Hiring up, but many jobless not looking

The Christian Science Monitor ^ | June 28, 2004 | Ron Scherer, Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor

[A. Pole]

NEW YORK - After 20 months of looking for work and sending out hundreds of résumés, Jeffrey Schwab has given up trying to find another job as a draftsman. He's now taken early Social Security and is considering whether to sell his Bellingham, Wash., home to move to something smaller. "From what I can tell, there's not much to look for," says Mr. Schwab, who has 35 years of pipeline-design experience. "I am standing around with nothing to do."

Even though the economy has created 1.2 million jobs since January, some 265,000 people have dropped out of the job hunt during the same period. They would join some 19.1 million Americans in the same situation as Schwab, who are unemployed and not looking for work largely because they are convinced they won't find it. This figure, at a record level, is up 44 percent from 10 years ago.

If the job market continues to improve, this large number of people could decide to get back in the job market - which would hold the unemployment rate relatively high, even as new jobs are created.

"If this flow of nonworking Americans were to reverse, it would send the jobless rate toward 8 percent," says John Challenger of the outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas in Chicago.

That would certainly be the case in Pennsylvania, agrees the state's governor, Edward Rendell (D). The official unemployment rate is 5.4 percent, but it's "much greater," Mr. Rendell says, when factoring in men who have been cut off welfare and never got back into the workforce "and as a result never show up in the unemployment rolls."

Sometimes a rising jobless rate, says Bob Brusca of Fact and Opinion Economics in New York, can be a positive sign of a vibrant labor market that's luring more people in than it can absorb. But "that change has not occurred."

Many workforce dropouts in the age group of 25 to 54 have spent years working in shrinking industries, such as telecommunications or software development. "There are many people who have been downsized - a permanent job loss - that are taking a long time to return to work," says Andrew Stettner of the National Employment Law Project in New York. "They have had such a hard time when they are looking that they have given up, even though they don't necessarily want to."

In Tiffin, Ohio, that's the case with Merree Phillips, who lost her job a year ago as a development officer at Heidelberg College. She says that at times frustrations sap her motivation. "Some weeks you don't work as hard since it's so easy to get discouraged and you wonder whether it's worth it to keep pounding your head against the wall," she says. "I have not gotten to the interview stage of any job I have applied for."

Ms. Phillips thinks that the job market is actually shrinking in her area. A year ago, she says there were 20 to 25 listings for professionals in the want ads in The Courier, a Findlay, Ohio, newspaper. Sunday, the online edition had only four such ads. "I don't want to come off as a slacker, but there aren't even any decent prospects," she says.

Some workers who have officially stopped looking are going back to school. Enrollment at the nation's community colleges, which offer much of the job retraining, is soaring.

One of those who has gone back to school is Penni Neff, a divorced mother of a teenage boy who lost her job at a hospital.

Now, she's in school to become a licensed practical nurse.

"Gee, I don't know why people throw their arms up and say 'I give up!' " she writes in an e-mail.

"Sorry, I'm not doing it, but I get doors slammed all the time," says Ms. Neff, who has four months left to finish her courses before she starts another training program to become a registered nurse.

Neff's move is probably in the right direction, says Mr. Challenger. "She's evidence of the migration of going from the old economy to the new, particularly jobs that are service-related," says the outplacement guru. He says other areas that the long-term unemployed should consider include international business, housing construction, real estate, utilities, and the energy industry. "People often pigeonhole themselves," he says. "We're seeing almost 50 percent of people changing industries, but not functions."

Challenger adds that hiring someone who has been out of work for a long time can be rewarding for employers as well. "[The new workers] are really hungry to get back, so you are getting someone who is really committed and is not going to move quickly as a free agent," he says. "You can save people's lives and get very committed employees that way."

A job would certainly help someone like Schwab in Bellingham. His wife, who was also laid off, is now working 30 hours a week at a store, but she does not get benefits. They are now considering all options, including the sale of their home. "We needed a bigger house to care for my wife's mom, who had Alzheimer's disease," he says. "But it's more expensive to pay for and heat."

---

THE SWELLING RANKS OF WORKFORCE DROPOUTS: Since 1994, the number of 25- to 54-year-olds who are not employed and who aren't looking for a job has risen by more than 3 million. The reading in the month of May each year:

TOM BROWN - STAFF
SOURCE: BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS

[Jank]

You have every right to be proud, good for you, Mom!

[expat_panama]

we are losing the culture war, no?

Maybe not.  I was checking out the graph that was showing the SWELLING RANKS OF WORKFORCE DROPOUTS and decided to plot the same numbers as percentages.

So the swelling ranks are pretty much following a swelling population at 62 to 64 percent-- but what about that one percent that really did dropout?  My bet that a much of it is a huge change we've been having in the percentages of stay-at-home-moms, which are "up 13 percent over the last decade, according to the Census Bureau."   More like a change for the better than a crisis.

[alogonquin]

How do you get work as a proofreader?

[RightWhale]

everyone says that I am "over qualified."

That has to be one of the more annoying statements to get from the interviewer. It makes an opinion about the company a little easier to make, but it doesn't help. In spite of that, companies often do not find qualified applicants and end up hiring whoever comes closest.

[Huck]

Thanks for the data.

[dfwgator]

In fact Reagan didn't have a problem with the New Deal, it was the Great Society that he had the problem with.

[ninenot]

You are correct that they won't "waste" money--but this is a buyer's market, to say the least. They can run a few ads to troll around--if they find someone under the age of 40, with the right bells and whistles on the paper, and who's actually capable of conversation AND who's not expensive--then they hire him/her/it.

Over 50? Fuggedaboutit. Less than optimal bells/whistles? Fuggedaboutit.

In-column 4" ad, about $250.00/week. Not too much to find Superman and fill the trash with 99 other resumes.

[P.O.E.]

I got laid off from a telecom in 2004. I did some soul-searching, and am now taking classes to get teacher certification. Living off savings for now, but basically re-inventing myself. No guarantees, but it's worth a shot.

[A. Pole]

In fact Reagan didn't have a problem with the New Deal, it was the Great Society that he had the problem with.

If Democrats stick to the New Deal instead of Political Correctness, Feminazism, Atheism and Pederasty they would win with one hand tied behind their back. But they went insane instead.

[Sandy]

IT industry is not going to give much consideration to a fiftysomething with a degree in Mathematics who has 20 years of experience when they're looking for 1-2 years of experience and no college.

Yes I would happily take a lower paying job but everyone says that I am "over qualified."

Then don't let them know that you're overqualified. Dumb down your resume. Don't mention the degree if the degree works to your disadvantage. You don't have 20 years experience, you have 10 years, but that was over a decade ago--or something like that. You need to lie. Try it.

[paulsy]

"but this is a buyer's market, to say the least. They can run a few ads to troll around--if they find someone under the age of 40"

Not in my company. We will hire anyone with the skills, and we can't find enough of them (microprocessor engineers: circuit design, verification, debug logic, integration/clocking/timing). It is the candidate's market now in the semiconductor business. These guys are happy where they are - especially the old codgers - and they are being hammered on by 5 different companies.

[paulsy]

"Over 50? Fuggedaboutit. Less than optimal bells/whistles? Fuggedaboutit."

Though I should add, that I agree with you in a sense, because a lot of the hiring managers even at my company are stuck in year-old-thinking where they still believe it is an employer's market. So they are feeling the pain of not meeting production demands, because they sometimes way for the "right" person much longer than they should wait. I am in the process of educating them, telling them to "take hiring risks or you will loose the war on talent" and they are beginning to listen. This is in Central Texas.

[Defender2]

There waiting for the WELFARE state to return under the tutelage of these people:

http://www.cpusa.org/

http://www.dsausa.org/

DSA's "Progressive Caucas" Links below:

http://bernie.house.gov/pc/

http://bernie.house.gov/pc/members.asp

The Enemy Within!!!!

[RaceBannon]

"Gee, I don't know why people throw their arms up and say 'I give up!' " she writes in an e-mail.

"Sorry, I'm not doing it, but I get doors slammed all the time," says Ms. Neff, who has four months left to finish her courses before she starts another training program to become a registered nurse.

Maybe because she is new to the unemployment thing.

I havehad 3 jobs this year alone.

I had to recount my jobs numbers, I was wrong to say it was about 15, I recounted, and it is:

Laid off 2001 in June
1 1 week temp job in July
1 4 week 1099 job in August
1 4 week job in Oct
1 8 day job in Dec
1 9 month job from Feb 2002 to Oct 2002
1 5 week job from Nov to Dec 2002
1 10 week or so part time job from Dec to Mar2003
2 temp job through the same agency from Jan to March 14, 2003
1 7 month job from Sep 2003 to April 2004
1 5 week job from April to May 2004
just started a job 2 full weeks ago, supposed to last until Oct, maybe until December at the longest, Company is Moving out of Connecticut to California.

That is 11 jobs since June 2001. 3 of them this year alone.

[paulsy]

"You don't have 20 years experience, you have 10 years, but that was over a decade ago--or something like that. You need to lie. Try it."

Better yet (take it from me, I'm a recruiter at our company) - when you respond to a job posting on Monster or wherever, write a cover letter describing EXACTLY how you are a fit for the position you have spotted. And only apply for the one you are qualified for - it won't do you any good to apply for 50 positions if you only qualify for one, because your resume will be lost in the heap.

A couple more things. 1) Make a list of target companies in your industry, find out who in those companies you would be reporting to, learn the email naming convention for that company, and SEND your resume directly to that person. Don't bother with HR recruiters. Send directly to the hiring manager, follow up email with email a few days later, until they tell you "go away" - Do this 100 times and someone will hire you. 2) Register for the job agents at the major career sites, like Monster or whichever ones pertain to your skill set. 3) If you are a member of a professional association, get involved in that association on the local and national level. Headhunters will find you quoted in news articles and on convention board lists, etc.

Don't give up, no matter your age!

[A. Pole]

That is 11 jobs since June 2001. 3 of them this year alone.

Good job. Keep on doing it and you might land one job a month. I wonder if CEOs could keep such pace.

[Ciexyz]

As a female child growing up in the 50's, I looked forward to two career options: nursing or teaching. When I actually reached college age, the feminists denigrated those two careers as "traditional women's career ghettos". Now in 2004, it's funny to see so many women retraining to be nurses and teachers!

[RaceBannon]

It is more than that.

I know 5 drafting languages, and there is no work up here in Ct.

It is not the software's fault, nor is it the lack of a need for board draftsman, it is the lack of new contracts from companies.

New products mean new drawings, and if the company already has a trained staff, they dont need new draftsman/designers.

it is only when a company is expanding that they hire new people. Up here, I dont know anyone who is expanding, everyone is either stable or falling away.

People who think the economy is doing so well need to call temp agencies and ask them how many resumes they receive a day when there is a job posted, especially an engineering job.

I have been repeated told that for every engineering job listed for an agency in Connecticut, there are over 500 resumes that come in, and that is not an exaggeration on my part. Maybe their part, but not in what I am telling you they said to me.

I remember 10 years ago, Connecticut papers had over 5 pages of just engineering jobs listed in the Sunday Papers. This Sunday we had 9 or 11 jobs total, 4 were civil, 2 were Manufacturing Engineering, something I dont have a degree for, and the others were too far to drive.

9 jobs listed is over the average of the last 6 months, that average is 5.

I have to admit, though, manufacturing jobs themselves are increasing in number, up to over 15 this week, only they are all paying low, wages I made 15 years ago when I did similar or lesser work on Aircraft.

Living in Connecticut on 30K a year as an adult with a house/Mortgage is poverty wages.

[Ciexyz]

That is 11 jobs since June 2001. Three this year alone.

You're quite a plugger, and therefore, an inspiration to us all.

[Alouette]

You need to lie.

Any job that I can only get by lying is not a job that I want to have.

Otherwise I would have gone to law school!