Trading Places
Inside views on the jobs market
Uncle Sam needs you! More than 270,000 of you
Out-of-work Americans pining for a bright spot amid the still-bleak unemployment landscape should welcome news that the federal government is in need of new recruits. A lot of them.
The feds need to hire close to 273,000 people over the next three years to fill so-called “mission-critical” jobs across the U.S. and abroad, in part because more federal workers are inching closer to retirement age, a new survey of 35 federal agencies by think-tank Partnership for Public Service shows.
Perhaps not surprisingly, agencies in the public health and medical fields are in need of the most new bodies. A total of 54,114 people are in demand to fill positions in areas ranging from radiology to consumer safety, according to the study.
Job seekers should also look to the security, law enforcement, legal and administrative fields, all of which are projected to boom over the next few years.
Of course, as the Washington Post notes, the projections are just that – projections. Hiring campaigns could be slowed if more federal workers choose to put retirement off or if Congress refuses to put up the money to meet all the hiring needs. The government could also decide to outsource some of the jobs to contractors.
Still, the potential surge in full-time, government jobs should have many Americans dusting off their resumes in a hurry.
(An armed forces recruiting poster is shown outside the U.S. Armed Forces Career Center in New York’s Times Square in this March 6, 2008 file photo. REUTERS/Lucas Jackson)
Desperate times, desperate career measures
It’s no secret that the economic downturn is having an impact on the careers of millions of Americans. Just ask Matthew Derra (pictured here), who found himself pursuing a degree in renewable energy after his job at American Axle disappeared.
As the U.S. braces for yet another monthly dismal jobs report, thousands more will be faced with one big question: what now?
Turns out, not everyone is looking for jobs in the field they once called home.
“We’re seeing people more willing to consider opportunities in places traditionally they wouldn’t locate to,’ says John Flanigan, VP of staffing company Aerotek.
Just as Derra found himself back at school, people are finding themselves in some unlikely scenarios. One former executive took an entry-level job after losing his job at Hewlett-Packard, a move he says set his career (and his salary) back by two decades.
Sound familiar? Now that the job market has narrowed, what are you doing with your career? Share your thoughts below.
Legalize drugs, prostitution and gambling across the country and we’ll see a huge dip in unemployment. As it is, for many, it is best to remain unemployed and collect benefits than it is to pursue a low-wage job.
I must say that the global recovery is certainly something we in the UK support, but we are held back by archaic governmental controls of our industry. I think the peers would jump in and join with the commoners to push us forward, if only reform in the house of Lords would happen to allow the hereditary peers more room to work on this I believe the whole country would respond more quickly.