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Unemployment rate, and number of unemployed, seasonally adjusted,

January 2008—June 2011

12

Num be r of unemployed
Unemployment rate

10

Num ber of une mplo

10

6

a

6

4

2

0

j

D J F MIA

2008

N Dp F Mitki

IN

2009

2010

1

2011

Source: U.S. Bureauck Labor Statistics

Out Of Work,
Out Of Luck?

Bleak jobs report offers little hope for the unemployed.

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 1

to the U.S. Department of Labor, the
unemployment rate edged higher in June
by one-tenth of a percentage point to 9.2
percent. It's the third increase in as many
months.
In remarks after the report was released,
President Barack Obama said it showed
that "not enough progress has been made
on economic growth since the financial cri-
sis and recession of 2008 and 2009!'
Hmmm ...You think?
Tim Rosalik of Berkley
thinks so. He lost his job
as a senior copywriter
at an advertising agency
during a company
restructuring four years
ago and has been look-
ing for steady, full-time
work ever since. A client
Tim Rosalik
at JVS, he's been getting
by on freelance assignments but longs for a
full-time job with benefits.
"I started applying for jobs three years
ago to ad agencies, mostly in Michigan,
because I love my home and want to stay
here,' Rosalik said, "but, after a while, I
started applying for positions out of state
as well."
Rosalik said he's applied for customer

10

July 21 2011

in the state's unemployment rate is due
to a shrinking labor force as people either
gave up on their job search or moved away.
There was some noticeable improve-
ment in the job market early in the year,
Rhein said, but employment growth in
the state skidded to a halt this spring. The
only bright spot, he said, is that the pace
of layoffs has slowed. "If you have a job,
you're pretty secure. If you're unemployed,
there are still not a lot of jobs available —
they remain difficult to find!'
How difficult? Nationwide, there were
Recovery Or Recession?
It's been two years since the official end of five unemployed people per advertised job
opening last month. That makes for tough
the Great Recession in June 2009, and jobs
remain hard to come by for millions. In real- competition.
As the so-called recovery continues to
ity, unemployment is worse than the num-
move
along at glacial speed, the average
bers indicate because of the way government
duration
of unemployment has climbed
measures it. If all those working part-time
to
a
heart-wrenching
44 weeks, 13 weeks
because they can't find a full-time job as well
higher
than
the
30-week
average duration
as those who are so discouraged they've have
during
the
heart
of
the
economic
down-
simply quit looking for a job were counted
turn
in
2009.
(To
put
it
in
perspective,
in
as well, the unemployment rate would be a
2000
when
economic
times
were
good,
the
whopping 16.2 percent.
average
duration
of
unemployment
was
a
In Michigan, the unemployment rate
mere
nine
weeks.)
sits at 10.3 percent, 2.5 percent lower than
Long-term unemployment is at record
last year but higher than the national
highs.
Nearly 45 percent of unemployed
average and likely to stay that way, accord-
—
6.3
million people in the U.S. — have
ing to economic analyst Jim Rhein of the
been
jobless
for longer than six months.
Michigan Department of Technology,
And
14
percent
of those people have been
Management and Budget. He adds that
out
of
work
for
99
weeks or longer.
much of the year-over-year improvement

service jobs, PR jobs, sales jobs and mar-
keting jobs as well as advertising posi-
tions, in which he has 15 years experience.
"The frequency of job postings comes
in spurts. There are ups and downs. Lately
I've seen more ups!' He's gone on four
interviews in the last 12 months, two of
which he came in as "runner ur
"The last one really broke my heart. I
thought I was super-qualified for that job:'
he said.

Long-Term Unemployed
Paul Blatt, director of career and family
services at JVS Detroit, said that some job
seekers are more likely to remain unem-
ployed than others. Many manufacturing
and other unskilled jobs were lost during
the recession and aren't coming back.
"People who lost those jobs are having a
hard time adjusting:' Blatt said.
And the longer you remain unemployed,
the less likely you are to get hired because
of stigma and perceived skills deteriora-
tion. Not to mention that more and more
companies are excluding unemployed
workers from consideration for job open-
ings, according to a report released July
12 from the National Employment Law
Project, which advocates for low-wage and
unemployed Americans.
Still, JVS has hundreds of job postings
on parnossahworksdetroit.org , its online
board, according to Blatt, who adds it's "an
employer's market" — and many of those
jobs go unfilled. Blatt said he believes many
employers have unfair expectations of the
"perfect" candidate and acceptable pay.
"Unemployment is high, so employers
keep thinking they can hold out for the
ideal candidate,' Blatt said. "But at what
cost? Jobs go unfilled and people remain
unemployed!'
In Michigan, 480,000
people remain out of
work, including Rosalik.
He, and many others
in the state who have
exhausted all available
unemployment benefits,
have to scramble to
make ends meet. Rosalik
Paul Blatt
owns his home, so he
doesn't have to worry about a mortgage
payment, but "money is tight when you've
been out of work that long',' he said. He's
had to sell a few pieces of his antique col-
lection to make ends meet. "I hated to part
with them',' he said.
Still, Rosalik remains active and posi-
tive. He attends classes and job network-
ing sessions at JVS to keep his skills sharp.
He said he enjoys the friendly people and
dynamic speakers at JVS that help him
stay optimistic about his job search.
"I just want to be working with people
and being creative again. I miss it," he said.
"Some days, though, it's tough to be
hopeful." I 1

JVS Detroit delivers valuable job

search seminars, workshops and
special events at various locations
throughout the metropolitan area.
Events are free, but registration
is required. Call (248) 559-5000
or visit www.jvsdet.org for more
information.