Where are the jobs?
The August BLS jobs report dropped this morning and the news is fairly bleak: only 22,000 new jobs were created in August and the unemployment rate is now 4.3%.
If you've been following me for the past few months, you know that I’ve been watching what I’m calling the “real job market index," which includes the number of people who are underemployed along with those who are counted in the base unemployment numbers. Here’s where the “real job market index” is coming out this month:
7.4 million people are unemployed (1.9 million of these for 27+ weeks)
4.7 million people are employed part-time for economic reasons
6.4 million people are not counted in the labor force but want a job
= 18.5 million people who are unemployed or underemployed (up from 17.8 million in June)
With a total US labor force of roughly 170 million workers, we’re looking at a 10.9% underemployment rate.
I took a quick look at LinkedIn's workforce hiring data over the past year and the only industries that have generated hiring growth over the past 12 months are Accommodation and Food Services (2.2% YOY growth) and Technology, Information and Media (0.3% YOY growth).
All of this is to say: if you or someone that you know is struggling to find work right now, you aren't alone.
I've personally spoken with 300+ executives in the past year across all industries and roles (if I add in webinars and comments/DMs, that number easily hits 1000+). I've talked with CFOs for emerging start-ups, VPs of Marketing for Fortune 500 consumer products companies, IT Directors for global pharma leaders, and others who have worked hard to build careers that they are proud but aren't sure about what the right next step is.
For example, last week I talked with a 60-something executive who has been doing all the right things, but still hasn't landed a new job. She's well-connected and has leveraged her network to the best of her ability. Her network helped her to land a 5-figure role for the time being, but nothing close to the scope and salary of her past leadership positions. She's wondering where she went wrong.
Some of this is truly a numbers game: In 2023, there were about 6 million jobs posted on LinkedIn in August. Now, it's about 4 million (that's a 33% decline in 2 years).
When there's a lot of competition and only so many jobs to go around, it's naturally going to be harder to find work.
There is no magic hack to this.
There's no secret system that guarantees results.
I talked with CNBC yesterday about my advice for people as we hopefully head into a "September Surge" in hiring. My biggest tip: maintain your confidence and let doubt set in during an extended job search.
If you've ever watched or played poker, then you've seen (or lived) being "on tilt" - you have a bad beat and that starts to cloud everything. You completely lose confidence in your decision-making and that filters into all of your decisions.
I hope that won't be you.
There is a market component to all of this that is out of your control. Hang in there - any company would be lucky to have you.
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Take care of yourself and have a wonderful weekend!
Colleen
