walkers easy to maneuver through openings, to lowering cabinets and cooking prep areas in kitchens so someone in a wheelchair can prepare their own meals to installing safety bars in bathrooms and redoing showers and tubs so that they are easily accessible.

Lawn care services for the elderly are going to be needed as more an more live in their own homes but are no longer able to care for their property properly.

Are you a bookkeeper or an accountant? How many elderly people do you know that need assistance in making sure that their bills are paid every month and their stock portfolios (if they are lucky enough to still have any) are up to date and in order.

I hope these give you some ideas on places that you might look for work or perhaps venture into business for yourself.

OK So You Have To Get Dressed!

When you reach a certain age, it is really difficult to find work in a regular "brick and mortar" environment. Many "senior citizens" either have retired or have health problems that make it very difficult to work in a regular, structured environment but they have the desire to either stay busy working part time or do so out of necessity to supplement their other income. There's nothing like being self employed no matter what your age is!

Lillian is lucky to have a green thumb and she earns extra money by starting seedlings which she sells at the local farmer's markets starting every spring up to early fall.  She has invested some money into grow lights, good growing medium and little pots.  Not only do her plants supply her with additional income, but she enjoys going to the market and visiting with people and sharing her knowledge of growing healthy vegetables and plants. You can also find local farmers there selling their produce.

You will find Jackie and Hank at the local craft shows. She makes jewelry, from bracelets to necklaces and earrings and he makes handcrafted cutting boards and old fashioned wooden toys.

Sue on the other hand, finds it very difficult to get around so through word of mouth she has built up a business right at her home. People bring her their clean laundry for her to iron and do hand mending. She is able to work at her own pace and take breaks whenever she gets too tired.

Cindy has a unique job. She started a personal shopper service. Some seniors at her church were homebound or didn't enjoy going shopping. She has some people that she does their grocery shopping for them every week. They give her the grocery list and the money and she does their shopping for them.  She charges for her time and the gas for her car.  She also has several customers that will call her and ask her to pick up their perscriptions for them.

There's an elderly man at one of the local senior apartment complexes that hires out his services as a dog walker.

There are some pretty creative seniors who also design websites, write for the internet, write and publish books that all work from home.


So you have to get dressed for most of these jobs, but while you are growing your seedlings for sale, creating your jewelry or woodworking projects, you can work in your jammies!