Jobs outlook grim – how to keep hope alive
Posted on 5:17pm, 15th July 2010 • No Comments
There’s an unending stream of bad news stories about the jobs outlook right now and medium-term prospects seem even worse. How do you keep enough hope alive to work for a better future if you’ve just lost your job or haven’t even been able to get started on your career?
Sustaining your morale when you’re out of work is as tough as focusing on the stars (and not the dark and rain) when you’re in the countryside at night, teeth-chatteringly cold. You know your chances of getting another job depend on putting your heart and soul into the job search but it’s hard to psych yourself up into believing the jobs outlook merits the huge efforts you’re making.
Use these glimmers of hope in the jobs outlook to help you believe in the better future that’ll come along soon if you continue working at your job search.
Demographics are on your side, much more than you might think. There are far, far fewer young people coming onto the jobs market (even though the jobs outlook for those aged 19 – 24 is particularly bad). An increasingly high percentage of the workforce are older workers who don’t want to work on into retirement. The jobs outlook for the majority is at least improved by these demographic factors.
The way this recession has developed helps too. In previous recessions (1979 – 81 and 1990 – 92), the jobs outlook stayed bad for longer because government didn’t actively try to protect employment (as the Brown government did this time round). Similarly, employers did less then to try to keep their workforces intact. The net effect is that today’s organisations haven’t lost as much employee knowledge and commercial contacts as previously and they’ll be able to recover faster from this recession. While the jobs outlook for the next 2 years worries me, this recession is unlikely to be as long lasting as the 79 – 81 recession (which dragged on in the Midlands until ’86).
There’s also survey evidence to show the jobs outlook is improving. The REC & KPMG Report on Jobs (July 2010) showed actual increases in perm and temp employment. Flexplus’s Midlands survey showed 80% employers expect to recruit soon.
A final thought …. Even at times when the jobs outlook is particularly dire, some opportunities are constantly being created; some individuals will benefit from them. Today or tomorrow, “it might be you” who gets the offer of a really good job. There are grounds for hope.