What’s the Current Job Market Like?

It’s a question that’s being asked not just by graduates and students about to graduate from college, but also by people who have spent some amount of time in the professional world – has the job market recovered enough since the huge crash two years ago? Are there enough jobs for all those who are graduating soon? How many more mass layoffs do we have to go through before things start looking up again?

The news from the employment industry is neither good nor bad – while things are not as bad as they were a year ago, they’re not as good as they were before that either. There was a time when jobs were aplenty, and not just the ones that took care of your basic needs. If you were a new graduate with a good academic record, you could rest assured that you would be able to find a job that you loved, take home plenty of money, and also be relatively sure that your job was not going to be pulled out from under your feet all of a sudden.

But then came the crash that burst the bubble, and every industry took a beating. In just a matter of days, people were getting fired en masse, lives and families were ruined, and you were lucky if you had a job to go to when you woke up each morning. Today, the situation is not as bad as it was, but it could still do with further improvement. In general however:

People are still filing claims for unemployment benefits, and although the number fluctuates from week to week, there has been no significant reduction over a period of time.

Companies still continue to announce job cuts and layoffs.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that while new jobs are being created, they are not increasing over a period of time as they should if the economy and the job market are to be considered stable.

The number of jobs created in the private and contracting sectors has fallen from the second quarter of 2009 to the third quarter.

Students will find jobs but they may have to settle for what they get rather than what they want.

Most universities are offering students positions on campus in an effort to boost morale and provide them with gainful employment.

Some students have to settle for internships and apprenticeships that don’t pay as well as a regular job until they’re able to find a good position. The experience does help, although it’s tough paying off your student loan and the bills on what you earn.

On the bright side however, job options in the education and health sectors remain attractive. These are evergreen fields that address basic necessities, so there are bound to be openings at all times even though they may not pay as well as they did a few years ago. Jobs are available and rising in the utilities sector too, because day-to-day life must go on no matter if financial markets rise or fall.

On the whole, the outlook is optimistic as people feel that there is no way to go but up after having hit rock bottom. The key to finding a good job that pays well and is interesting is to continue to look for it even as you hold on to what you’re able to find.

About the Author:

This guest post is contributed by Anna Miller, who writes on the topic of degrees online . She welcomes your comments at her email id: anna.miller009@gmail.com.