The world is heading in a different direction and many things have changed

The professionals will have it
The professional fields will command higher pay. This means lawyers, research scientists and software engineers. On the other end of the scale will be the lower-skill and lower-paying jobs, like home health caregivers and store clerks. For those in between the outlook is bleaker. Economists foresee fewer moderately paid factory supervisors, postal workers and office administrators. That’s the sobering message American workers face as they celebrate Labor Day at a time of high unemployment, scant hiring and loss of job security. The US is not expected to regain the 8.4 million jobs lost to the recession until 2014 or later.

Unemployment
The August unemployment rate rose to 9.6 percent. Not enough jobs were created to absorb the growing number of people seeking work. The unemployment rate has exceeded 9 percent for 16 months, the longest such stretch in nearly 30 years.

Even when the job market does pick up, many people will be left behind. The threat stems, in part, from the economy’s continuing shift from one driven by manufacturing to one fueled by service industries. Pay for future service-sector jobs will tend to vary from very high to very low. At the same time, the number of middle-income service-sector jobs will shrink, according to government projections. Any job that can be automated or outsourced overseas is likely to continue to decline.

The service sector’s growth could also magnify the nation’s income inequality, with more people either affluent or financially squeezed. The nation isn’t educating enough people for the higher-skilled service-sector jobs of the future, economists warn.

Real estate
The biggest factor has been the real estate collapse. The vanished jobs range from construction workers and furniture makers to loan officers, appraisers and material suppliers. Moody’s Analytics estimates the total number of housing-related jobs lost at 2.4 million.

Manufacturing
Manufacturing has shed 2 million jobs since the recession began. Construction has lost 1.9 million, financial services 651,000.
On top of real estate-related job losses, manufacturing is likely to keep shedding jobs, sending lower-skilled work overseas. Millions who worked in those fields will need to find jobs in higher-skilled or lower-paying occupations.

Healthcare
This sector is expected to be the leading job generator, adding 4 million by 2018, according to Labor Department data. An aging population requires more doctors and nurses, physical therapists, home health aides and pharmacists. Many of these jobs will pay well. Physical therapists averaged about $76,000 last year, according to the department’s data. Others pay far less. Home health care aides earned an average of just $21,600. Home health care and personal care aides are expected to add about 900,000 jobs by 2018.

Brace yourself for another bout of stock exchange-itis

Another week and I’m down again. Another week and the experts are frantically searching for convincing explanations as to why the stock exchange keeps sinking.

Another week and someone’s taking bites out of my portfolio, making it look sick compared to what it was a couple of months ago. The U.S. markets are bracing for more pain from likely abysmal June non-farm payroll figures to be released today which could edge the economy closer to a dreaded double-dip recession.

The Dow Jones

The Dow Jones industrial average continued its week-long slide on Thursday, down more than 150 points to a low of 9,621 at one point while the Nasdaq tumbled as much as 2.3% to 2,061 points before both recouped some of their losses in the afternoon. Michael Englund, chief economist with Action Economics in Denver, said while investors likely priced in much of their negativity on Thursday, they won’t need much prodding to continue their near-panic selling.

Downside numbers

“Everyone has bet on a downside number, so we may have to see some weakness above and beyond what’s been priced in to see a continued sell-off,” he said. “The fear is that the jobs data will feed the frenzy. We’re seeing a panic environment like during the financial crisis when people would believe just about anything.” He expects a decline of about 160,000 jobs, ahead of consensus estimates of 116,000 jobs lost based on a survey of 83 economists conducted by Bloomberg. Economists, based on the same survey, are also forecasting the unemployment rate to rise to 9.8%.

Jobs

This is the time to jam your hat down over your eyes and hang onto your job at all costs. If you lose it, you may not find another one so easily in the current market.

The June payroll numbers have long been expected to be negative, owing to a large spike in temporary workers hired by the government the previous month during the U.S. census. However, investors have already found plenty of reasons to be pessimistic about Friday’s job figures. Ryan Wang, economist with HSBC Securities, said about 250,000 jobs will be lost due to the census, which, as expected, should skew non-farm payrolls.

Consumer attitudes

“This deterioration in consumer attitudes follows downward revisions to consumer spending and economic growth in the first quarter of 2010, and suggests that consumer spending could be constrained unless the labor markets see further improvements,” David Onyett-Jeffries, economist with RBC Economics, said in a note.

The market

Market watchers should train their attention on the private-payrolls figure, which gives a better indication of non-public sector sentiment. In particular, the service sector only grew by 30,000 jobs last month, which suggests employers are still reluctant to hire permanent workers.

The bright side

On the bright side, the U.S. has seen some modest wage growth and the average hours worked has risen. “It’s important for this to continue so the fears of a double dip in this economy won’t happen. As long as you have modest income growth, that’s supportive for total economic growth.”

Some people have different jobs

Roger and Tiger
Well, what about Roger Federer, he goes and plays tennis every day? Or Tiger Woods and his golf? The three of us all have something in common, we work for ourselves. If I make a mistake in my writing I suffer in that I may not get any more work. If Roger or Tiger miss a shot they have only themselves to blame and only they will suffer the consequences. But what if we worked for a team?

Poor Old England
This past Saturday was a miserable one for England. The failure on behalf of the team took place in the small town of Rustenburg where the mighty English team, possible favorites to win the cup, played against USA, a relatively minor football country. The entire Rustenburg stadium was awash with English flags, all declaring their origins. Even though the US by far lead all other nations in terms of tickets bought for the World Cup, they were either supporting some other team or had sold them to the English supporters.

The photographers
In a pre-kick-off moment worthy of a Leon Shuster movie, the horde of photographers marched like a flock of sheep from either ends of the field until the two ‘armies’ stood facing one another. No points for guessing which team the bigger contingent were coming to photograph. As the US team sheet was read out the majority England fans in the crowd boo with every name announced.

Beckham
For a moment all lenses are firmly focused on a man probably worth the sum total of the England squad. David Beckham. As we have gotten to know him through various adverts, guest appearances and short dalliance at the World Cup, Becks’ hair is perfectly coiffed and he wears the standard England team suit like it was modeled on him.

The game begins
England come out firing and few are surprised when they take the lead in the 5th minute. There’s an occasional flicker of a flag from the American supporters but they are no match from fuelled up, excited and happy England fans who have incorporated the “vuvuzela” into their chants of “In-ge-lund!”

Disaster
The disaster took place in the 40th minute and came from Robert Green, the England goalkeeper as he let a fairly innocuous strike at goal dribble around him and painstakingly make it’s way into the goal. The English fans in the crowd all had their heads in their hands while, miraculously, the US flags appeared. And that’s how the game ended, a one all draw. I wonder what words the team managers had for Green after the game? Will he still get his salary at the end of the month?

I go to the bank to apply for a home mortgage loan

The other side of freelancing
If you are a freelancer you may have had a situation similar to the one in this article. If you are considering becoming a freelancer this article might provide you with a bit of insight into the financial world of the freelancer. There are many benefits to leaving the traditional workplace, becoming your own boss and living on your own terms. No more traffic jams. No filling up the gas tank twice a week. No workplace politics. No obnoxious bosses. No superiors stealing your ideas and passing them off as their own. Yes, there are a whole lot of plusses and benefits. But financial stability?

Change comes
It was my wife who first raised the subject of our apartment. “It’s too small and crowded what with the two of us and your office. Let’s think about buying a house.”
I swallowed, breathed deep and said, “Okay, we need to start by getting a mortgage. Once we have that we can look for a house.” I changed out of my work clothes, meaning tee-shirt, shorts and flip-flops and we headed for the city and the granite clad mortgage banks.

The mortgage interview
This is where you bare your soul. The mortgage man liked my wife and was impressed with her long-standing job at the legal office where she worked. He also thought she earned a good salary.

The matter of my income
“Tell me about your salary,” he said, looking at me. “I am a freelance writer and my salary varies from month to month,” I explained. “In November ’09 I earned $4,000. In December, always a bad month with the holidays and end of year activities, I pulled in $800. January was better $2,200, February almost $3,000, March the tax month, $900 and we here we are, still in April, which is looking good.”

The no-mortgage mortgage
Bad news comes quickly. “I am terribly sorry but I cannot help you. Your wife has a steady salary and you always know what she is bringing in. But your occupation and income is a feast or famine affair from month to month. I’m sorry, it is not mortgage material. Perhaps come back next year if your situation changes or you find steady work”

Financial stability
If you are looking for financial stability, the life of a freelancer may not be for you. It can be an economic roller-coaster ride. It is a life of not knowing what your income will be from one month to the next.

Available strategies
There are two distinct strategies available. The first is to find ways to make yourself more marketable for when companies start to hire again and the second is to seek opportunities with your present employer.

Don’t get stuck
You get stuck – you need to be an active player in shaping your own future. Whether you are a graduate waiting to move when the economy goes into a growth phase again or whether you are seeking opportunities within your present job, there are a number of ways to bolster your resume for when the time is right. We believe that effective leaders and managers continue to develop their repertoire of skills throughout their careers, and that a significant part of this development occurs through practical experience. The more varied the practical experience, the greater the likelihood of developing a broad repertoire of skills.

Don’t waste time
Now is not the time to waste valuable energy watching your back, getting involved in the politics of the organization. Now is the time of taking action. It’s the time for more personal accountability, and taking control of your own career and delivering more than expected of you.

Here are the steps
Establish the opportunities to transfer into a new position at the same pay scale – but in a different area in the business – “the lateral career move”. Before following this strategy, the opportunity should be researched well to ensure that it will benefit your career but will also be enjoyable.

Seek help
A common trait of successful graduates is that none of them achieved their success on their own. Successful graduates seek the wisdom, knowledge and experience of other successful people. Mentors have never been more important than they are today as the traditional career paths have disappeared, and we often work in jobs that did not exist five years ago. Having a support group of quality mentors that you stay in touch with will provide direction through each phase of your development.

Brainstorming
Brainstorm ideas for career alternatives by discussing your core values and skills with your mentor, family, friends and networking. Listen to what they say – listening is an essential skill that builds important human relationships.

Investigate
Investigate educational opportunities that will bridge your background to your new field. This could be an in-company course or an evening course at a local college. Read as much as you can and reach out to personal contacts for an interview.

Identify
Identify freelance and volunteer activities related to your interests to test the validity of these. Many opportunities are not defined jobs at different levels; they are, rather, strategic projects. Establish what these are and make sure you volunteer for the project team closest to your interest.

If you are at a crossroads in your job, this is the time to stop for a moment and think. It may be a golden opportunity to stop spinning your wheels in your career lane and make a commitment to make a change.

Think career

Design a career for yourself that corresponds with what you really want to attain in life and that is connected to your values and beliefs. There are many options you can choose: salaried employment, management, independent, partner, business owner or multi-careerist.

What is right for me?

Your career must be based on logic, rationale and wisdom. It should be based on the past and on what you have now: intelligence, strength, general and specific knowledge and experience. What you have gained up to now can be relevant for other career paths.

What attracts me?

Look for a career that will enable you to authentically realize who you really are, to love your line of business, to implement personal values that move you forward toward a destination that gives meaning to your life.

A breakthrough

In contrast to the expected future, a breakthrough is a new future and not a continuation of the past. Use a forced turning point or initiate a crisis to begin a breakthrough. Take a risk, let yourself be unsure and uninformed, plan for the future, take advantage of opportunities and new possibilities that may arise.

Think of a job

Get down to brass tacks and think of a job or position that will take you into the new career you have chosen. Define the characteristics you want. Think of the possibilities of progress and growth. Choose a job that is best suited for you.

Be proactive

Look for work and take advantage of the possibilities that the world of employment offers – national and local newspapers, Internet Web sites and employment fairs. Focus on looking for work proactively. This is the time to initiate, to instigate, to design and create your future. Make sure you are fully and truly devoted, seek help from the appropriate placement companies, invest in networking in all cycles of your life, be creative and take initiative.

Don’t look, find!

Let others look for work…you concentrate on finding it. Invest your intentions, focus, time and energy: manage the process of finding work in an organized manner. Look for more than one position at the same time so you’ll have the opportunity to choose, move forward in the utilization of any possibility that opens up, relate to the calendar and the market situation, investigate and improve the organization of your relevant skills.

Being accepted

Investigate and examine the workplaces offered to you. Make sure they are right for you. Prepare good answers to why you are preferable over other candidates. Be open to opportunities that may come your way. Be honest in your job interviews and business meetings. Guide your acceptance process into a new job.