Thursday, April 23, 2009

The Real Unemployment Rate....What the media doesn't want you to know

The Media has said it for months now. The sky fell and is continuing to fall. Unemployment is at record levels and more people joined unemployment lines in the month of March 2009 more than any other month since 1927.

Is it time to panic? Is it time to sell what little stock we have in the market? No its time to really understand what the REAL unemployment rate is - specifically for us professionals in the search game.

Lets talk about the real unemployment rate by taking a hard look at the Bureau of Labor Statistics report the government puts out every single month. Here is what it said the first week of April 2009 based on March figures.

Go to http://www.bls.gov/
Click on the "Employment" Tab at the left
Go to "Employment Situation" Report at the bottom of page
Go to bottom of report for addeneums
Click on "Table A-4. Employment status of the civilian population 25 years and over by educational attainment"


Lets take a close look at what it really says:

Less than a high school diploma Feb. 2009 March 2009
Unemployment rate........................ 12.6% 13.3%

High school graduates, no college (1)
Unemployment rate........................ 8.3% 9.0%

Some college or associate degree
Unemployment rate........................ 7.0% 7.2%

Bachelor's degree and higher (2)
Unemployment rate........................ 4.1% 4.3%


The unemployment rate has been raising from month to month as you can see. However, the bottom line - the higher the education someone has, the lower the unemployment by group. This is a great argument for parents wanting their kids to seek more education. Since most recruiters - bring on board individuals who have a bachelors degree or higher and they have at least a few years experience- the last category is the one that really matters. Even though we are at 8.5% unemployment as a country, our profession is dealing with recruiting in a close to full employment environment. Many economists would agree that 4% is full employment. There will always be individuals who are changing jobs, willing to stay home and watch Jerry Springer versus go to work. Come on, you know some of those folks like I do. Those numbes are only 4 out of a 100.

So how can we take this data and make a major impact on our business you say?

1. Educate your customers about the REAL unemployment numbers
2. Make sure they know, that the individuals who answer job postings are probably not the "A" players. The "A" players are gainfully employed and knocking the cover off the ball for one of their competitors. Invisible to Job Boards and HR functions. If they are only using internal HR and postings, they will be making hiring decisions on a substandard talent pool.
3. Know is the time they need YOU the most. Yes YOU. By using a professional search consultant, who talks to the "A" players daily, they can get access to the true "A" players by working with you. Yes YOU.

More information on the Laws of Talent forthcoming......

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