According to the news they say the unemployment rate is lower.. what do
you think

Is this nation wide or by States?

I believe it, but the jobs are service related like Mcdonalds and dont
pay or have any benefits.

i say lower!

So true Fanta. There was a time about two years ago, you could get a job
at the local McDonalds in Ohio and get paid $9.00 an hour...but no
benefits.

you think that's bad.drive taxi.SOME only pay 30%.others pay more.but
then again in EDMONTON,ALBERTA,CANADA there is a few co.'s that have
drivers that "rent"the cars that they own out.i inquired about this.if
you make $1200.00 a day minus fuel and rental of car you can have about
$750.00 cash per day in your pocket.but if you own your own car you pay
for the sub licence fee of $1200 per month. plus painting your car is
about the same.it all varies on who you rent a car from or lease a car
from.on some lease agreements if you alter the appearance of the car you
have 30 days to pay for a large debt.

its frustrating.. i just got out of college and have a bachelors degree
and it seams im not going to find a job in my field right away and i
don't know if i can make due with working retial

What's scary to me, is that I know of many people, baby boomers, who are
looking for work at time in their lives when our parents were saving for
retirement. So many of us have been outsourced or the cost of living
has increaced to the point that some can no longer make a living and
afford insurance, and afford a decent vehicle, and afford the gas, and
afford the increases in taxation etc in a job or field that they were
working for many years.

Many women in their late 40's into early 60's are going back school.
Not so much for a degree, but to catch up on the technology that would
give them a better paying job. But I fear those better paying jobs,
will become the entry level jobs of college grads each year, and school
may be for naught. And we all know that SS will not provide an adequite
living, if it's stays available at all.

Men are not so quick to go back to school, it is cost prohibitive.
Women, you see, can more easily get Federal & state aid and grants.
While men STILL make the greater income, so they, the men, continue in
low paying labor intensive jobs that young men will ignore as they too
are taking those entry level office and white colar jobs.

It is those of you in your 20's and 30's that will end up paying heavily
for cost of those surviving baby boomers who can not afford to support
themselves in their old age. Help us all now or pay for it later! This
is the legacy our government is leaving you and cursing us oldsters
with.

"Opportunities are expanding, but it doesn't mean everybody's job search
is easy," said Challenger. "But people who really want to look hard and
stay at it are finding work."

that quote is from the article i read.. i find it interesting cause most
people i know their working very hard to find something or keep what
they have

Classyjeff:

This may come as a shock to you but colleges are not in the busines of
preparing you for the job market, they are in the business of selling
you an education. Whether you can find employment in the field you were
educated in is of little or no concern to them. That said, just having
a degree is a door opener in many places of employment. As for making
do with working retail, you do what you have to do. It is easier to
find a job when you have a job than it is when you are unemployed. Take
whatever job you can get and do the absolute best you can at it. Then
when you apply for the job of your dreams, you will have a glowing
reference from your current employer which will mean a great deal to a
new prospective employer. While an employer may be impressed by your
degree, he or she will be equally impressed by a reference check from
your current employer that says glowing things about you. A degree plus
a proven work history even though it is not in your chosen field will go
a long way toward putting your resume at the top of the pile.

you are so right garden.
NOTHING and I mean NOTHING shows a perspective employer that you are hte
one for them as a referance from a current boss.
This referance is the ONLY way to show hard work, determnation,
willingness ot do what needs to be done, etc...
It also shows that you are not one of those stuck up rich brats that
think cause theyw ere able to go to colege for 4, 6, 8 years that they
are OWED a job where they want to work.

If you want to talk about employment, take a look at all the people that
own their business.

Here's some variables to factor into that equation...

-People fail when they set a goal and reach it, not when they reach a
goal and maintaint it.
-Successdul buainesses l

Garden is right. I'm in my 50's and doing manual labor for the first
time in my life. It was not enough to build my career under great
mentors. It meant nothing when the government ended that career. It was
not enough because I did not have that piece of paper that would back up
the years I spent building and developing myself in that career. But
having a job, having the abilty to preform this manual labor is a
blessing that many my age do not have, either they are physically unable
or can't pay the bills on this wage, so it's not worth it for them to
try, when there is so much other state and federal assistance. I'm
doing home improvement and repairs, and p/t work in a warehouse
environment, lots of lifting, cold and heat, wonderful for arthritis,
but employers, even for the office work I apply for, find that to be a
great compliment. Oddly what they are most interested in is that I'm
back in school, but they don't want to give you time off work to stay
there. So in the end I am not hired, for I refuse, at this point to quit
school. I do not qualify for any aid, I own my own home. And were I to
sell it, I would loose money as I can not afford the major repairs it
needs to sell for top dollar. If I do make money on the sale, I loose
it still, with capital gains tax. Yet this is not considerd when I apply
for assistance, as far as they are concerned, I own my home. I don't
know how I'm going to pay the mortgage from month to month, the
government put me out of work, but damn I have the American Dream, I own
that pride and joy, that money pit - My Home. What a weird society we
have.

Do the time in a nowhere job now, move one step at a time and never take
your foot off the last step before proceeding to the next. You have
that paper that says you are educated and that will take you far for a
long time - BUT beware of complacency, continue to take classes,
continue to take any certified program course an employer offers you,
even if you don't intend staying in that postion or in that field. You
never know when having this background will keep you from digging
ditches for minimum wage in the future.

Not sure about anywhere else but they say unemployment is at about 2-3%.
Tons and tons of jobs but no people to fill the vacancies. Our company
alone is dropping minimum standards and qualifications just to get
people in the door. Went to a seminar in about this very issue, to help
employers deal with and create new ways to bring people in. Apparently
it's going to be like this for a number of years.

Companies need to focus on retention, not recruitment. Better benefits,
competitive and attractive wages, bonus plan and perks to keep the good
employees. Companies are outbidding eachother to get the exceptional
workers. Subway and Tim Horton's pay starting wages anywhere from
$12-$14.00/hr so it's obvious every company is feeling the pinch.

Damn, I could serve coffee for 14 bucks an hour!!!

LOL

You are so right Jane, companys need to try and keep the good ones they
have!!

yep, is true nerves. A lot of companies are having a difficult time
dealing with places like that, that used to be the low entry level wage
payers. Now they have no choice but to pay better wages, benefit
packages, aid with continuing edcation, childcare, etc. to bring in and
keep good employees. That is forcing other companies to also increase
their wages and packages. Too many people living below the poverty line
or living pay check to pay check, so all in all it's a good thing in
that respect.

Perhaps unemployment is lower, still Big Factories continue to lay off.
When you lost your job you lost your benefits like the only life
insurance you had on yourself.
I say become self employed like myself. Check out NAAKYLE.COM and get
back with me and tell me what you think. I avg $1000 take home a week
and I'm only working this about 15 hours a week until this last week and
I'm so more motivated now.
Rob

Wow, I don't know what happened with my post...

About a third of it got cut off, *sigh*.

The whole point though, is that so many people are looking for jobs
rather than going after what they want. Yeah, I know, easier said than
done, but if you take that attitude "life" ends up becoming one of those
four letter words...

I think a lot of companies are feeling the effects of this Generation Y-
people filled with questions like "y should I have to do this", "y
should I do it your way", etc. Generation Y is filled with people that
don't have that old work ethic of doing your job well because how you do
anything is how you do everything. Anyone see the movie "Idiocracy"?
This movie is funny because its true.

Everyone goes through rough patches, heck I went through miles of broken
glass, but those challenges are opportunities to learn and improve.
Besides, life wouldn't be as interesting if we easily moved from
childhood to adulthood, easily finding careers and loved ones.

thanksa to ~FREE TRADE~ we have farmed out all the good paying jobs and
shipped them over seas!!..al that is left is low paying S-it jobs!... to
bad we vote in such a-s holes to run this country!!

However, free trade has also brought in foreign companies who employ
American workers. Basic economic theory says that the more money there
is in circulation, the better EVERYONE is economically.

The real problem is that Americans aren't considered the "smart choice"
from a business perspective. While its true that many companies will
favor countries like the phillipines for their work, its because they
have the same education as us with a better work ethic. It's not that
they are cheaper, its that they have better value. You want to keep jobs
in America, either start a business that only employs Americans, or
think of a solution to make Americans the best value in the job market.