Three of the safest bets to avoid unemployment

Digging into the Bureau of Labor Statistics' latest unemployment report...Three things jump out if you're looking for job stability:

1. Get a college degree. Workers with at least a bachelor's degree are only half as likely to be unemployed as workers overall.

The national unemployment rate for October was 6.5 percent. For workers with college degrees, it was 3.1 percent.

2. Work in management or professional occupations.

Again, the same jobless differential. Persons in the "management, professional, business and financial operations" occupations had only a 3 percent jobless rate.

3. Work in government.

There's the most striking job safety factor (unless you work in the mining industry, which has virtually no joblessness).

Unemployment in the government sector was a miniscule 2.5 percent last month.

http://economy.kansascity.com/?q=node/257

1. Check

2. Check

3. Check

and I'm still employed conditionally for life.

Maybe it's time to apply for a government job. :P

Not only that, it's predicated on what HAS happened. When the manufacturing sector was destroyed, then yes, most people who lost their jobs didn't have college degrees. But now that that industry is decimated, companies are going to look at the next places to cut -- management and white-collar jobs (banking, media, sales, etc.) The coming recession/depression isn't going to look anything like the past ones.

And as far as no joblessness in the mining industry -- Bwaahahahahahhahahahahahaaaa!

The person working the concrete float or taking your blood pressure or directing traffic has to be there. The architect, the doctor, and the police commissioner don't.

With construction slumping, health care on the verge of a collapse, and municipal government cutting back, the rank-and-filers and management alike aren't safe in any of them.

... of ANYONE that worked to make themselves "indispensable." Some of the most toxic people I've ever run across in any corporation were those deemed "indispensable," (especially at the management/executive level).

It's a "rule of thumb" for anyone familiar with internal controls to make sure people take vacations ... if only to have someone else 'cover' for them and (possibly) 'discover' any embezzlement or corruption.

:shrug: YMMV, of course.

The moral of the aphorism being that no one is truly indispensable.

the State Agency in Wisconsin which handles unemployment, laid off a bunch of people this year. And its not because they aren't busy... the money isn't there. They have a bigger workload than ever and fewer people to handle it.

employee story from this friggin' week.

I had to go to the SSA office because when I got robbed they got my I.D. and my son's Social Sec Card (I had to use it and so I had it in my purse). Well I had to have a card and so I finally got the old courage up to haul ass out to the SSA office (dealing with the federal government on ANY level is to be avoided at all costs AFAIC). First I had to find it. They moved it from a totally accessible location to one that is almost impossible to get to. No bus, have to go out on West Dodge Road by the now infamous clusterfuck by the Westroads, and on to 108th Street. Now they moved this place where it's so fucking hard to find the have to have signs pointing out where it is. No bus line, hard to get there, once you're in the neighborhood it's next to impossible to find, and they put the utility meters out over the sidewalk on the South parking lot so that if you're not totally aware of what's going on, well let's just say I hope you have insurance.

Anyway, there waw the typical bald minimum wage security guard with this macho attitude and (obligatory) shaved head acting like he's guarding the US Mint. To get past that schmuck you have to pick a number by pressing a field on a computer screen that indicates English or Spanish. (Now why the fuck only those two? We don't have other foreign speaking persons paying into SS?) Anyway, I get the number and go to wait and they call my number. NOW THIS IS WHERE I GOT PISSED. They have a blind person at the window. Now I believe in hiring people with physical disabilties. They definitely have a right to work. But the punchline to this story is that there is a person who sits next to her reading everything to her. And minding the printer. And pretty much doing everything except asking questions and some typing. I was floored. We are paying 2people to do that one job. I have been out there twice this week and it's been the same scenario both times. And this is how they work it out there.

They accomodate someone out there that is blind by paying another person to do most of the work for her. Okay, fine. But explain why they put the office in an area where there is no way to get there unless you drive. And in a really unfriendly driving area. With no bus route. Why would they do that when the people who need access to that office are the poor, the elderly, the sick, the handicapped? They have a seeing eye person for one of their employees, but they put the office where it is a total hardship for a majority of the people who need access to it to even get there? The old office on West Center Road was always packed with people. This one, both times this week, had five people in it at best.

Your federal tax dollars at work.

pregnant, I think she has someone who keeps her company during off hours.

Sorry to hear that they are so rare where you live.

We have the one.

It was the happiest miserable winter of my life.

What a bizarre thing to say. Mining is the CLASSIC boom bust industry.

Here's a recent example:



Xstrata recently closed its Lennard Shelf mine because of low zinc prices and Perilya, which is being targeted by CBH in a hostile bid, slashed staff at its Broken Hill lead, zinc and silver mine by more than half.

And don´t forget to buy t-bills with all your paychecks. Yep, that should make for feel secure!!!

What about all of us in our late 40's who happen to like our jobs,and the thought of going back to school and start over is not high on our list of things we want to do.
When you lose your job,sure you can find a new one,but you lose all your vacation time, you lose your seniority,you go back to the bottom of the barrel.
The next time you see the unemployment numbers remember each one of those is a person just like you.Instead of rearranging our workforce we should concentrate on keeping the jobs we currently have.
Can you tell we just went through a couple of large layoffs and they are nipping at my heels.1 more and I'm out the door.Sorry if I sound preachy.I'm just saying.

or having a long-lost relative leave you $$$$$

BTW, having degrees and being in management does not prevent one from being laid off. The only "perk" of management when the whole division is canned is that you get to give other people their pink slips after you get yours.

Nice little figures you've pulled out of the hat today.

Let me get this straight... It is the people with OUT (the lowest paid) workers who always get laid off? Funny... haven't heard about too many McDonalds store lay offs recently. Heard about a ton of IT Pro and engineer lay offs though.

You've bought in to the bull shit. I would say having a non-degree service job is perhaps the SAFEST job to have right now. You can't be outsourced. You don't make enough to make you an attractive lay off target. The economy is service based - you always need someone to take orders, make food, etc.

I can't imagine many more secure jobs than mine.

$25 an hour cash, steady work, steady demand.

It's good to be the King. :dunce:

I have a BS degree. I worked hard for 20 years and built a good career in high tech. The dot.com bust followed by 9/11 did me in.

Yeah, the unemployment #s are real people.

So are the people who fell off those rolls post-9/11 and never found their way back in. There are a lot of us out there, and our retirement funds are running out.

I'm now working on an associates degree in med lab tech. Something I *really* wanted to be doing in my mid-50s. Supposedly there is a worldwide shortage of MLTs. Unfortunately, by the time I get the associates degree I'll probably need at least a BS in DNA tech to stay employed.

Yippee -- by the time I get to start over from scratch I'll be at least 58.

On the other hand, suicide is painless.

That's one profession that has always been subject to sudden unemployment in economic downturns.