July is Upon Us

One thing I have learned in 20+ years in the staffing field is that all bets are off at all times. Quite honestly, I was beginning to think the employment market was waking up as late April and early May were a bit more lively than at any time since 2008. Just when I started to get cautiously optimistic, things have slowed down dramatically again.

Several employers were hinting at making direct hires but have now reverted back to short term contractors to fill only the most essential needs. A few of my clients have moved their HR Directors to other roles and brought in outside experts to evaluate there entire staffing processes.

Why are we having such trouble reducing unemployment right now? I am unsure if it is fear on the part of companies, a lack of available capital to invest in new projects, a fear that many state governments are at a loss as to how to reduce deficits, lack of confidence in the federal Government or a combination of some or all of the above. Optimism has always been part of my method to avoid madness but there are days where I have had to dig extremely deep to remain positive of late.

In my younger days, before my back betrayed me, I used to love to visit bowling alleys. Back when scoring was done with pencil and paper (I am dating myself!), a bowler experiencing a bad game, would draw a line between frames to block out the bad and basically start over. Perhaps we all need to do this and look forward, not backward, to get things back on track sooner than later!