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America's most-wanted workers
By Kate Lorenz CareerBuilder.com editor Though the U.S. economy has softened this year -- headlines warn of mortgage woes, layoffs and escalating gas prices -- there are still jobs out there... you just have to know where to look. We dug deep into Bureau of Labor Statistics data to find industries that are still adding jobs despite a rising national unemployment rate. Health care With a large segment of the population entering retirement age, health care remains strong adding more than 196,000 jobs so far this year. All sectors of the health-care industry experienced growth from January to July 2008. Ambulatory health-care services (which include doctor's offices, outpatient care centers and home health services) experienced a gain of 106,800 jobs. Hospitals added 71,300 positions, while nursing and residential care facilities grew by 18,200 jobs. Additionally, social assistance (like substance abuse and mental health counseling) added 18,400 jobs. Indeed, 30 percent of large health-care employers (50 or more employees) expected to expand staffs in the third quarter of 2008, according to CareerBuilder.com and USA Today's "Q3 2008 Job Forecast." Government The federal government, which employs more than 1.8 million civilian employees (except for the U.S. Postal Service), has added 33,000 jobs so far this year. At the state level, 39,000 new jobs were added; the local government, which added 124,000 jobs from January to July 2008, remains the strongest sector of the industry. While government staffing levels are often subject to budget and administration changes, there will be a growth in specialized areas related to border and transportation security, emergency preparedness, public health and information analysis. Education Education is growing at a healthy clip in 2008. The industry added more than 82,600 jobs during the first seven months of the year. Many factors are contributing to the industry's surge. The movement toward universal preschool and all-day kindergarten will require more preschool and kindergarten teachers. A necessity for more special education teachers is the result of a greater emphasis on classroom inclusion of disabled students. To meet the needs of special education and ESL students, classrooms will need additional teacher assistants. More high school graduates will attend college and professionals will return to school to enhance or update skills therefore feeding the demand for post-secondary teachers. Mining/oil and gas extraction Although the U.S. crude oil production has declined by 20 percent in the last decade, employment in mining rose by about 36,600 workers in the first seven months of 2008. Support activities for mining and oil and gas extraction accounted for most of the increase, adding 23,700 and 8,300 jobs respectively, but coal mining saw a small boost, too. What's contributing to the rise in demand for some of today's most dangerous jobs? Three key factors: the U.S. government's goal to reduce dependence on foreign oil, new drilling techniques and technologies, and the prospect of opening federal lands to oil exploration. Professional and business services This category, with its vague name and broad reach, is comprised of several sectors, but three in particular, engineering, computer systems and consulting, experienced growth from January to July of this year. Architectural and engineering services added 10,000 new jobs, with a greater need for biomedical, civil, environmental and industrial engineers. Because of the continued and rapid developments in technology, computer systems design and related services added 27,700 positions. Management and technical consulting, which added more than 30,000 jobs, is growing in part due to continuing complexity of business and growing demand for advice in all areas of business planning. The "Q3 2008 Job Forecast" also found that, despite job losses in temporary staffing this year, 31 percent of hiring managers in the broader professional and business services category are expecting to add jobs in the third quarter. Leisure and hospitality While pocketbooks are hurting and experts everywhere are telling us to cut back on unneeded extras like daily lattes and eating meals out, we still love our take-out and it shows. While the overall leisure and hospitality industry is experiencing a decline (no doubt from said cutbacks on leisure activities), there were a couple of bright spots. Food services and drinking places added more than 58,000 workers so far this year, while performing arts and spectator sports added almost 5,400 workers. And 26 percent of hospitality employers expected to expand staffs in the third quarter of this year, according to the "Q3 2008 Job Forecast." Our analysis? We'll forego vacation -- as seen in the employment decline at accommodations, museums, historical sites and zoos -- but we can't let go of our pizza or baseball just yet. Bottom line: Despite the lagging economy, there are jobs available across all categories, whether from industry growth, skilled worker shortages or turnover. You just need to know where to look and prepare for a longer job hunt. Copyright CareerBuilder.com 2008. All rights reserved. The information contained in this article may not be published, broadcast or otherwise distributed without the prior written authority All AboutJobs and Labor • National Economy |
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| Find this article at: http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/worklife/10/01/cb.most.wanted.workers/index.html |
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Lines growing at food pantries (http://www.southtownstar.com/news/1187956,092808foodpantry.article)
September 28, 2008
Increasing gas prices. Increasing food prices. Foreclosures. Unemployment. Volatility on Wall Street. Lawmakers are talking about ways to avoid an economic calamity. But, for growing numbers of south suburban residents, calamity already has arrived. Southland food pantries are reporting an explosive growth in the numbers of people who need help putting food on their tables. And there's no end in sight. Sandra Graniczny knows all too well about the hardship. With only a part-time job at a mall, she and her daughter have been homeless for a month. They spent the past week in her car. She lost her apartment when the landlord died. "I was there five years, but never had a lease," she said. Graniczny and her daughter, Samantha, moved in with Graniczny's mother. "Then, she told me to leave. My daughter is anorexic bulimic and my mother couldn't deal with that," Graniczny said. "It's been rough," she said, while standing in line Friday outside Respond Now 1439 Emerald Ave., Chicago Heights, waiting for food and, perhaps, a lead on a place to live. She and about 25 other people were patiently waiting in line to get groceries and other assistance from Respond Now, a not-for-profit organization. Respond Now has seen a 45 percent increase in the number of families it serves compared with a year ago, director Carl Wolf said. Respond Now is not alone when it comes to being busy, said Bob Dolgan, spokesman for the Greater Chicago Food Depository. Demand has increased countywide. The depository serves shelters and pantries in the city and Cook County. "We've seen a 20 percent increase in pantry visits across Cook County from July 1, 2007, to June 30, 2008. And, the early returns for this fiscal year are actually more stunning. We saw a 35 percent increase in July of this year compared to July 2007," Dolgan said. Dolgan blames higher costs for food and gasoline. "It's just harder and harder to make ends meet right now," Dolgan said. "For a lot of people, those extra costs mean they have to go to a pantry to get food. People aren't having near as much flexibility in their budgets, especially after they pay rent and utilities. There's not a lot of money left over," Dolgan said. Wolf blames the economy. "It always comes back to high prices. The cost of everything is going up," Wolf said. The numbers back up Wolf's take on the situation. From July 2006 to June 2007, a total of 10,203 families were given groceries by Respond Now. From July 2007 to June 2008, there was a dramatic increase with 14,792 families helped. That's an increase of 45 percent. Wolf is concerned about what economic conditions mean for donations to Respond Now, which relies on about one-third of its food supplies from individual donors. "We'll see what happens. Our key time for donations is the holidays. I'll have to write a good appeal (to potential donors)," Wolf said. Suburbs may be harder hit than the city, Dolgan said, because suburban residents tend to need their cars to get around more than city dwellers. Demand is up 25 percent at the food pantry Marianne Hill runs at the Orland Township office, going from 120 to 150 families each month. "Every month is a little different, but we hear more people saying, 'I lost my job and everything is so expensive'," Hill said. Like most food pantries, clients can get supplies once a month. "We serve Orland Park, Orland Hills and parts of Tinley Park," Hill said. "But we get calls from all over. Oak Lawn. Bridgeview. People are desperate now." She'll serve non-township residents once, she said. Asked if she's worried about donations being down this year because past donors may be feeling the pinch, Hill said: "I always worry because we want to continue to help people, especially those with little children." In Steger, at St. Liborius Church, they feed needy folks a hot meal on Tuesday or Wednesday each week. Business is booming. "We've increased quite a bit. We serve well over 100 at the meals and we're filling 80 baskets of food a week," said Kay Cantway, vice president of the pantry. Like many pantries, they buy supplies at reduced prices from the Greater Chicago Food Depository. "We see young and old now. Big families. Five or six in a family. And we still have the senior citizens who don't get much from Social Security. I know how that is. I lost by husband in March and without the Social Security, I'd be in line (for food), too," said Cantway, 83, of South Chicago Heights. Dee Wcisel, of Flossmoor, has been helping every Friday at Respond Now for 18 years. She's one of the people who fills the orders from clients, loading a grocery cart with items from the shelves and refrigerators, wheeling out the cart and talking with the people. That's the best part, she said. "You sit and you talk with them. You find something special in every single person," Wcisel said. Steve Metsch can be contacted at smetsch@southtownstar.com or (708) 633-5996. |
the Chicago Shakespeare Theater at Navy Pier. (Two thumbs up!) We also wandered around Millennium Park (picture here taken in the "bean"). And, of course, no Chicago trip would be complete without some downtown shopping. We took the train & trolley - two great options for public transportation in Chi-town.
plan was to take the train. However, apparently, Metra is cash only. Chuck and I generally don't carry much cash, and we had NONE yesterday (oops). So, we couldn't take the train (unless we wanted to run to an ATM and take the next one which didn't leave for another hour). We drove.
On Thursday, we talked with Miki from Techmission. Techmission works with various Christian charities and is looking for volunteers! If you are interested in volunteering opportunities, visit: christianvolunteering.org.
more later? I hate to bog down your computer. The first is the fabulous view from the top of Diamond Head crater: a 0.8 mile hike straight up!
The orphan care ministry, Shaohannah's Hope, is reaching out to help those in need because of the recent earthquake in China. The ministry founded by Steven Curtis and Mary Beth Chapman works to care for the orphans of the world by engaging the church and helping Christian families reduce the financial barrier to adoption. The organization is supporting volunteers in the area who are heading to the front line of the earthquake to care for the orphans in the affected areas. Shaohannah's Hope is using donated funds to help purchase needed items for the children, especially tents, food, and medicine. For more information logon to www.ShaohannahsHope.org.
