“Tough Job Market Beginning to Show Glimpses of Stability”(???)

Experts are remaining cautious though – saying serious hiring increases may not start until 2010

-from the Associated Press as printed in the ROANOKE (VA) TIMES

Washington – Signs of stabilization in the job market are emerging – according to several private surveys – as restaurants, mortage services, and health centers step up hiring.
About a quarter of manufacturing companies and more than 40% of service-sector employers plan to hire in June – the highest totals in six months according to a survey by the Society for Human Resource Management. Still, the figures are substantially lower than they were a year ago. Service-sector jobs are not what the economy needs to improve in the manner desired – the country needs MANUFACTURING-SECTOR JOBS – AND PLENTY OF THEM!)

And the Conference Board said last week that online job ads rose by 250,000 in May to 3.37 million – the first increase since October and the largest jump since October 2006. (But be WARNED – Employers any distance from you are looking mostly for LOCAL CANDIDATES – and there won’t be very many who will pay relocation expenses unless you are a degreed professional.)

Still, economists caution that jobs will remain scarce for months because mos employers are likely to wait until the economy grows at a healthy pace before they feel confident enough to add workers. (Sort of leaving themselves a “back-door escape hatch” here, aren’t they?)That might not happen until well into 2010 – many economists say.

The nation’s jobless rate jumped to a 25-year high of 9.4% in May – a stark reminder of the difficulty unemployed workers are having finding jobs.(Heck! I can find them – but I can’t get to them! So much for the government’s stimulus plan working for me!) The Federal Reserve expects unemployment to remain elevated until 2011. (Aren’t these the MONEY guys?)

Meanwhile, more people are seeking fewer jobs. A Labor Department report Tuesday showed that total job openings fell in April to 2.5 million from 2.6 million the previous month. With 13.7 million people unemployed that month, that meant that on average more than five people were* competing for each job opening. That’s up sharply from fewer than two people per job a year ago.

Other private surveys reflect that weak outlook. Manpower Inc. said Tuesday that its quarterly employment outlook survey found only 15% of respondents planned to increase hiring in the third quarter this year. About 13% expect to cut staffing, and 67% plan no changes. That’s little changed from the current quarter.
The Labor Department’s report Tuesday - known as Job Openings and Labor Turnover - did show some pockets of growth for the first time in months : Openings for lawyers, accountants and other professional business services rose by 0,000 to 458,000. (I guess that those are the “jobs” created by the stimulus spending about which Vice-President Biden has been commenting lately.)

(*edited by me – it didn’t “sound” correct when I read it in the article. So sue me! Parantheses and italics are mine!)