I sense another round of disconnect from the media reporting today’s jobless numbers coming in worse than “expected” at 480,000 claims.
Initial jobless claims rose by 7,000 to 480,000 in the week ended Dec. 12, from a revised 473,000 the prior week, Labor Department figures showed today in Washington. The number of people receiving unemployment insurance was little changed in the prior week, while those getting extended payments increased. Initial Jobless Claims in U.S. Unexpectedly Increase (Update2) - Bloomberg.com.
While weekly jobless claims are hovering around 500,000, the big question is where are the laid-off going to find new jobs?
In October, according to the BLS, there were only 1.9 million job openings for 11,970,000 looking for work. I’m not sure why the figure is 11,970,000, since there are 15 million unemployed, but that what the government stats indicate. If you use 15 million unemployed as the number of people looking for work the picture is even bleaker with 7.9 job seekers per available job opening.
Nationally there are about 6.3 unemployed workers competing, on average, for each job opening, a Labor Department report shows. That's the most since the department began tracking job openings nine years ago, and up from only 1.7 workers when the recession began in December 2007: via Job competition toughest since recession began - USATODAY
Indeed.com presents a similar comparison in their Unemployed per Job Posting data. In the Rochester area, there are six unemployed per job posting, which is ranked 44th out of the top 50 metro population areas. Cities such as Washington D.C. and Baltimore, MD where all the federal government jobs are located, have a one to one ratio of unemployed per job posting.
An interesting comparison to the other six cities that have a six to one unemployed per job posting ratio is that besides St. Louis, MO, the other cities are all in housing bubble locations in FL, NV and CA. So when people say we don’t have it as bad here as in other locations, you can tell them as far as job opening go, we have it worse than all but three other large metro areas. Many might blame the problem on the high tax rates of Monroe and surrounding counties, but low tax states such as NV and FL have similar job availability problems.
So if you are having a tough time finding a new job in the Rochester area, just remember, you are not alone. I urge you to join some of the local networking groups that can help you with job leads and connections. Finding a new job is difficult for many and you need all the contacts you can muster to land that new job.
As I mention in my post COBRA and health insurance alternatives when you lose your job:
According to Pete Chatfield, one of the New Horizons Network founders, the group was organized in December 2002 by several downsized Xerox employees and currently has a distribution list of 750+. They state the following: “New Horizons Network is committed to assisting people who are pursuing employment, interested in Self-employment or retirement alternatives.” Their slogan: “Helping each other transition to the next phase of our lives.” I’ll have more on RUNG and New Horizons Network in a future piece, but please pay them a visit to see how networking can benefit your employment needs.
New Horizons Network (You need a Yahoo account to access)
RUNG (A Yahoo Group that you can join)
Also, I recommend taking advantage of Rochester Works, which provides the community with employment, education, support, and training services.
Best of luck with your job search!
Comments