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Economy Hemorrhaging Jobs. The nation’s unemployment rate climbed above 8 percent last month and the economy shed 651,000 jobs, says the Bureau of Labor Statistics. It’s the highest rate in 25 years, with 12.5 million unemployed. [WaPo]
Anyone had enough bad news lately about the economy? Layoffs, the stock market diving, bailouts, government debt, the housing crisis — all of it can add up to some pretty somber feelings. And the fact that it’s been going on for awhile now can drag anyone down. We’re not going totally Pollyanna on you, but we do share the sentiments of the Wall Street Journal that maybe we should stop complaining and be a bit thankful. Turns out that doing so could put you in the middle of a growing trend:
Hey, Wall Street failures, have you considered an exciting new career as a document shredder? How about working as a butler? Ok, ok. Would you work as a clown? Seriously! According to the Times, it’s a perfectly valid “career option” for washed up investment bankers. “Even sad clowns are a hoot at a birthday party.” And the Times is full of other helpful suggestions…
In case you haven’t noticed, we’re in the midst of an economic slump where it seems like thousands of jobs are being lost every day. Ok, maybe that’s because thousands of jobs are being lost every day. This brings up an issue that more and more of us will be facing in the future: how should you talk to a close friend or relative that loses his job? Career blogger Penelope Trunk suggests the following seven steps:
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626,000 people filed for unemployment benefits last week. The number of people on unemployment rose to 4.8 million, the highest since records started being kept. [AP]
A Consumerist reader and property manager in Virginia posted a notice for a part-time evening receptionist, and in response to the 12-hour a week job, she got 3520 emails. Roberta writes, “The attached picture was my email in-box this morning, with 0 spam emails and 0 non-Craigslist emails. 3520 (and climbing as we speak)…” Perhaps this can become a new metric to gauge how bad the employment situation is, how many resumes a 12-hour receptionist-job posting on Craigslist receives in a 24-hour period.
If you’re looking for a job these days, you know how tough it can be to separate yourself from the pack. One key is being sure your resume is as good as it can be — that it sells your skills in full force to make you stand out. But US News says that there are five resume mistakes that most job hunters are making, mistakes that are killing their chances of making it to the next step (getting an interview). Of those five, we think this one is the most egregious: your résumé has no numbers, as in, measurable accomplishments…
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Over 71,400 jobs were cut today, bringing the total jobs cut this year to over 200,000. CNN Money has a list of what’s been lost in 2009 so far. [CNN Money] (Thanks to Olevia!)
(Photo: bbaunach)
Richard O’Connor, the Vice President of Marketing for Aetna, might want to rethink how his department handles its customer retention program in this economy, particularly when it comes to telling people that they’re still valued even though they’ve been let go. Chris received just such a letter today, and now the VP of his company’s HR department is trying to figure out why Aetna fired Chris.
Here’s a cheeky guide for sorta-lazy people to survive being laid-off. Number one: Kiss the ass of ex-coworkers you hate.
The numbers are in and we lost 2.6 million jobs in 2008, making it the worst year since 1945. How do you picture 2.6 million jobs? Well, by looking at Wisconsin. Or Missouri. Or Maryland.
The Wall Street Journal covers a new study that determines the best and worst jobs in America using five criteria: environment, income, employment outlook, physical demands and stress. When all was said and done, all the data weighed and all the experts consulted, one occupation stood head and shoulders above the rest: mathematician. Yep, you read that correctly. Here’s why it took the top spot:
One thing I’ve certainly learned is that great ideas really do need to start somewhere. If I don’t pull the trigger and take some fliers based on nothing but faith in my own ability, great dreams won’t ever be realized
In its largest ever hiring spree since 9/11, the FBI is hiring 850 new special agents and 2,100 professional support personnel. Maybe they’ll catch all those shady mortgage crooksters before they Jenga the system! Oh wait, too late. Next time there’s a sub-prime meltdown, though, we’ll be ready! [FBIjobs.gov] [CNN]
In California? Unemployed? The Screen Actors Guild guide to California Unemployment benefits is easier to use than CA’s hard to navigate unemployment site, and the advice is general enough to work even for non-thespians. [SAG]
Aaron has gotten a busy signal from the Pennsylvania unemployment office call center for a month. He started filing his claim online, which was fine, until he started getting automated emails saying there were problems with the online system, and instructed him to call the toll-free call center number. That’s right, the one that’s a constant busy signal. So, he got in touch with his local state representative, and got results!
Everyone’s looking to pick up some extra cash these days but be wary of online job postings as many are outright scams. Here’s 8 warning signs to look out for:
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