Wednesday, December 25, 2013

Looking Ahead to 2016

I wanted to share this interesting look at the employment projections for 2016.  Trends are not all that different than I would have expected except that positions related to Information Technology seem to be trending upward.  Here is the link to check out:
http://www.boston.com/jobs/2013/12/23/the-year-the-fastest-growing-jobs/GGDo2PVgihmpsurdiPGUhO/story.html

Tuesday, December 3, 2013

Some Thoughts Inspired by Black Friday

2013 is winding down and I am personally hopeful that 2014 will bring much greater opportunities in the job market.  As I wandered through a half empty shopping mall at 8:00 AM on Black Friday, feeling quite good that I dodged temptation and did not head out at 8:00 PM on Thanksgiving  helping deprive retail workers of the time they should have been allotted to spend with their families, I started thinking about a variety of topics.

First, I was very impressed by the energy some of the retail associates demonstrated that day even though many of them were either awake all night or up many hours before sunrise.  Two young men in particular stood out as they handled multiple customers with skill and worked their stockrooms to identify merchandise that was absent from their sales floors.  Several of these individuals are destined for success and hopefully many will be offered management positions when they are available.

Second, I noticed that people were buying more essentials such as linens, pillows, sweatshirts, winter jackets and less jewelry, glitzy clothing, and overpriced toys.  We are definitely still being exceptionally cautious with the precious few dollars available to us. I certainly hope manufacturers realize that is where to put most of their investments and leave the more frivolous products for another time when perhaps their will be more ready cash on hand.

Third, the average age of the employees in many of the larger stores seemed significantly older than in recent years.  With unemployment still at near record highs, it is easier to find seasoned professionals ready to take holiday jobs as their unemployment benefits and 401K plans run out.  It is sad to see this happen and think of all the teens and college students who will struggle to fund their educational plans because they could not obtain seasonal work.  Personally, I have noticed in recent weeks that several engineers, chemists, accountants, etc. who are in my LinkedIn network have announced they are working in seasonal retail jobs.  I am happy they are working but disappointed it has come to this.

Being eternally optimistic, I am glad that many people are back to work at some level, putting cash in their wallets and giving them some positive energy to build upon.  I am equally happy that many retail prices seem to be the same or even lower than last year which might make it possible for merchandise to sell a bit better, creating some new jobs along the way.  While not at all easy, we definitely need to keep finding new ways to produce lemonade!