The stimulus package have either created or saved existing jobs out there (about 650,000 jobs). A small improvement compared to the number of people unemployed or underemployed currently in the US. In October 2009, our unemployment rate is at 10.2% according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. They say the odds of landing a job today is like getting accepted to a major Ivy League university.
The 650,000 jobs created or saved by the stimulus package so far make up only a small step toward correcting the gap between the tens of millions of unemployed people and the few openings that those people are fighting over.
Even the administration's goal of creating 3.5 million jobs is far below what the economy really needs. With an official unemployment rate of 10.2 percent, the gap between the number of full-time job openings and the number of people who are unemployed has widened.
Since the beginning of the recession in December 2007, job openings declined from 4.4 million to 2.4 million and the number of officially unemployed persons grew from 7.5 million to 15.7 million, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
If the 15.7 million officially unemployed workers were to apply for those 2.4 million jobs, the chance of any one of them finding a job are about 15 percent, or roughly the same odds as being accepted to the University of Pennsylvania. The official figure only counts workers as unemployed if they have searched for a job within the past four weeks. But, does it make sense to exclude people who have not looked for work in the past month? Probably not, given that statistics show workers are trying harder than ever to find a job and only give up looking after prolonged periods of unemployment.
The average duration of official unemployment -- which, by definition, requires that people be actively searching for a job -- has increased to 26.9 weeks, or just over a half a year.
But after many months of unsuccessful job hunting, some people do give up hope. And after four weeks of not looking for a job, they are dropped from official unemployment. It is primarily for this reason that since May, the official labor force has shrunk by 1.1 million people.
The exclusion of these so-called "discouraged" workers from statistics means that the official number of unemployed severely understates the weakness in the labor market. If you include these workers, the unemployment rate would rise to 13 percent, or 21.3 million.
If these workers were to apply for the 2.4 million jobs available, the odds of securing a job would be 11.2 percent, or roughly the same as getting into the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Link
Since December 2007, 30 million people in the US are unemployed, underemployed or completely discouraged in searching for jobs. Though the odds mentioned, these numbers are still better than winning the lottery (sorry, still not great news but thought I mention that). This recession is so upsetting, people are not focused on career building anymore, they just want a job.
For every one posting for hire, each available position is receiving literally 100 or more applicants. Even entry-level positions are sought after. Employers have to shift through all those applications and weed out the over-qualified and those that are completely unqualified for the position. For the individuals who may be a right fit for a position, it will take weeks (even months) before hearing back from the company.
It is such hard times out there.
College graduates are the hardest hit. They have to compete with seasoned and experienced applicants.
Those who gave up looking have to tap into their reserves: their savings, 401K, IRAs or sell their house. Ouch!
Stay strong everyone!
The economy should turn around!
