15 Stunning Statistics About the Jobs Market

Last month, the economy added exactly zero jobs overall, and 14 million Americans still remain unemployed. Economists expect September's numbers to be a slight improvement, but not enough to make a noticeable dent in the unemployment rate. In the meantime, here are 15 statistics about the jobs market that put the jobs crisis in perspective:

1.   9.1 percent. Today's unemployment rate is the highest it has been since 1982.

2. 131.1 million. The total number of jobs held by Americans in August. In January 2000, total nonfarm employment stood at 130.8 million. That means that over the past decade or so, less than 400,000 jobs have been added overall. At the same time, the eligible work-age population (those older than age 16, who are not in the military or prison) has grown by 28 million.

3. 58 percent. That's the number of workers currently employed as a percentage of the work-age population. In December 2007, it was 63 percent. "Particularly in an economy where multiple-earner households are an important element, that drop of about 5 percentage points equates to several million people who want jobs, who would like to have jobs, but for whom there are no jobs available," says Patrick O'Keefe, director of economic research at accounting firm J.H. Cohn and former deputy assistant secretary in the U.S. Department of Labor.

4. 11.5 million. Currently, there are 11.5 million fewer job holders than there were in 2007 before the recession began. "That's the true depth of our jobs deficit," O'Keefe says.

5.  6 million. That's how many workers have been out of work for at least six months and have looked for a job within the last 30 days. They are called the "long-term unemployed." This group accounts for 43 percent of the total number of unemployed. "That's the most striking statistic," says Stacey Schreft, director of investment strategy for the Mutual Fund Store, an investment firm in Overland Park, Kan. "Even though we have unemployment rates that were comparable to the '81-'83 recession, we didn't have long-term unemployment anywhere close to this."

6. 40 weeks. The average duration of unemployment is almost a full year.

7.16.7 percent. The unemployment crisis has affected races differently. This is the unemployment rate for blacks. Compare that with 11.3 percent for Hispanics and 8 percent for whites.

8.   25.4 percent. Young people have also been hard-hit. About a quarter of teenagers are unemployed. In comparison, the unemployment rate for adult men is 8.9 percent, and for adult women, it's 8.0 percent.

9. 250,000 to 300,000. That's the estimated number of jobs many economists say the economy needs to add monthly to begin to push down the unemployment rate over the long term. Since the so-called "jobs recovery" began in March 2010, the first month the private sector added jobs since the recession, an average of 105,000 jobs have been added per month, well below the number needed to see a significant impact on the jobless rate. O'Keefe estimates that the economy needs to add about 175,000 jobs per month just to maintain the employment rate. "If we're not adding about 175,000 jobs per month, our employable population is losing ground. Whether they're unemployed or discouraged job seekers, they're not getting work," he says.

10. 2.6 million. That's the number of people who are considered marginally attached to the labor force, up 200,000 from a year earlier. According to the Labor Department: "These individuals were not in the labor force, wanted and were available for work, and had looked for a job sometime in the prior 12 months. They were not counted as unemployed because they had not searched for work in the four weeks preceding the survey."

11. 977,000. Of that 2.6 million, almost a million are considered "discouraged workers," unemployed individuals who have given up looking for work. Once the economy begins to add jobs at a more robust pace, the unemployment rate may actually rise because discouraged workers will once again begin to look for jobs. "If we really got substantial job growth around 200,000 to 300,000 jobs a month, which is what we need for a healthy jobs growth that can deal with new entrances to the labor market and start putting people back to work ... then people start to become more optimistic and some of the discouraged workers begin to look for work," says Schreft, who is also a former economist and vice president at the Kansas City Federal Reserve. "They're not counted right now in the 9.1 percent unemployment rate, but they would then become 'unemployed' because they would be people who are actively looking for work."

12. 9.6 percent. Who says college isn't worth it? The unemployment rate for those whose highest level of education is high school stands at 9.6 percent. For those with a bachelor's degree or higher, the rate is only 4.3 percent.

13. 8.6 to 8.9 percent. That's where the Federal Reserve expects the unemployment rate to be at the end of this year. Many private economists have offered much more dire predictions. For instance, Goldman Sachs expects unemployment to still hover near 9 percent at the end of 2012.

14. 18.5 percent. Earlier this month, Gallup found that 18.5 percent of the total workforce remains underemployed, meaning they're unemployed or working part-time but they want to work full-time. That level is basically unchanged from a year ago. "Focusing merely on unemployment instead of underemployment tends to ignore the hardship facing the millions of Americans forced to work part time," says Dennis Jacobe, chief economist at Gallup in a recent news release. The underemployment number is even higher for certain subgroups, including those ages 18 to 29 (28.9 percent), those who have not attended college (23.1 percent), and among blacks (27.8 percent), according to Gallup.

15. $49,445. Recently, the Census Bureau announced that real median household income fell to $49,445 in 2010, the lowest number since 1997 after adjusting for inflation. "We have fewer workers working fewer hours at lower wages in an inflation-adjusted sense," O'Keefe says.

The average duration of unemployment, the total number of nonfarm payroll jobs, the percentage of the unemployed that are considered long-term unemployed, and the unemployment rate for adult men and women are 40 weeks, 131.1 million, 43 percent, 8.9 percent, and 8 percent.

Unemployment to stay till 2011: Nepal Fact

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) today said it expected high rates of unemployment to continue in developed countries until the end of

2011, at an average rate of nine per cent.

“Persistently high unemployment may be the key policy challenge facing these economies as recovery gains traction,” the Washington-based body said in a report.

The IMF’s World Economic Outlook projected that advanced economies would struggle to create enough jobs — even as their economies rebound — to meet the expansion of the work force. According to the IMF projections “the unemployment rate remains high — about nine percent — through the end of 2011. “Moreover the unemployment rate is still rising even as employment starts to grow, given the continuous expansion of the labour force.”

Studying previous global recessions, the IMF warned the United States, European countries and Japan that they must do more to jump-start job markets. “The prospect of persistently high unemployment increases the need for policies to jump-start job creation,” the report said, adding that temporary hiring subsidies could help.

That is a policy which has been backed by President Barack Obama, who has offered tax rebates to employers willing to take on the long-term unemployed. Although the US economy created 162,000 jobs in March, the largest increase in three years, the unemployment rate remains stubbornly at 9.7 per cent.

Since the recession began in December 2007, around eight million Americans have lost their jobs. Some 15 million Americans remain unemployed. The situation is similarly bleak in much of Europe. In 2009, Spain reported an unemployment rate of 18.83 per cent.

Meanwhile, US President Barack Obama today pressed Congress to “move quickly” on financial regulatory reform, setting up his next pitched political battle with Republicans.

As the dust settles after a bruising, year-long feud over Obama’s historic health care reform drive, the president is seeking to swiftly implement other big ticket items of his agenda before mid-term elections this November.

Where will the jobs be in 2012?

The help wanted ads of 2012 will have a scant resemblance to today’s classifieds. Job titles more common in sci-fi novels such as space tour guide and molecular engineer will soon become common place.

Tomorrow’s employers will put a premium on skilled and semi-skilled workers, especially in computers, health care, science and technology. And there will be job openings aplenty in the trades as baby boomers retire.

Are you ready for the brain race?

Opportunities abound as we become an information-rich society, said Marina Gorbis, executive director the Institute for the Future. With a growing number of video cameras, radio-frequency identification chips (RFID) and sensors gushing data, hot jobs will spring up, creating a demand for people who can cope and build new ways to comprehend it, she said. Your cell phone won’t be the only thing that vibrates.

“We’re entering an age where every object, every place, is surrounded by digital data. Massive amounts of data will be streaming in every direction,” Gorbis said. “The only way we’re going to be able to live in this world of massive information is to be able to access it in ways that are more sensory rich. They have to appeal to our senses.”

Paul Saffo, a Silicon Valley based technology forecaster, said lifelong learning will be the key to unlocking the future. People should expect to change careers six or seven times in their lifetime.

“This is a brain race,” said Saffo. “It’s no longer warm and fuzzy. Lifelong learning will be a forced march. If you stop learning, you will become unemployed and unemployable very quickly.”

Competitive innovation will produce hot jobs that are hard to imagine now. Synthetic biologists are learning to create organisms to perform specific tasks, said Leroy Hood, president and co-founder of the Seattle-based Institute for Systems Biology. In nanotechnology, systems engineers will fabricate new materials with ideal characteristics at the molecular level, said Frieder Seible, dean of the Jacobs School of Engineering at the University of California-San Diego, which opened a nanoengineering department in July. Engineers are building robots in new shapes and sizes.

Hot jobs of tomorrow

Businesses should anticipate turbulent times, Saffo said.

“The upside is with uncertainty comes opportunity. If you’re nimble, surprises become opportunities,” Saffo said.

To get a hot job that makes big bucks, think health care or international business, said Lena Bottos, director of compensation at Salary.com. It could bump up your pay by 20 percent or more. It might even double your salary.

Highly skilled health-care professionals, like doctors and specialists, will be in demand because of aging baby boomers, which means big salaries, Bottos said. Health-care careers overall will likely enjoy job security. According to the U.S. Labor Department, 13 of the 20 fastest-growing occupations between 2004 and 2014 are related to health care. Home health aides, medical assistants and physician assistants are in the top five.

In business, professionals with international experience or knowledge — especially in finance or law — will be hot as the emphasis on global trade and business grows, Bottos said. Companies will navigate tax codes, laws, work regulations, environmental regulations and ethical questions worldwide.

“The borders are falling away,” Bottos said.

Governments must address immigration, citizenship and tax issues so workers can travel and collaborate freely, said Rusty Weston, chief blogger at myglobalcareer.com. He points to the rise of the “aerotropolis” — business complexes at airports where jet-setters can fly in, get down to business immediately and stay as long as needed.

“Governments and laws are behind the times,” Weston said. “There needs to be some strategy. Businesses need the talent. ... The job hunters will become the hunted.”

Saffo goes a step further, saying everyone should anticipate living in different countries over their careers to succeed. Hot jobs are worldwide, and the ambitious must follow, especially this generation.

“What we have is global industries, where the center of gravity of industries is moving,” Saffo said. “Anyone who is not fluent in a second language will be at a huge disadvantage even if they never leave this country.”

Right now, the hardest jobs to fill can’t be outsourced or turned over to robots (at least not yet), and they’ll probably still be hot in 2012 because of retiring baby boomers, said Melanie Holmes, vice president of North American corporate affairs for Manpower, a worldwide employment services company. Sales representatives, teachers, mechanics, technicians, managers and truck drivers are the six hardest jobs to fill today, according to Manpower surveys.

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The good news: Many of Manpower’s top 10 hardest jobs to fill don’t require a college degree, so they’re more accessible. But that’s part of the problem — the jobs are too ordinary, Holmes said. Delivery drivers, laborers and machine operators, which also made the top 10, are necessary, not glamorous.

“I’m not sure young people have thought of those occupations as attractive,” Holmes said. “Our country needs people who go to trade schools. We’re running out of people like machinists, mechanics and technicians because the people who are doing [those] jobs are retiring.”

In the fast-paced global market, the “clever guys” will command their own price until the talent gap is filled, said Michael Jackson, founder and chairman of Shaping Tomorrow, a British research and analysis service focused on the future. A college degree alone won’t be a free pass to employment anymore.

“Student should be staying ahead and learning about these things, being involved and being engaged,” Jackson said. “They have got to keep learning, keep experimenting and be a part of the team. Don’t be afraid to try something new.”

How to Survive and Prosper in a Tough Job Market

As college seniors prepare to graduate in the next few weeks, they will be facing one of the worst job markets in US history. A recent National Association of Colleges and Employers poll found that 22 percent of recruiters do not plan to hire any fresh graduates this spring, and 43.6 percent said they'll hire fewer graduates than they did last spring. About 174 businesses responded to the survey, including employers such as Santa Clara technology company Applied Materials Inc., Macy's department store, and brokerage firm Edward Jones. 

These four easy tips to help students survive, and even prosper, in a tough job market:

Clean up your Facebook and MySpace pages. Yes, it's fun to share your Spring Break photos with your friends while in school, but employers don't want any part of your keg stands. In fact, they will stop dealing with you immediately. So if your favorite movie is Pineapple Express or Half Baked, set your profile to private, or omit the reference completely. And if you think employers aren't on Facebook, think again. A recent study by CareerBuilder found that 22 percent of hiring managers check MySpace and 

Facebook to see if their prospective employees are drinking too much, doing drugs, trashing former employers, or letting out trade secrets on their profiles-that was up from 11 percent two years ago.

Make sure your resume looks good. It's unfortunate that our capabilities are often judged on a single piece of paper-but that's how it works. So take your time, research the best ways to present the information, and make sure the formatting is consistent. Highlight your accomplishments without stretching the truth, and ask someone you trust to take a look at it before you send it off. Be sure to check out these top 10 resume writing tips from the About.com Guide to Job Search.

Search for jobs in fields not as affected by the recession.

 There is almost no demand for a 22 year-old hedge fund manager. But there is an ever-increasing market for those looking to work in education and healthcare. According to the Department of Labor, education jobs will see a 14 percent increase by 2016, while healthcare positions will increase by 24% in the same timeframe. Your dreams of swapping credit derivates may be dashed, but there are plenty non-profits looking for energized young people to create policy that will help people stay in their homes.

Give graduate school an extra look. As unemployment rates continue to climb, there is no better way to take advantage of the faltering economy than by going back to school. Whether you are seeking to refresh current accreditations, develop new high-demand skills, or are even considering a new field of employment entirely-investing in yourself by pursuing a graduate degree can provide you with the skill sets and qualifications needed to land a job in this competitive environment. According to GMAC's 2008 MBA Alumni Perspectives Survey, 80 percent of MBAs in the workforce believe that they couldn't have obtained their first job without their degree. Another point of interest was that the Class of 2008 received an average of 2.7 job offers. This number may trend down as the economy suffers, but the survey overall confirms the value of an MBA, regardless of whether a grad receives one, two, or ten job offers.

Social Networking Can Be Hazardous to Your Job Search

That cute, affable guy who brags of his drunken exploits on FaceBook.com may be meeting a lot of other partiers online, but he's probably not getting added to the "friends" lists of many corporate recruiters. A recent study by the executive search firm ExecuNet found that 77 percent of recruiters run searches of candidates on the Web to screen applicants; 35 percent of these same recruiters say they've eliminated a candidate based on the information they uncovered.

"You'd be surprised at what I've seen when researching candidates," says Gail, a recruiter at a Fortune 500 company who recently began looking up potential hires on the Web. "We were having a tough time deciding between two candidates until I found the profile of one of them on MySpace. It boasted a photo of her lounging on a hammock in a bikini, listed her interests as 'having a good time' and her sex as 'yes, please.' Not quite what we were looking for." "Another time I went to a candidate's site and found racial slurs and jokes," Gail continues. "And there was yet another instance where a candidate told me he was currently working for a company, yet he left a comment on a friend's profile about how it 'sucked' to be laid off, and how much fun it was to be unemployed!"

As the amount of personal information available online grows, first impressions are being formed long before the interview process begins, warns David Opton, ExecuNet CEO and founder. "Given the implications and the shelf-life of Internet content, managing your online image is something everyone should address -- regardless of whether or not you're in a job search," he says. Because the risks don't stop once you're hired. Twenty-three-year old Kara recently took a job as a management consultant at a high-profile practice in the Los Angeles area. An Ohio native, with no friends or family on the West Coast, Kara put up a profile on MySpace in the hopes of meeting new people. Kara was judicious in how she set up her site: "I didn't fill out that cheesy questionnaire many people post, where you describe your best feature and say whether or not you shower every day." she says. "I used a photo that was flattering but not at all provocative and was even careful what music I chose." Within a few months, Kara met many others online who shared her interest in biking and water sports. One Friday morning, Kara decided to call in sick and go surfing with a few of her new pals. That weekend, unbeknownst to Kara, her friend posted some of the day's pictures on her profile and sent Kara a message saying, "We should call in sick more often." Unfortunately for Kara, her boss happened to be patrolling MySpace to check up on her college-age daughter and came across Kara's site and the dated photos! Mortified, Kara says she learned an important lesson -- not only about honesty, but about how small the world of online social networking can be and how little control you have over any information put out there.

Not all employers search candidates and employees online, but the trend is growing. Don't let online social networking deep-six your career opportunities. Protect your image by following these simple tips:

1. Be careful. Nothing is private. Don't post anything on your site or your "friends" sites you wouldn't want a prospective employer to see. Derogatory comments, revealing or risqué photos, foul language and lewd jokes all will be viewed as a reflection of your character.

2. Be discreet. If your network offers the option, consider setting your profile to "private," so that it is viewable only by friends of your choosing. And since you can't control what other people say on your site, you may want to use the "block comments" feature. Remember, everything on the Internet is archived, and there is no eraser!

3. Be prepared. Check your profile regularly to see what comments have been posted. Use a search engine to look for online records of yourself to see what is out there about you. If you find information you feel could be detrimental to your candidacy or career, see about getting it removed -- and make sure you have an answer ready to counter or explain "digital dirt.

17 Tips for Finding a Job with Social Media

In the current economic situation, social media has emerged as a powerful tool for the newly jobless. There have been countless posts about the coming of social media and what it means, mostly in the abstract. But right now, social media provides a practical use job hunting.

Your social networking activity is basically your own personal cloud that you can pluck for your own benefit. Most of the jobs that you will get in your life will not be from a classified ad or a job ad. You will have found out about them from your personal network – virtual and physical. Social media creates a bigger network, allowing you to connect with more people and to find out about more job opportunities.

Many Web 2.0 pundits have been decrying the loss of privacy in the Web 2.0 age, as well as sending out warning signs to control how much information you allow out there about yourself. Now, the focus is shifting to how you can mange your personal brand message on social media sites and use them to grow your career.

So, how can you use social media to find a job?

1. Connecting

On the most basic level, social networking communities allow you to connect with your friends and co-workers. This is your closest network and the most valuable in a job search. Keep your friends close and your former friends closer.

2. Reconnecting

Social networking allows you to reconnect with former co-workers and friends that you haven’t heard from for awhile. This widens the net from just staying connected with a close network of friends. I call it the ‘beer factor.’ If it’s someone you’d be willing to go out and get a beer with and shoot the breeze about a former job or company, then they are worth reconnecting with.

3. Profiles

Take the time to fill in the details on all of your social networking accounts. Your goal should be transparency so people can know who you are immediately and see a pattern across all your accounts. Fill in your Facebook profile, Twitter account profile and Linkedin profile. Potential employers and connections want to find out as much about you as they can. Control the message. You’ve got the time on your hands.

4. Squeeky Clean Image

If you’re using social networking to find a job, it is probably a good idea to take the pictures off your Facebook profile from your bender a few weeks ago. Companies want you to appear to be above reproach. That means your online persona needs to reflect this. So, polish all your social media profiles and remove anything that might offend even the slightest of sensibilities.

5. RSS Feeds

One of the best ways to keep up on the latest job postings is to find job websites that have RSS feeds of the latest jobs. For example, all Craigslist job boards have an RSS feed. There are many other second tier job sites that have this feature. The big boys like Monster.com and Careerbuilder have failed at this. There are many many niche job websites that feature a wide array of jobs in specific industries. Do a search for them, they are out there. Also, create free Google Alerts to notify you whenever a job matching your criteria comes on the net.

6. Twitter

Twitter can help you greatly in a job search. First, Twitter allows you to directly connect with your network. I have gotten many job leads from people I follow on Twitter. Second, Twitter allows you to widen the net of your network. If you’re looking to relocate to another city or already live in a big one, follow players in your field and then engage directly with them. You build a reputation and increase the likelihood that you’ll find out about a job first. Third, there are many Tweeps out there that solely list jobs (such as @ukseojobs or @seojobs) so you can be notified as soon a job goes on the market.

7. Linkedin

Linkedin should be the center of any job search. It’s been said that Linkedin is the Facebook for professionals and that’s exactly what it is. Linkedin allows you to have a professional online presence that shows your work experience. You can also connect with co-workers and former co-workers, who can recommend each other. Linkedin is also becoming a great place to list jobs and also find out about jobs before they go on the major job sites.

8. Facebook

Most people think that Facebook is just for fooling around but it has many good uses on a job hunt. Your friends will be a good source of job leads. Also, you can join many Facebook groups related to your industry that will allow you to network with potential colleagues.

9. Blogging

Running a blog is a great way to prove your knowledge. Who would you rather hire? A person with a polished resume and years of experience? Or the person with a polished resume, years of experience and a successful blog about his/her industry? It’s a no brainer. If you can paint yourself as an expert in your field, it will only help your career prospects.

10. Casting a Wide Net

The main goal of using social media to get a job is to get your personal brand in as many places as possible. The more you engage fellow professionals the more likely you are to find out about of job or get a good recommendation.

11. The Desperation Factor

Don’t be a social network spammer. Don’t just connect with people to extract job leads from them or bug them about needing a job. Connect with them to connect with them. You will get no where complaining about your life situation or acting like you deserve help. People come onto social networks to get away from the negative forces in life, don’t become one.

12. Don’t Burn Bridges

Don’t start trashing your former employer on the social networks. This will alienate your former co-workers and poison the possibility of your bosses giving you a good recommendation. Bad social media PR is very damaging to a company in this day and age. Anything you say on a social network will get indexed by the search engines and it will take a very long time to remove. Your anger could damage your job prospects for years.

13. Social Media in the Real World

Start getting involved in local, in person gatherings that are organized on social media sites. Visit the local tweet-up or industry gathering. Establishing a person to person relationship will be infinitely more valuable than connecting online. So, next time you see a Tweet-up in your area, it’s a good idea to go, even if you feel secure in your job.

14. Pay it Forward

If you get a job lead for something that’s out of your field of expertise, then by all means spread it across your social network accounts. You’ll spread goodwill and also have connections in the future that will only help you.

15. Professional Blog Commenter

You’ve got time on your hands, don’t you? Become a prolific commenter on blogs in your industry. Become a recognized name. This can fit well into a regular blogging strategy. Getting yourself noticed will only help you in a job hunt and will ingratiate you to bloggers who enjoy engaging with their commenters.

16. Engagement

Don’t just try to connect with people, engage with them. If you see a controversial discussion going on across your Twitter feed, participate in it. If someone has a question that you can answer, by all means answer it. Don’t spend all your time talking about yourself, engage others and talk with them not AT them.’

17. Leave No Connection Unturned

Connect with everyone in your industry. You may think it’s a waste of time connecting with a secretary or an entry level person, but those are people you want to be in your court. The first rule of job interviewing is always be nice to the receptionist when you arrive. There is no reason why this should not count in the virtual realm.

Using social media to find a job will take time and you will get out of it, what you put into it. It’s going to be hard work and your going to have spend a lot of time doing it. But the potential rewards are huge. Not only can you find a new job, but you can also make new lifelong friends.