The Job Market --April, 2008

I love the US government and how they compile statistics. Every month, before releasing their jobs report, they use a formula to adjust the numbers upward or downward -- twice. Once at the time of release. The second time may come a few months later. January often has the most severe job cuts of the year because the government assumptions are that businesses close after Christmas. April is often a good month because the assumptions are that business is expanding. It reminds me of the old Politburo process in the former Soviet Union. The system makes up numbers based on fantasy. So, for example after the subprime mess hit last August, US business continued to expand. Suddenly, this year, the numbers stink . . . all based upon the adjustments that the Bureau of Labor Statistics makes to change things . . . and the media eats this junk up and politicians speak like there is some reality to it. All I know, is that last year, firms that were impacted by subprime cuts tens of thousands of jobs and they didn't show up in the statistics; this year, with many of the cuts behind us, they are. It is kind of evening things out. Jeff Altman The Big Game Hunter Concepts in Staffing thebiggamehunter@cisny.com © 2008 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 management leaders and staff in many disciplines since 1971. He is a retired certified leader of the ManKind Project, a not for profit organization that assists men with life issues, and a practicing psychotherapist. He is the author of “Get Yourself Hired NOW! The Big Game Hunter’s Guide to Head Hunting Your Next Job and Every Job After That” (in ebook and audio formats) and “Get Your Job Search Organized NOW!” (ebook) Both are available at www.getyourselfhiredNOW.com Register at the site and you will receive free copies of The International Job Board List and a Guide to Resume Writing. To receive a daily digest of positions emailed to you, search for openings that The Big Game Hunter is working on, to use Jeff’s free job lead search engine, Job Search Universe, to subscribe to Jeff’s free job hunting ezine, “Head Hunt Your Next Job, or his staffing ezine, “Natural Selection”, or to learn about his VIP program, go to www.jeffaltman.com. Explore some of The Big Game Hunter's products in "The Universe" series Job Search Universe: Search thousand of Job Boards and Corporate Job Sites for job leads at the same time The Resume Universe: Information about Resumes and Cover Letters The Consulting Universe: Search and Post Consulting Assignments and Consulting Jobs Self-Employment Universe: Business Opportunities and Work-At-Home The Diet Universe: Health & Wellness Information Personal Finance Universe: Taking Care of Your Money better Plus Search4Candidates.com: Refined Searching for Resumes and Candidate Leads Search4JobLeads.com: The site that recruiters use to find job leads VIP Personal Search: Hire Your Own VIP Personal Search Agent The Job Market Blog: Blogging and news about the job market since August 2001 4ITProfessionals: Search for jobs, resume services and post your resume—targeted on IT professionals HeadHuntYourNextJob.com: 4 Search Products in one place Indian Job Network: Network for Work in India