Don’t Go Crazy

Don’t Go Crazy

If you act based upon what newspapers and magazines suggest and infer you can go crazy. This is true from investment advice, the latest fashions and trends, and certainly true of the labor market.

For several years, newspapers and magazines were incessantly reporting on the demise of the US technology labor market. For the first time, large numbers of people were being laid off (200000 lost their jobs during the last recession). Parents were telling their children to forsake tech as a career. Outsourcing was going to destroy the future.

Now when you read the Money Magazine http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/bestjobs , you discover that two of the top ten jobs are in technology (the #1 position is software engineer). In its cover story, Informationweek (http://www.informationweek.com) reports US IT employment hits a record high in numbers of jobs, job security and satisfaction are on the climbing and that the median salary for managers is now just under 6 figures ($99000 to be exact). All this while offshore outsourcing is continuing to grow dramatically.

And, watch this—the data includes non-US labor (people who are working on visas), people who traditionally cause salary data to be lower.

So, the forecast in technology is incredibly strong because the seeds the sow the next boom always occur during a recession.

Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter
Concepts in Staffing
jeffaltman@cisny.com

© 2006 all rights reserved.

Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter, is Managing Director with Concepts in Staffing, a New York search firm. He has successfully assisted many corporations identify leaders and staff in technology, accounting, finance, sales, marketing and other disciplines as employees or consultants since 1971. He is also a certified leader of the ManKind Project, a not for profit organization that assists men with life issues, and a practicing psychotherapist.

To subscribe to Head Hunt Your Own Job, Jeff Altman’s job search e-zine, go to http://www.sayhi.to/JeffAltman enter your email address in the subscription box and lick to subscribe.. While you’re there, sign up to receive a daily digest of jobs emailed to you as we learn of them and read additional job hunting or hiring tips.

If you would like Jeff and his firm to help you with hiring staff, or if you would like help with a strategic job change, send an email to him at jeffaltman@cisny.com (If you’re looking for a new position, include your resume).

Statistic

60 percent of all workers don't like their jobs, according to a survey by the online job search site, CareerBuilders.com.

Most Job Losses

Most Job Losses

Numeric decline in wage and salary employment by detailed industry, projected 2002–12

Industry	Thousands
Cut and sew apparel manufacturing	-205
Aerospace product and parts manufacturing	-83
Semiconductor and other electronic component manufacturing	-79
Computer and peripheral equipment manufacturing	-68
Fabric mills	-67
Wired telecommunications carriers	-62
Navigational, measuring, electromedical and control instruments manufacturing	-55
Private households	-54
Textile and fabric finishing and fabric coating mills	-42
Pulp, paper and paperboard mills	-42
Postal Service	-38
Petroleum and petroleum products merchants wholesalers	-34
Oil and gas extraction	-34
Travel arrangement and reservation services	-32
Iron and steel mills and ferroalloy manufacturing	-31
Electric power generation, transmission and distribution	-31
Basic chemical manufacturing	-31
Converted paper product manufacturing	-31
Apparel knitting mills	-30
Fiber, yarn and thread mills	-27

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Fastest Growing Occupations

Fastest Growing Occupations

Percent growth in employment, projected 2002–12

Medical assistants	59%
Network systems and data communications analysts	57
Physician assistants	49
Social and human aide assistants	49
Home health aides	48
Medical records and health information technicians	47
Physical therapist aides	46
Computer software engineers, applications	46
Computer software engineers, systems software	45
Physical therapist assistants	45
Fitness trainers and aerobics instructors	44
Database administrators	44
Veterinary technologists and technicians	44
Hazardous materials removal workers	43
Dental hygienists	43
Occupational therapist aides	43
Dental assistants	42
Personal and home care aides	40
Self-enrichment education teachers	40
Computer systems analysts	39

Note: Average for all occupations is 15 percent. Of the 20 fastest growing occupations, 16 are in health care or computers.

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Employers Boost March Payrolls by 211,000

Employers, in a springtime hiring burst, boosted payrolls by 211,000 in March and pushed the nation's unemployment rate down to 4.7 percent.