Jobless

The grim numbers that represent the current unemployment rate in the United States are a discouraging and rude awakening from a dream, in which recovery from the recent recession was just a day away.

According to Hopkins (2002) the unemployment rate has reached an eight-year high of 6% in April (p. 3).
And this is just a nationwide average, because there are work-challenged areas, such as some parts of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County, where the percentage has exceeded 14%! The raw reality grins at us with a scary number of 8.59 million Americans who are out of a job. It seems that, after the initial patriotic call for a resilient approach on all fronts, the normal trend has been gradually sinking in, with all its consequences.

The harsh market situation is definitely affecting recent college graduates, who, according to several sources, remain without a job for at least 6 months after graduating. And even if they find a source of income, they may have to accept either an offer for doing something that is way out of their line of specialty, or one that is grossly underpaid, given their current skills.

But not only inexperienced youngsters are suffering. The alarming trend in unemployment is forcing more and more mature members of the potential U.S. workforce to upgrade their skills in order to stay current and marketable. It is almost disheartening to see how hard people, who have been secure in one workplace for decades, are now struggling with the process of going back to school and trying to find a job to pay the monthly bills.

Of course there is a positive side to everything; so too, to this development. Because we have to be so alert in staying current, we are forced at the same time to stay fit. We continue to learn; we school ourselves to our highest ability; we remain aware of the danger of competitiveness; and we are enforced to excel. In this spiraling vacuum called the U.S. job market, one finds him/herself rapidly becoming obsolete. No wonder, that school enrollment, especially at the college level, is skyrocketing. Some people attend school to specifically learn one new skill in their area of interest (often, a certain computer program), but others go for the max: a degree. Nothing wrong with that!

A local college representative told me recently that there is a direct interaction between the employment climate and the enrollment numbers in community colleges. When one goes up, the other goes down, vice versa. The best there is to learn from this tough situation is that being current is not the only thing we have to strive for. Even more important may be, thorough self-examination, in order to find that particular skill within us, that makes us stand out from the rest: that one thing that we can mention with pride in each job interview. A generally good way to maintain marketability can be found in Tom Peters' 6 suggested focus points:
1) Mastery (be noticeably good at something the world values)
2) Who You Know (focus more on peers than on bosses these day).
3) Entrepreneurial Instinct (act as if you were running your own business. Think of yourself as Maggie Inc., who happens to be at [So-And-So] Capital Services Inc. at the moment.)
4) Love Of Technology (embrace technology. 'Coping' with it is not enough).
5) Marketing (get your story out on the airwaves. Do it via your personal Web site, for instance.)
6) Passion For Renewal: You've got to constantly improve and, on occasion, reinvent yourself.

The unemployment situation in America may contain a valuable message and an invaluable lesson to us, the workforce: Now, more than ever, it all boils down to this statement: don't compete, excel!

References:
Hopkins, B. (2002, Saturday, May 4, 2002). 8.59 million now jobless - Unemployment rate climbs to 6%. Daily News, pp. 1 & 3.
Peters, T. (2000). The New Wired World of Work. Business Week(3696), 172-174.
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Author Notes:

Joan Marques contributes and publishes news editorial to http://www.joanmarques.com. A source for motivation and a spiritual approach in the creation of a successful work environment.