Archive for August, 2011

4 Million Jobs Filled in the USA in June, 2011 – JOLTS of Job Market Reality

August 22nd, 2011 by Susan P. Joyce

4,051,000 jobs were filed in June, 2011, and over 3,100,000 jobs were open at the end of June, 2011!

Much better than you thought, right?

Welcome to JOLTS – monthly reports issued by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, every month.

JOLTS Reports?  Yes, every month since January 2000, the Bureau of Labor Statistics analyzes the number of hires during a month and the number of jobs open at the end of the same month.  The result is called the “Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey” a.k.a. “JOLTS.” 

The JOLTS survey covers all nonagricultural industries in the public and private sectors for the 50 States and the District of Columbia.  JOLTS collects data on total employment, job openings, hires, quits, layoffs and discharges, and other separations

This provides some very interesting and encouraging, information about the job market.  While we obsess and wring our hands every month over the high unemployment rate and the low number of new jobs created, JOLTS offers additional  information that is a better indication of what job seekers are experiencing in the current job market.

The data is a couple of months old when released, while the statisticians at  BLS do their analysis, but on the better-late-than-never theory, new information is released every month.

A couple of years ago, as the recession began, my friend (and every job seeker’s friend) Dick Bolles, author of the classic book What Color Is Your Parachute? introduced me to the US Department of Labor’s JOLTS reports.  We should all follow Dick’s advice, and check it out.  We’ll probably feel better as a result.

Don’t Send Me (or Anyone Else) Your Resume!

August 15th, 2011 by Susan P. Joyce

“Spray and pray” resume distribution (sending it to every email address you can find or posting it in every job board you can find) is a waste of time, and makes you look desperate and dumb.  Don’t do it yourself, and don’t hire a resume distribution “service” to do it for you.  

Not only do you look desperate, spray-and-pray may send your resume into the wrong hands, for example, to:

  • Your current boss, if you are employed, or someone else you work with, which can result in loss of the job you have.
  • Someone who will use your information for their own purposes completely unrelated to job search – selling your contact information to mass marketers, for example.  Need more spam, junk phone calls, or junk mail?
  • Someone intent on identity theft or other nasty action.

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