{"id":652,"date":"2012-04-10T16:19:54","date_gmt":"2012-04-10T16:19:54","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/kerryhannon.com\/?p=652"},"modified":"2012-04-29T21:18:12","modified_gmt":"2012-04-29T21:18:12","slug":"what-to-do-about-the-terrible-job-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/kerryhannon.com\/?p=652","title":{"rendered":"WHAT TO DO ABOUT THE TERRIBLE JOB NEWS"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kerryhannon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/secondverse-logo.jpg?ssl=1\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"4\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/kerryhannon.com\/?attachment_id=4\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kerryhannon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/secondverse-logo.jpg?fit=366%2C102&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"366,102\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"secondverse-logo\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kerryhannon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/secondverse-logo.jpg?fit=300%2C83&amp;ssl=1\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kerryhannon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/secondverse-logo.jpg?fit=366%2C102&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"alignleft size-full wp-image-4\" title=\"secondverse-logo\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kerryhannon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/secondverse-logo.jpg?resize=366%2C102&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"366\" height=\"102\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kerryhannon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/secondverse-logo.jpg?w=366&amp;ssl=1 366w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kerryhannon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/02\/secondverse-logo.jpg?resize=300%2C83&amp;ssl=1 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 366px) 100vw, 366px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.forbes.com\/kerryhannon\/2011\/07\/09\/what-to-do-about-the-terrible-job-news\/\">read published article<br \/>\n<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s nothing better in the world than a little bit of scared to get you doing the right thing. Fear can make you faster, smarter, stronger, absolutely.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s a quote from super-athlete surfer, 47-year-old Laird Hamilton, as told to sports columnist Sally Jenkins in today\u2019s Washington Post.<\/p>\n<p>I think it\u2019s an apt thought for older workers looking for jobs right now, who are feeling \u201ca little bit of scared.\u201d We<em>must\u00a0<\/em>believe what Hamilton says is true. I do.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cJune was a dismal month for older workers with respect to unemployment,\u201d according to the bulletin that landed yesterday in my in-box from the\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.aarp.org\/research\/ppi\/\">AARP Public Policy Institute.<!--more--><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Dismal is one way to look at it.<\/strong>\u00a0Grim, gloomy, depressing are some other ways to paint it. One financial expert called it a bucket of cold water.<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The unemployment rate for the aged 55+ workforce rose from 6.8% to 7%, with the rate for men jumping from 7% to 7.9, according to the\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.bls.gov\/news.release\/empsit.nr0.htm\">monthly jobs report<\/a>\u00a0the Bureau of Labor Statistics yesterday.<\/li>\n<li>Women saw an increase from 6% to 6.3% in their unemployment rate. The number of unemployed aged 55+ increased by 60,000.<\/li>\n<li>The number of employed aged 55 and over, however, fell by 52,000, with all of that occurring among women.<\/li>\n<li>Temporary-help jobs, which often signal the job market\u2019s direction, fell by 12,000, the third straight monthly decline.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>There was a big jump \u2013432,000\u2014in older persons out of the labor force between May and June.\u00a0 The number out of the labor force had actually dipped in each month between January and April before jumping up by 77,000 in May and then by a substantially larger amount in June.<\/p>\n<p>Duration of unemployment showed a slight decline in June, as did long-term unemployment. \u00a0These numbers often fluctuate from month to month, so the picture over a period of months is more telling than a single month\u2019s change, according to the AARP Public Policy Institute folks.<\/p>\n<p>The gist of it: The picture is terrible for older workers, with unemployment hovering at or above one year since March.<\/p>\n<p>The report prompted President Obama to hold a Rose Garden news conference to address the issue. \u201cToday\u2019s job report confirms what most Americans already know: We still have a long way to go and a lot of work to do to give people the security and opportunity that they deserve,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe\u2019ve added more than 2 million new private sector jobs over the past 16 months, but the recession cost us more than 8 million. And that means that we still have a big hole to fill.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Ouch.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBut our economy as a whole just isn\u2019t producing nearly enough jobs for everybody who\u2019s looking.\u201d Talk about stating the obvious.<\/p>\n<p>Here are some specifics from the report:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>The largest gains came from companies in health care and leisure and hospitality, while manufacturers, which lost jobs in May, added a mere 6,000 slots in June.<\/li>\n<li>Budget pressure were clear in the public sector as the federal government swiped out 14,000 jobs, and state and local governments cut an additional 25,000. Nearly three-quarters of the job losses at the local level came in education.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>Obama\u2019s hope:<\/strong>\u00a0\u201cThere are bills and trade agreements before Congress right now that could get all these ideas moving,\u201d he said. \u201cAll of them have bipartisan support. All of them could pass immediately. And I urge Congress not to wait.\u00a0 The American people need us to do everything we can to help strengthen this economy and make sure that we are producing more jobs.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Nice notion. But not so close you can taste \u00a0it, in my opinion.<\/p>\n<p>Back to our supersurfer Laird Hamilton, he goes on to tell Jenkins: \u201cIt\u2019s not so much the vastness of the wave,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s more about the insignificance of us. When you become insignificant is when you truly begin to participate. That\u2019s when it becomes a harmonious act.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>My interpretation. You can\u2019t just sit and wring your hands. You need to participate. What are ways you can shift your job search into fields other than the one you work in today, or have for 20 years or more?<\/p>\n<p><strong>I\u2019m not talking reinventing yourself.<\/strong>\u00a0But rather redeploying your skills to find work in another area where jobs continue to crop up, say, healthcare and tech.\u00a0What I\u2019m saying is that you don\u2019t have to be a nurse to find a job in healthcare, there are all sorts of jobs within that realm from sales to customers support, bookkeeping and more. There\u2019s even tech-support within healthcare. You see what I mean.<\/p>\n<p>You might need to check out a community college program for certification in a specific subset, for instance, medical assistant or medical records administrator. (For more healthcare ideas, go to my<a href=\"http:\/\/www.aarp.org\/work\/working-after-retirement\/info-07-2011\/great-health-care-jobs-for-retirees.html\">\u00a0latest AARP column<\/a>.) What are some quick credentials you can add-on without a big tuition price tag?<\/p>\n<p>I think the most recent jobs postings data from\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.indeed.com\/\">Indeed.com<\/a>, an employment search web site, come in hand, as a reference for where the jobs are, if not the specific job. It\u2019s obvious that job postings for both tech and healthcare are well represented.<\/p>\n<p>And where are they? At the end of the second quarter San Jose ranked No. 1 in job postings per 1,000 people, according to Indeed.com\u2019s, latest calculations. Here\u2019s the cool\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.indeed.com\/jobtrends.jsp\">interactive jobs<\/a>\u00a0postings map. If you live in the Washington, D.C., Seattle or San Francisco metro areas, good news, they popped in at number two, three and four, by Indeed.com\u2019s calculation.<\/p>\n<p>And don\u2019t forget to check that list of the top employers for older workers published by Waltham, Mass.-based RetirementJobs.com, a web site for job-seekers age 50+, for a recognizance mission. \u00a0It ranks\u00a0Fortune 500 employers by their percentage of workers over age 50. These companies might offer possible leads.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Top Ten Fortune 500 Companies by percentage of Employees Age 50 and Older<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>1.\u00a0 American Airlines (AMR)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 39.157%<\/p>\n<p>2.\u00a0\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/finapps.forbes.com\/finapps\/jsp\/finance\/compinfo\/CIAtAGlance.jsp?tkr=ek&amp;tab=searchtabquotesdark\" target=\"_blank\">Eastman Kodak<\/a>\u00a038.420%<\/p>\n<p>3.\u00a0 TravelCenters of America\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a038.387%<\/p>\n<p>4.\u00a0 Delta Air Lines \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a037.688%<\/p>\n<p>5.\u00a0 United Airlines (UAL)\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a037.648%<\/p>\n<p>6.\u00a0\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/finapps.forbes.com\/finapps\/jsp\/finance\/compinfo\/CIAtAGlance.jsp?tkr=wy&amp;tab=searchtabquotesdark\" target=\"_blank\">Weyerhaeuser<\/a>\u00a036.877%<\/p>\n<p>7.\u00a0\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/finapps.forbes.com\/finapps\/jsp\/finance\/compinfo\/CIAtAGlance.jsp?tkr=eix&amp;tab=searchtabquotesdark\" target=\"_blank\">Edison International<\/a>\u00a036.225%<\/p>\n<p>8. Northeast Utilities\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 \u00a036.127%<\/p>\n<p>9.\u00a0 Smithfield Foods\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 35.948%<\/p>\n<p>10. United Services Automobile Association\u00a0 35.459%<\/p>\n<p>The findings, pulled from public records and surveys of employers and employees, show the airline industry as having the highest percentage of employees over age 50. American Airlines held the top slot with 39 percent of its staff over age 50.\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/finapps.forbes.com\/finapps\/jsp\/finance\/compinfo\/CIAtAGlance.jsp?tkr=goog&amp;tab=searchtabquotesdark\" target=\"_blank\">Google<\/a>\u00a0ranked among the lowest on the list, with just 13 percent topping that age threshold.\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.forbes.com\/kerryhannon\/2011\/06\/07\/lets-hear-it-for-the-companies-with-the-most-older-workers\/\">Read my post here<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Finally, Hamilton tells Jenkins: \u201cBones heal, but there can be emotional wounds. A lot of it is the psychological aspect of being held down. You\u2019re down in the dark kind of wondering if you\u2019re going to get back to the top.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>To read Jenkins\u2019 article, click\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/sports\/laird-hamilton-worlds-greatest-athlete\/2011\/07\/08\/gIQAIHRr3H_story.html\">here.<\/a><\/p>\n<div style=\"padding-bottom:20px; padding-top:10px;\" class=\"hupso-share-buttons\"><!-- Hupso Share Buttons - http:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/ --><a class=\"hupso_toolbar\" href=\"http:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/static.hupso.com\/share\/buttons\/share-small.png?w=640&#038;ssl=1\" style=\"border:0px; padding-top:5px; float:left;\" alt=\"Share Button\"\/><\/a><script type=\"text\/javascript\">var hupso_services_t=new Array(\"Twitter\",\"Facebook\",\"Google Plus\",\"Pinterest\",\"Linkedin\",\"StumbleUpon\",\"Digg\",\"Reddit\",\"Bebo\",\"Delicious\");var hupso_background_t=\"#EAF4FF\";var hupso_border_t=\"#66CCFF\";var hupso_toolbar_size_t=\"small\";var hupso_image_folder_url = \"\";var hupso_url_t=\"\";var hupso_title_t=\" WHAT TO DO ABOUT THE TERRIBLE JOB NEWS\";<\/script><script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/js\/share_toolbar.js\"><\/script><!-- Hupso Share Buttons --><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>read published article &nbsp; \u201cThere\u2019s nothing better in the world than a little bit of scared to get you doing the right thing. Fear can make you faster, smarter, stronger, absolutely.\u201d That\u2019s a quote from super-athlete surfer, 47-year-old Laird Hamilton, as told to sports columnist Sally Jenkins in today\u2019s Washington Post. I think it\u2019s an [&hellip;]<\/p>\n<div style=\"padding-bottom:20px; padding-top:10px;\" class=\"hupso-share-buttons\"><!-- Hupso Share Buttons - http:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/ --><a class=\"hupso_toolbar\" href=\"http:\/\/www.hupso.com\/share\/\"><img src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/buttons\/share-small.png\" style=\"border:0px; padding-top:5px; float:left;\" alt=\"Share Button\"\/><\/a><script type=\"text\/javascript\">var hupso_services_t=new Array(\"Twitter\",\"Facebook\",\"Google Plus\",\"Pinterest\",\"Linkedin\",\"StumbleUpon\",\"Digg\",\"Reddit\",\"Bebo\",\"Delicious\");var hupso_background_t=\"#EAF4FF\";var hupso_border_t=\"#66CCFF\";var hupso_toolbar_size_t=\"small\";var hupso_image_folder_url = \"\";var hupso_url_t=\"\";var hupso_title_t=\" WHAT TO DO ABOUT THE TERRIBLE JOB NEWS\";<\/script><script type=\"text\/javascript\" src=\"https:\/\/static.hupso.com\/share\/js\/share_toolbar.js\"><\/script><!-- Hupso Share Buttons --><\/div>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":653,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[14,6],"tags":[335,10,331],"class_list":["post-652","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-second-acts","category-second-verse-blog-on-forbes-com","tag-second-acts","tag-second-careers","tag-second-verse-blog-on-forbes-com"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/kerryhannon.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/04\/laird-150x150.jpg?fit=150%2C150&ssl=1","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p3YFQS-aw","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/kerryhannon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/652","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/kerryhannon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/kerryhannon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kerryhannon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kerryhannon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=652"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/kerryhannon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/652\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":882,"href":"https:\/\/kerryhannon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/652\/revisions\/882"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kerryhannon.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/653"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/kerryhannon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=652"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kerryhannon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=652"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/kerryhannon.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=652"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}