The monthly employment report for December was expected to show more than 500,000 jobs were lost in December, and the official government report indicates that 524,000 jobs were lost and wages slightly fell as well. If you add in the revisions from last month’s numbers, the official report is indicating 600,000 less jobs than it did this time last month. This brings the total unemployment rate up to 7.2% and means a total of 2.6 million jobs were lost in 2008.
Sectors losing the most jobs:
- Construction – No new homes, no new business: everyone relying on construction is in trouble
- Business Services – Businesses aren’t expanding, a lot are even closing down doors for good or cutting jobs in an effort to stay afloat
- Retail – As consumers deal with record debt, new purchases are down and being cheap is becoming the newest fad
Job Markets with Gains:
- Education – Part of the good news is that we still need more schools. Students and teachers have been fairly insulated from the worst of the economic crash
- Health Services – Demographics come in to play again: We currently have larger parts of our population heading into retirement and old age. Its a great time to get into medicine, especially if you can do so without incurring the average of $200,000 in student loans that American doctors graduate with.
Nurses, medical researchers, doctors, and teachers of all sorts are still in demand.
Unfortunately, this doesn’t mean that its the right time to get an education degree. A lot of the people who are becoming teachers now are ones previously employed in the private sector and seeing their jobs and positions downsized or outsourced. There’s a lot of competition for those jobs in particular, because its being seen as a “safe” alternative to the private sector job market.
Many cities are facing their own budget problems, so some teaching positions may be growing less slowly than they have in the past few years. Here in Jacksonville, there’s been a flood of new applications for substitute teachers – despite requiring college education for really low pay, a lot of people are signing up for the chance to even work a day here or there.
More than ever, students should pursue technical degrees in medicine, engineering, and advanced math. Financial and business management degrees may not be the cash cow they were just a few years ago!
January 13th, 2009 at 4:03 pm
Vector Marketing is a great company to get involved with! Jobs are definitely harder and harder to find nowadays. Companies are laying off employees and cutting hours. This all leads to college students having problems finding a job and less money for expenses.
Vector Marketing offers flexible hours, base pay with great commission, opportunity to work in your hometown or away at school, opportunity for advancement before graduation, and career opportunities after graduation. As a Vector employee, you learn and build your communication skills, leadership abilities, goal setting and following a plan to accomplish them, and interpersonal skills. Mastering these traits will help any student while in college, as well as in any career you choose; so not only will Vector help students financially but also personally and professionally.
Although a job at Vector Marketing may not ultimately be for everyone, it could end up being something you really enjoy and very lucrative.
January 13th, 2009 at 10:10 pm
I agree with the continued value of technical degrees. However I would point out that accounting should not be lumped in with Finance and business management. Accounting will continue to be in demand due to increases in reporting laws due to all of the questionable financial practices the past decade.
Accounting isn’t cool but its a good steady job!
October 9th, 2010 at 6:07 pm
Pretty Informational Post im going to add you to my Blog Network
December 12th, 2010 at 5:21 pm
I found your site looking for student information and some content for my student resume
April 20th, 2011 at 1:21 am
I totally agree, the labor force is shifting faster than we can even predict. To be successful in today’s highly competitive job market, job seekers must be on the absolute cutting edge of what’s hot in the industry they are seeking, and be able to completely blow their competition out of the water. “Settling,” “just getting by,” and “managing” just isn’t good enough anymore, as countless people are really starting to see. Truly, only the strong survive in today’s work force.
May 4th, 2012 at 7:08 am
Well, the good news is that sectors like education and healthcare are growing. In fact, healthcare is recognized as one of the few sectors that are fairly recession-proof. The argument given is whether the economy is on an upswing or downswing, people will not stop falling ill. And where there are ill people, there will be a demand for professionals to care for them.
Among the healthcare jobs that one can consider is respiratory therapy, which essentially involves taking care of patients suffering from breathing disorders. Stevens-Henager respiratory therapy school is a great place to get a degree in the field.