Unemployed or underemployed? Help is available
With nationwide unemployment figures for October reported at 10.2 percent and real unemployment after adjusting for “discouraged” and “underemployed” workers vaulting the figures to 17.5 percent nationally according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, any good news or helping hand to the job seeker is a welcome relief. Especially when you consider that Lake County”s unemployment figure for October is 16.2 percent, according to EDD Labor Market Information, compared to the 10.2 percent nationwide figure.
These figures can be very discouraging if you are one of those looking for work or looking for a better job. The task of looking for work in a recession, where competition is at an all-time high, can be truly overwhelming. The emotional response of job loss can include anger, fear, depression, insecurity and feelings of hopelessness.
A psycho-physical assessment tool called the Holmes and Rahe Stress Scale assigns a numerical value to common stresses. An accumulation of situational stress is believed to increase the likelihood of future illness. For instance, their chart ranks the death of a spouse at 100, while divorce is rated 73, marriage 50 and job loss at 47.
If you are unemployed or underemployed, that is a significant amount of stress. Even this one event in your life has a 30-percent probability of affecting your immune system negatively, according to John Townsend, a stress management expert.
The best way to head off depression and lack of motivation when faced with job loss, says Angie Basiouny of The News Journal, is to approach the process of looking for work as a full-time job in itself.
A regular routine of getting up, dressing, and “showing up” to “work” is essential. The work in this case is systematically checking job postings, reviewing your work skills, rewriting your resume and then following job leads.
Whether an individual is just newly out of work or long out of work, the greater the support an individual can find, the greater the stress relief. Local help, such as Lake County One-Stop, can help lift the burden.
I spoke with Jill Mills at One-Stop and learned that an individual looking for work or wishing to increase job skills can benefit by visiting One-Stop.
One-Stop, a Workforce Investment Act-funded agency, works in conjunction with the EDD (California Employment Development Department) and offers to those seeking employment:
1. Skill and preference assessment, resume writing help, and help with job searches
2. Interview skills
3. Basic computer literacy
4. More advanced instruction in software applications (approximately 600 to choose from, including Quickbooks)
5. Customized job training, local workshops, post-secondary training
Where are the most likely areas to find work today? Forbes magazine found that currently the most recession-proof jobs are in the health care industry, which increased by 29,000 jobs in October. The next most available jobs were seasonal retail and delivery jobs, like UPS.
These findings were borne out locally by my own informal search. In a regional search centered around Lakeport there were a variety of jobs listed, the majority of which were health-care related ? nurses, doctors, and physical therapists. The seasonal jobs were evident as well, but in addition a nice variety of other needs from fast food help, retail clerks and stockers, even beauty consultant and waitress, to preschool teacher”s assistant, college instructor, private tutor, law enforcement, bank tellers and bank representatives, loan officers, tax preparation, and insurance reps are being hired.
While you are following up these leads, when it comes to relieving stress, feeling that you are not alone is a comfort. If you need help with your job search, if you need access to a computer or just a little direction, you may want to check out what One-Stop can do for you.
Lynn Wiley is a freelance writer and owner of Resume Solutions by Wiley, a resume preparation service in Cobb and online at resumesolutionsbywiley.com. Watch for her resume writing seminar in
