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Job Seekers Newsletter
September 2008
Welcome Everyone!
As this year progresses, the job market continues to indicate a slower growth period for jobs. We wish you the best of success for your job search! Our site and resources, plus the leadership of the job support groups, are here to help.
Comments About the U.S. Job Market
Comments From survey resources:
Payroll Survey
ADP is a major payroll services provider. ADP conducts studies of payroll activity of a sampling of 500,000 clients and recently reported the following:
- The U.S. lost 33,000 private-sector nonfarm jobs in August.
- The service sector gained 45,000 jobs in August, while the goods-producing sector lost 78,000.
"The decline in August continues the recent trend in employment that is consistent with an economy that is growing slowly but has not fallen into recession," according to the report.
Advertised Job Vacancies
The Conference Board
The number of U.S. jobs posted online rose to more than 4.8 million in August, up 7% from July, according to The Conference Board's measure of online help-wanted ads. Compared to August 2007, the number of online ads was up 4%.
"We have seen no real improvement in labor demand throughout 2008 and there is little or no indication in the data that there will be a turnaround in employment for the rest of this year," said Gad Levanon, senior economist at The Conference Board. "However, the August seasonal rebound is some positive news that American business is still looking for workers."
Monster.com
- Monster.com conducts and reports a monthly study of online advertising of jobs and notes that the index is up slightly, but still below a high level of one year ago.
- "Employers are now stepping up their online recruitment efforts in preparation for the fall hiring season, but activity in the job market remains muted compared to a year ago," said Jesse Harriott, VP of research at Monster.
Employer Survey
The Leading Indicators of National Employment (LINE) Report, launched in 2004, is a monthly study conducted by the Society for Human Resources Management (SHRM) and Rutgers University School of Management. The survey gathers information from HR Management of 500 manufacturing firms and 500 service firms. Key findings include:
- Hiring expectations are at lowest level in four years of surveys
- Job vacancies are at lowest level in both manufacturing and service sectors
"Overall, the September employment expectations report shows a continuation of the trend toward a generally softer labor market, according to Jennifer Schramm, SHRM manager of workplace trends and forecasting.
“We’ve got lower employment expectations than we saw at this time last year,” she stated.
Comment: Our favorite measure of the job market is Recruiters. Despite the up, down, sometimes sideways movement of monthly job data this year, the unemployment rate of Recruiters is close to zero percent. Recruiters are the first people to lose their jobs in a genuine, widespread economic slowdown. That is not happening. As we have noted in previous newsletters, 2008 is the so far, so good year for jobs!
Alliance Partners
We support the following resources in service to job seekers:
- HACEUSA, a professional Hispanic Association
- Career Concepts USA: Job Fair resource
Networking Tip Of The Month
Article on the Resume-Interview Connection...
In 2002, Careerbuilder.com published an article focused on the continuity of the job search process. The article highlights:
- Job specifications
- Resume design
- Phone Screen content
- Interview focus
To view the full article: The Resume-Interview Connection
Networking Group of the Month
Holy Family Church, Inverness IL
The Job Support Group of Holy Family was launched in September 1986 and has met weekly to assist job seekers in the Chicagoland community. Keep up the good work!
Important Information
Leaders: please review your Job Support Group web page and see if all information is accurate and up-to-date. Please send any corrections to work@workministry.com.
Remember networkers: once you have landed your job, complete our landings survey.
Quote of the Month
" The quality of a person's life is in direct proportion to their commitment to excellence, regardless of their chosen field of endeavor."
Vince Lombardi
A Prayer While You Are In Transition
The will of God for your life is simply that you submit yourself to Him each day and say, "Father, Your will for today is mine. Your pleasure for today is mine. Your work for today is mine. I trust You to be God. You lead me today and I will follow."
- Kay Arthur
We hope you have enjoyed this month's Newsletter!
The Work Ministry Team
Contact us at work@workministry.com
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