Employment Intelligence

posted by Waffles

Employment Update April 2009
Oil prices are down, if anyone can tell down from up nowadays, to $46 a barrel. This figure determined the world’s economy just a year ago; now it’s hardly mentioned in the press. Inflation worries have been muted by our new “don’t spend a dime” culture: what does it matter what cars, homes or shirts cost, because we’re simply not buying. The American consumer fueled the world economy with the perenially popular ethos of Conspicuous Consumption; that engine has simply run out of gas.

Here are some of the results of the American driven economic expansion, stymied by the Made In America finance crisis we’re currently wallowing in:

• Unemployment Rate:  10.5%
• Change in Unemployment Level:  up 506,000
• Civilian Labor Force Participation Rate:  65.5%
• Employment-Population Ratio:  60.8%

(from the April, 2009 Bureau of Labor Statistics’ seasonally adjusted unemployment report)

They thought this was a recession. Now they think it might be something else, and this technical assessment appears, for the time being, to be right on target. Alarmingly, this moving target seems to be pasted on the back of every worker at every company in the world. An unexpected byproduct of the Global Economy is the near-Global near-Meltdown, as the lines between countries, markets, industries and cultures disappear and we all slide down the same slope.

So, what to do? First, a sober and dispassionate look at the facts, not the headlines. Not only is the big picture not all that bad, but it is already showing signs of the Spring Rebirth, like the little shoots and buds emerging from the patches of melting snow in the back yard.

Job searches continue, some are renewed, some redirected, some get a rude kick in the pants. Our client base here at The Barrett Group are finding they need to be both more strategic and increasingly tactical in order to keep activity focused and productive. Are they finding new jobs, absolutely. Is it getting any easier: absolutely not.

There are opportunities out there for those who dig in, work with their career management teams and fight the good fight.