In The Future

As millions of Americans resolve to find work, they may need to take some risks to achieve their goals in 2012

Throughout the last couple weeks, it seems that nearly everyone has had one or more New Year’s resolutions that they would like to fulfill in 2012. However, instead of focusing on usual resolutions such as exercising more regularly or improving their diets, many Americans are determined to achieve more work-related goals this year.

Increasing numbers of Americans are either searching for advancement opportunities within their current organizations or applying for higher paying and more gratifying positions in other organizations, including their present employer’s competitors. Meanwhile, far too many others are simply interested in finding employment of any sort. To do so, they are accepting entry-level positions, working for more than one company on a part-time basis, or switching to an entirely new organization every few months, as their temporary assignments end.

There is no doubt why millions of Americans’ resolutions are more work-related this year than they have previously been, especially during years of economic growth. The national unemployment rate remains quite high at 8.5 percent. Almost half of the nation’s unemployed have been without work for at least six months – figures that have not been recorded since the recession of the early 1980s.

With such high unemployment figures only beginning to shrink, how can unemployed Americans finally fulfill their employment resolutions? Are there reasons for them to remain hopeful?

Actually, according to recently released figures, there is. The BLS’ “Job Openings and Labor Turnover – November 2011” report found that, as of last November, 3.2 million positions were available throughout the country – a considerable increase of 30 percent since the recession ended during the summer of 2009. While these figures are still lower than before the recession began, the data proves that, although economic reclamation has not yet been fully realized, a significant hiring surge has begun to transpire.

Unemployed individuals now have a much better chance of finding a more suitable position than they have in years, especially if they pursue opportunities in industries like education, health services, leisure and hospitality, and manufacturing, which had thousands of new job openings throughout 2011. Yet, to improve their abilities to find work even more, unemployed professionals may have to leave their comfort zones behind and move to another region or state.

In terms of regions, the Midwest and the South are hiring more often than other regions in the U.S., while six states especially stand out for their low unemployment rates, which were measured back in November – North Dakota, Nebraska, South Dakota, New Hampshire, Vermont, and Iowa. None of these states had an unemployment rate above 5.7 percent. To compare, the three states with the highest unemployment rates at the time, Rhode Island, California, and Nevada, did not have jobless figures any lower than 10.5 percent.

All Americans have goals for the future. After all, this is the land of opportunity, a nation known for providing its citizens with long-term career opportunities. America has previously come back from periods of economic uncertainty and the nation is currently preparing to do exactly that yet again. Employment opportunities are still available and, according to many economists, will likely continue to increase towards more normalized levels throughout 2012. To fulfill their resolutions, the nation’s job seekers may need to change their objectives – and possibly consider transferring their skill set into a new industry. Others may have to make an even more drastic change and move to another region or state that has greater job opportunities. And some may choose to return to school to learn new skills.

Unemployed professionals can certainly still achieve their short-term and long-term career goals. But, one question remains – what changes will they need to consider to adapt to the new employment landscape in order to secure a more promising, steady employment future?