Solid Signs the Economy is Rebounding

The Staffing View

On business, the workplace and employee relations

_January, 2010

Three Signs the Economy is Rebounding

After four straight quarters of decline, the nation’s economy finally pushed into the black in the third quarter of 2009, marking a technical end to the recession and a slight start to a recovery The gross domestic product, which is the output of goods and services produced in the US, rose 22 percent from July through September – hardly busting out of the gates, but positive nevertheless

While it may not feel as though a recovery is underway to the millions of unemployed workers who made up the nation’s 10 percent jobless rate in November, the GDP number is another brick in a foundation that is gradually coming together to support growth That’s good news for temporary or permanent jobs seekers

In particular there are two other jobs-related figures that give us optimism that better times are ahead As we’ve mentioned before, hiring of temporary workers is surging According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, temp employment increased by 52,000 in November Since July temporary help services employment has risen by 117,000

When employers begin adding temporary workers to their staff, it means they are experiencing an increase in demand for their products or they’re anticipating an increase They contract with a staffing firm for workers, rather than hiring them directly, because they aren’t yet confident enough to bring on permanent employees whom they might have to lay off should the economy taken another dip By using temporary employees they maintain payroll flexibility at a time when the future is still uncertain

The second encouraging statistic is the amount of time people are working in factories The manufacturing workweek has risen from 399 hours in July to 404 in November and overtime hours among manufacturers has inched up from 29 per week in July to 34 in November

Those numbers aren’t eye-popping, but they are also a sign of growing demand for goods in the economy When manufacturers sense an increase in sales in their products, they add additional shifts to produce more Another way of managing payroll is to have existing staff work more hours rather than hire new people at full salary and benefits

“Typically hours worked starts to turn up about six months before employment starts picking up,” says David Huether, chief economist with the National Association of Manufacturers in Washington, DC “So companies are responding to an increase in demand by working some of their workers more and getting more output from them by extending hours”

As for the greater impact on the economy, those workers whose hours are increasing can feel more secure in their jobs, more confident in the prospects for their company and be willing to spend more money With housing prices still down, perhaps they’ll buy a home That would lead to additional expenditures on appliances, benefiting other sectors of the economy and the ripple effect goes on

Though November’s increase in GDP meant the official end to the longest economic recession since the 1930s and positive signs are emerging, Heuther cautions that the recovery is still in its early stages

“Economic conditions are better than they were at the beginning of the year,” he says “But the recovery is kind of fragile right now Our companies don’t think there will be a robust upturn for six months”

 

Tips on Freelancing for the Long-Term Jobless

If you’re among the long-term unemployed there are risks to losing your edge in your profession Falling behind current trends in what you do will make you less attractive to prospective employers If you haven’t been practicing your craft while unemployed, how will you answer the question “What have you been doing?” during your next job interview? For many people work filled a large portion of their lives and was one of the ways they defined themselves Drifting away from their craft contributes to the insecurities many people feel when they’ve been jobless for months

Not everyone is a born entrepreneur, but one way to remain sharp and generate some revenue while looking for a new job is to freelance Think of yourself as a free agent, similar to professional athletes They may jump from team to team when their contracts expire, but they carry their skills with them and apply them for other employers Whether you’re an accountant, financial officer, lab technician, sales manager or production worker, you have unique skills that others may value

Stepping out on your own is a bold move, yet one that will make you feel as though you’ve taken control of your future again But how to proceed? Run an ad on Craigslist? Send an email blast to everyone you know? Hang a sign on your house? If you think you’re ready for You Inc, here are some tips worth following

Define your skills Exactly what are you offering to the marketplace? Putting aside the branding spins that major companies create Remember that Apple provides unique technology, Coke provides soft drinks and Starbucks sells coffee What do you do?

Define your market Who needs what you do? Think beyond your old company By creatively identifying companies that can use your skills, you’ll expand your opportunities

Tap into workplace trends Corporate needs of reflect what’s happening in society When Congress passed the Sarbanes-Oxley Act in 2002, not only did it mean more business for accountants, but also for lawyers, investment advisors and public relations counselors Health care, corporate social responsibility, veterans’ issues Times change and opportunities arise

Market though networking Sure, tell your friends you’re taking on project work Ask them if they know of companies that could use your services on a project-basis Contact other people who do what you do They might need help on a job Think about people whose skills would be complemented by yours Team up and propose an idea to a prospect

Promote yourself Set up a web site or a blog Neither takes much time A web site will give a potential client a place to go to learn more about you in an instant A blog will allow you to write what you know about what you do That’s a way to establish credibility with prospects It doesn’t matter if you’re an engineer, a carpenter, baker or lawyer If you’ve defined a market, there will be people interested in what you say

Contact a staffing firm Remember, you’re a free-agent That means you connect with clients in different ways Staffing firms are in touch with companies looking for skilled employees Think of them as one part of your marketing department

 

Are You a Work in Progress Or An Employee Who Has Peaked?

There’s a reason why books such as “Who Moved My Cheese” and “Our Iceberg Is Melting” sell so well They offer advice on coping with change at a time when change is all that seems to be happening in the economy

If employers are facing constant change, that means their companies need to be changing constantly, including their employees For many companies there are two questions to consider when interviewing – is this candidate able to do the job now and are they willing to change to do it tomorrow As someone who works as a permanent employee or someone who prefers the temporary staffing lifestyle, you need to be able to demonstrate that you are that person

It’s not necessarily radical, overnight change that employers expect Certainly at many companies today employees need to be considerably more proficient in using technology than at the start of the decade, for example But that progression took place gradually, even if the pace of change picked up in the “00s” compared with prior decades Rather, it’s a willingness to work at self-improvement

How do you prove to hiring managers that you are a flexible employee, capable of evolving as the job demands? It may be evident in the types of jobs you’ve held in the past and the work you’ve done in those jobs Ideally, you can point to a position, note the responsibilities you had and explain how you proactively adjusted within that job by spotting the changes ahead

Here are three other thoughts on establishing yourself as someone who works at change

Be passionate about your work In today’s economy, with long-term unemployment a major problem, many people simply need a job to pay the bills But ideally if you care about your work you’ll be more motivated and willing to evolve in it as change demands As Apple Chairman Steve Jobs once said at a college commencement “The only way to be truly satisfied is to do what you believe is great work The only way to do great work is to love what you do”

Continue your education Have you finished your growth or are you a work in progress? It’s pretty obvious that an employer thinking about the future would be more intrigued by an employee or job candidate remaking themselves than one who believes they’ve plateaued The more you know the better you become

Work at the hard parts of your job In his book “Talent is Overrated,” Fortune magazine writer Geoff Colvin writes that high achievers are devoted to “deliberate practice” It’s a process that includes identifying the parts of their job that they dread doing, but which they frequently work at to improve and separate themselves from their competitors One example given is a golfer who spends hours practicing a difficult sand trap shot while his rivals work on their putting He may face that shot infrequently, but when he does he’s more prepared than others Change in the workplace is often dreaded Be a high achiever by working to master the new demands of your job