ajcjobs > BlogBreak > Archives > 2006 > October > 27
Friday, October 27, 2006
Goodbye Unemployment…
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
According to Bloomberg, “The number of Americans filing first- time claims for unemployment benefits unexpectedly fell last week to the lowest level in almost three months, suggesting the labor market remains buoyant.”
Certainly a 4.5% unemployment rate that matches a 5-year low sounds like great news if you’re an employee. Saying goodbye to unemployment does make our country’s economic future seem brighter to gobs of discouraged, chronically unemployed job seekers.
While these statistics may have eliminated some of the pain for those left behind at the turn of the century that endured post-traumatic stress from no-warning downsizings and dot.bombed, disbanded companies, the story doesn’t end there. I recently read that there are 7 million underemployed people in our country.
So while you may have a job, the question is does the job match your capacity for performance and you desire to get ahead. Are you getting paid what your worth or are you an over-qualified executive reduced to working at Barnes & Noble?
Granted, some work is better than no work, but saying goodbye to unemployment and hello to underemployment is not going to make gliding into the ‘fourth quarter’ as graceful for some. Be careful when considering the stats proclaimed by an election-biased Administration about unemployment rates.
Typically the national statistics don’t reflect all those people who have run-out of unemployment benefits since they have been looking for a job for so long that they are no longer factored into the stats.
Statistics are great for politicians to shape the public perception, but if you are an underemployed Starbuck’s employee trying to fund your kids’ college education, reality is far more telling. So if you aren’t living up to your potential, analyze your approach to the job search process.
While you are roaming around the book store helping others, find a job search book for yourself and buy it with your employee discount. Help yourself get back to where you belong - in a job that stretches your skills and rewards you accordingly.
