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.

February 3 through 6, 2009, people interested or involved in the “green industry” met in Washington, D.C., for the 3rd annual Good Jobs/Green Jobs Conference.  Over 2,500 people attended from every field – members of the United Steel Workers Union, teachers and college professors, members of both federal and local governments, scientists, environmentalists, carpenters, builders, electricians, farmers, geeks, and more.

Just looking at the list of Conference sponsors is enlightening and very encouraging: the Blue Green Alliance, the Sierra Club, the United Steelworkers Union, the Communications Workers of America Union, the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Service Employees International Union, and the Laborers’ International Union of North America.  What an amazing collection of people and varied nterests! 

My Take-Aways from the Conference:

There are big opportunities for all of us.

This is really a win/win – people work (and the economy improves) and we take better care of the environment (and the environment improves). 

More education will be needed in the future.  Some of it could be self-paced or even just done by reading up on the topics now.

Also, many opportunities for people right now, with little extra training – carpenters, electricians, plumbers for the weatherization, construction and de-construction, and installation of solar systems in both homes and buildings.

Several speakers talked about their “shovel-ready” projects.  Sounds very promising!

Much was talked about:

* “Weatherization” of existing homes and buildings

* “De-construction” of homes and buildings that can’t be weatherized, with (of course) recycling of as many of the construction elements as possible.

* Great (and growing) need for installers (and maintainers) of solar, photovoltaic, wind, etc power elements. These need training.

*  In-place facilities, maintenance, manufacturing, and engineering people who understand “sustainability”. More training needed.

* New “green” products many of which will be developed in the USA and at least some of which will hopefully be manufactured in the USA

* New technologies developing, to be invented, produced, marketed, and maintained.

Several universities were there with their “green MBA” programs rolling out. Many community colleges are looking to do the “green collar” training.  Home energy audit training (“HEAT”) program for veterans is even under development.  And there will be countless other energy training options

The “greening” of our economy seems like a variation on the impact of computers/IT and the Internet on our lives and processes. Starting small, with isolated pockets of expertise, but eventually permeating everything we do (finally).

Also looks like lots of opportunities, regardless of the color of the collar!  Yea!

Yes, there definitely are jobs out there, waiting for the right candidate.  You just have to know where to look:

• The 150 Best Recession-Proof Jobs – article from TIME magazine
• Recession? Not for these businesses – article from BusinessWeek Online
• Census Taker for the U.S. Census Bureau

  These jobs are open across the country, in every city and state.  They are “temporary” until December, 2010, and they are part-time.  So if you’re in school or looking for a supplement to your income, check them out.  My impression from the recruiters I spoke with is that they are getting desperate to line people up, get them trained, and get started.

• Professional, administrative, and agent positions with the FBI

  Here’s an earlier blog post about them.  There are over 3,000 openings to be filled ASAP.

Good luck with your job search!

According to a recent Business Week article, based on U.S. Department of Labor data, the occupations with the lowest unemployment right now are:

Current
  Rate      Occupation

  3.0%      Professional and related occupations
  3.7%      Managment, business, and financial operations
  6.7%      Sales and related occuptations
  9.0%      Transportation and material moving occupations
  9.4%      Production occupations
12.1%     Construction and extraction occupations

The official August to September U.S. Unemployment Rate stayed steady at 6.1%. Not bad news (although we hope for better, of course).

On the other hand, the “long term” number has climbed to over 20% of those currently counted as unemployed. The “seasonally adjusted” rate for September is 21.1%, a 1.5% increase over August’s seasonally adjusted rate of 19.5%.

[Note: when the U.S. Department of Labor talks about "long-term unemployment" in the October report on unemployment, they are referring to the people who have been unemployed for more than 6 months ("27 weeks and over" in DOL jargon).]

In addition, the seasonally-adjusted number of people taking part-time jobs because they couldn’t find full-time employment also increased, by nearly 6%.

So, while some indicators are clearly not headed in the best direction for job seekers, all the news isn’t bad.

While that is definitely an increase in the average length a typical person is unemployed, the good news is that, STILL, nearly 80% of the unemployed find new jobs in FEWER than 6 months. Wise job hunters will take that information into account, and while expecting that their job search will last fewer than 6 months, they will plan and allocate their spending as though it will take much longer. 

Best Job Search Strategies:

Check Indeed’s database of jobs posted to find promising smaller employers in your area who are hiring.

Check the online business news for press releases or press coverage of these employers.

Set up Google Alerts on the organization’s name.

Use the Internet to research those employers -

What do they do, and how well do they do it?

Are they growing? New contracts, new big customers, new locations, or new divisions announced on their Website or in the business news?

Reputation?

Financial standing?

Contact members of your network (family and friends, former colleagues, other alumni/ae of your college, etc.) for points of entry into the target employers’ organizations.

If at all possible, find that job BEFORE you become unemployed.  Waiting for the proverbial “ax to fall” (or waiting to collect a nice severance package) before you begin your job search is a gamble that may or may not pay off for you long-term.