What does the Receding Economy mean from your Point of View?

Uboast insider Fred Siegmund tackles the labor market:

Q: With all this news about the stock market crash are things much lower than they used to be in terms of finding a job?

A: The results of the forecasts of recession will take 3 to 6 months to determine, but either way jobs have been doing poorly for several years. Starting from December 2007 seasonally adjusted national establishment employment is down 760,000 jobs.

Q: Which types of jobs caused this decline?

A: The decline was a mixture of 673,000 jobs gone in manufacturing, construction and mining, a 296,000 decrease in private sector service jobs, but a 209,000 increase in government services employment, including education.

Q: So there's an increase in government jobs?

A: If we back up two years to September 2006 and look at change for the last 24 months then national employment is up 790,000 jobs, but government employment is up 486,000. The government increase in jobs is offsetting lagging job growth or actual declines in other sectors of the economy, which is good news.

Q: What other job sectors have improved as of late?

A: Since December 2007 service providing employment is down in wholesale and retail trade, transportation, publishing, broadcasting, telecommunications, finance, insurance, real estate, and selected areas of hospitality, art, entertainment and recreation.

Q: What has increased in jobs?

A: Several service areas have continued to increase in jobs, which are government, health care and a selection of professional services. Two-thirds of the government employment increase is jobs in education and the rest in government administration and social services. Among professional services architecture, engineering, computer services and some managerial and technical and social services have current gains and look the best for finding a job in a stagnate market.

Q: So for each specific person, what actually determines whether they have a good chance of getting a job. Does their major have to do with it or is it the job sector they're applying for?

A: Individual job prospects depend on a balance between openings by occupation and graduates by program of study. These openings are a combination of growth in the number of new jobs and jobs that are available because some leave a job and an occupation and have to be replaced.

Q: Are sectors of the economy recession proof?

A:  Yes. School funding and educational expenditures are less subject to recessionary pressures than other sectors of the economy. Those with BA degrees in education or BA degrees in social and physical sciences with educational certification can expect to find jobs without long delays. Also, health care. This industry will continue to be a source of openings for a variety of BA degree specialties, which do not include physicians, but do include registered nursing. Registered nursing is one of the largest occupations with over 2.3 million jobs and with forecasted openings around 100 to 104 thousand a year. Other specialties as medical and laboratory technologists and technicians, dietitians and nutritionist can expect openings and jobs with few delays. Computing, engineering, (especially civil, mechanical and electrical) architecture, surveyor, and social service are also fairly constant.

Q: Business seems like a surefire degree right now. What do you think?

A: Well, yes and no. Openings in managerial positions tend to require on-the-job experience and the MBA so they are seldom entry level positions. Even in normal times the BA degree in business is becoming preparation for admission into an MBA program. 

Positions for BA degree holders in business without managerial experience tend to be such non-managerial positions as loan officer or loan counselor, insurance underwriters, human resources, meeting and convention planners, tax preparation, real estate appraisal and business operations.

Fred Siegmund's writings can be found at