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Nearly a third of U.S. already at 10% unemployment

New July unemployment figures show that 15 states have already reached 10% unemployment, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Many economists and pundits have focused like vultures on the national jobless rate rising to 10% this year, as if crossing that threshold might signal a new level of doom.

We’re already there in 30% of the states and the District of Columbia. Double-digit unemployment is dreadful, but does it feel much different to the average jobless person who is struggling with the current national 9.4% jobless rate?

The Stand-Out States

Michigan continued to have the highest rate: 15%. Rounding out the top five are Rhode Island (12.7%), Nevada (12.5%), California and Oregon (11.9% each). The rates in California, Nevada, and Rhode Island, set new series highs.

The West has the highest regional jobless rate, at 10.5%, followed by the Midwest, at 10.2%.

The states with the lowest unemployment rates: North Dakota (4.2%), Nebraska and South Dakota (4.9%), Utah (6%), Iowa, Oklahoma, and Wyoming (6.5% each).

Getting Off the Jobless Roll

Whatever state you live in, the job market is likely very competitive — probably worse than you have ever experienced. If you are unemployed, consider these tips:

Be flexible. Look outside your usual industry, location, or experience level. Even a part-time job is a job, and what you make of the experience can bring you closer to your next career-building job.

Commit yourself to daily action. Looking for work should be your full-time job. Set daily or weekly goals. Get dressed and put yourself in a professional mindset, and be ready for phone calls that could be initial interviews.

Network as much as possible. Recruiters believe this is the best job-hunting tool, and it works. Reach out to everyone you know, and attend workshops and relevant professional events. Also make use of professional networking sites to expand your contacts, market yourself, and learn about new opportunities.

For more, I recommend these articles:

• Social Networking Basics for Job Hunters
• Keywords Can Make or Break Your Resume
• The Online Essentials for Your Job Search

And, just for fun, check out this analysis/prediction on “Why Unemployment (Probably) Won’t Hit 10%.”

Poll: 3 in 10 like employer’s health plan

The latest weekly poll on Yahoo! HotJobs takes the temperature of how workers and job seekers feel about their employer-sponsored health plans.

Poll Results

Q Are you satisfied with the health-care insurance provided by your employer? Yes 30% No 24% I don’t get insurance from my employer 17% I have no job or health benefits 29% 6457 Votes to date

Looks like a majority might welcome a change. But every day it seems harder and harder to get away from the status quo.

The open frontier in hiring today

The exploding popularity of social networking sites has created a new Wild West in the recruitment landscape, where few boundaries, guideposts, and rules exist. But recruiters and job seekers are rushing in for possible rewards.

A hiring helper?

A recent survey of hiring professionals put social networking sites — such as LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter — as the second-most effective job-search tool, behind [old-fashioned?] networking. Internet job boards ranked next, with newspaper classifieds and job fairs at the bottom of the list, according to the survey by outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

However, another survey of health-care recruiting professionals found that social networking sites brought in a very small number of external hires, compared with print and job-board postings. The research, released this summer by Shaker Recruitment Advertising & Communications, put social networking sites in last place, with 75% of respondents calling the category “not applicable” for recent external hires.

Maybe the perception hasn’t caught up with reality in many hiring departments?

More mixed messages

For job seekers, similar disparities exist, so it’s hard to gauge how much energy to devote to social networking site strategies. In a recent poll on Yahoo! HotJobs, only 36% of site visitors said they had used LinkedIn, Facebook, or Twitter for help in finding a job.

Younger job seekers are using the sites most for job hunting, but the strategy hasn’t been very effective. Recent college grads rated social networking sites last in terms of effectiveness for getting a job, even though 80% used the sites for job searches. Job boards ranked highest. (For more on this, see the analysis at Cheezhead.com)

The bottom line is simple: Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. Social networking sites can be extremely helpful, but don’t overlook the benefits of job boards, niche sites, print classifieds, and, especially, general networking.

Here are some good resources that can help job seekers with making good use of social networking sites:

• Social Networking Basics for Job Hunters
• Tweet Your Way to a New Job 
• 8 Little-Known Trick for the Job Hunt

Whatever you do, don’t ignore this open frontier of opportunity. To borrow a rallying cry from the Village People, “Go West!”

What a difference a month makes

The unemployment report for July was a bit of a surprise, as the jobless rate dropped a fraction instead of rising, as most economists expected. The news cheered investors last week and gave many of us a new ray of hope about an economic recovery.

But this week had new reports (slumping retail sales, a jump in foreclosures and first-time unemployment claims) that made the outlook cloudy once again.

“It’s going to be a recovery that only a statistician can love,” as Wells Fargo senior economist Mark Vitner said recently.

Nonetheless I am intrigued by Nate Silver’s analysis (at fivethirtyeight.com) of July’s jobless report. He basically uses the month’s data to argue why the unemployment rate WILL NOT go to 10%, as most economists predict.

Here’s a graph that outlines his projection, based on the difference between June and July jobless data.

The model is relatively simple, and Silver rightly cautions that none of us should put too much stock in economic forecast models. And he may have to thank all the long-term unemployed folks who’ve stopped looking for work — their departure contributed to July’s decrease to 9.4%.

Silver basically predicts that the recession doesn’t have enough gas to get us to 10% unemployment. Cross your fingers. All we can do is wait and watch.

Labor-market indicator signals improvement

On the heels of last week’s surprising government report of a slight dip in the unemployment rate, SHRM offers some hopeful news about the outlook for hiring.

More companies in the manufacturing and service sectors are hiring in August compared with the first few months of 2009, according to the Society for Human Resource Management’s (SHRM) Leading Indicators of National Employment (LINE) survey for August 2009. Highlights are below, and to access the full report, please go to SHRM LINE August 2009.

• Hiring expectations in August lag those from a year ago. Though hiring is down in August compared with the same time in 2008, more companies in both the manufacturing and service sectors will add jobs rather than conduct layoffs for the second month in row.
• There is some evidence that the job market is gradually improving. August marks the highest level of hiring in the manufacturing sector since October 2008. In the service sector in August, the hiring rate will surpass the layoff rate for the fourth consecutive month.
• Wages and benefits packages for new workers continue to decline. New-hire compensation rose at the slowest rate in July in five years in both the manufacturing and service sectors.

While it is still very tough in the job market right now, this small signal is worth paying attention to. In the next month or so I hope to see similar small signals to begin to ease the harshness facing so many jobless people.

Let’s hear it for jobs that stink

The “Dirty Jobs” clip in my last post reminded me of an overlooked article on Yahoo! HotJobs earlier this year, called “Jobs That Really Stink.”

Many serious jobs can be pretty stinky. Doggy daycare workers and garbage collectors are fairly common examples, but how about poultry processors? And as you can see from the article, some of these jobs can pay pretty well (crime-scene cleaners can make up to $60K per year).

Where’s the Appreciation Day for Employees in Stinky Jobs? I’m definitely grateful for the jobs they do. Someone should add it to the Hilda Solis to-do list.

In related news, here’s a fun little video on crappy jobs:

Kevin Shea: Crappy Jobs @ Yahoo! Video