US Department of Labor Employment reports impact your job search?
So, the US department of Labor release the latest unemployment numbers - to summarize unemployment dropped a bit from 9.7% to 9.5% - whoopdee-doo.
When you dig deeper the reality is not quite so simple - nor is the news very good.
Point 1 - Total nonfarm payroll employment decreased by 125,000 - this reflected a loss of 225,000 census workers
Point 3 - Mean length of unemployment is at 35.2 weeks - this number has been on an uptick for at least 6 months and median length of unemployment is at 25.5% - also up for at least 6 straight months
Point 4 - While unemployment rates for adult women declined a bit, rates for adult men, teenagers, whites, blacks, and Hispanics showed little or no change
Point 5 - 2.6 million persons were marginally attached to the labor force, an increase of 415,000 from a year earlier - These individuals were not in the labor force, wanted and were available for work, and looked for a job sometime in the prior 12 months. They were not counted as unemployed because they didn't search for work in the 4 weeks preceding the survey
In a nutshell while it may not be worse - it definitely isn't better and to compound the issue Congress just recessed without extending emergency extension of unemployment benefits, impacting 1.2 million people. Interesting, since as far as I can tell, all of these congressmen aren't unemployed - nice to know our elected officials are acting in our best interest ... sigh!
So, if you aren't working, I am sorry to hear it. If you are unemployed and are suffering, I am sorry to hear that too. But don't give up hope. Here are 5 things you can do right now to help your chances at getting back to work.
- Continuing education - learn something new that might help bolster your resume - take a look at these blogs to get you started
- Network - join industry groups, get out there and meet people
- Pay it forward - maybe you aren't in the best position, but try doing something for someone else - what goes around, comes around
- Fix your resume - while in an ideal world, you would hire a professional to spruce up your resume, maybe you can't afford it right now - at least have someone independent take a look at what you have now
- Take a look at your "brand" - professional branding IS the future - do you have a blog, or a LinkedIN profile, or an online resume? If you aren't working, take the time create a blog that talks about your area of expertise - maybe you won't be highly read, but at least if a prospective employer Googles or Bings you, they will find something other than your Facebook page.
All these things are Free, Free as in Beer - they may take time, but if they shorten your search by a month, a week, or even a day, the ROI is immeasurable.
Good Luck!
Comments and feedback are requested and desired; and you are welcome and encouraged to submit questions to thecareerdoctor.
Debra Wheatman, CPRW, CPCC is the founder and Chief Career Strategist of Careers Done Write, a premier career services provider focused on developing highly personalized career roadmaps for senior leaders and executives across all verticals and industries.
Debra can be reached at -
debra@careersdonewrite.com
http://www.careersdonewrite.com/blog
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