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The World Socialist Web Site reports
The US economy continued to stagnate in April, creating a mere 160,000 jobs, far fewer than the 200,000 predicted by economists and the lowest number in seven months, according to the monthly employment report released Friday by the Labor Department.
Employment gains have averaged 192,000 a month so far this year, well below 2015's average of 229,000 jobs a month.
The official unemployment remained at 5.0 percent, while employment fell by the most since 2013. The labor force actually declined, with 362,000 people dropping out of the labor market. The labor participation rate--the share of working-age people in the labor force--dropped to 62.8 percent from the previous month's 63 percent. The employment-to-population ratio also declined, falling to 59.7 percent.
These dismal figures are consistent with recent data showing a sharp deceleration in US economic growth, which has slowed for three consecutive quarters. Last week, the government reported that the nation's gross domestic product rose by only 0.5 percent in the first three months of 2016, the weakest quarterly pace in two years. Of particular significance was a dramatic decline in business investment, portending more months of minimal job growth.
(Score: 2) by Squidious on Monday May 09 2016, @03:12PM
Do you have a linked-in account? I am not looking for work, but the last 6 months I have been getting slammed by recruiters and HR types looking for senior developers. Most were for jobs out of my area. All of these found me through linked-in.
The terrorists have won, game, set, match. They've scared the people into electing authoritarian regimes.
(Score: 5, Insightful) by TheGratefulNet on Monday May 09 2016, @03:45PM
LI is where I put most of my effort in my job search.
interest != job_offer
interest is often just a show to say 'hey, we TRIED to find a local, but for this or that reason, he didn't meet our needs'.
calls, especially from offshore recruiters (lots of them in the last year; people who live in europe are calling me trying to setup a phone screen with a US company. very odd, but even recruiters are being offshored!)
even a face-to-face interview could just be a due dilligence to say 'yes, we REALLY tried to find a local'.
but you walk in, you see one indian name after another and you realize that they have their group all locked up and you KNOW what goes thru their mind.
I just wish I could understand the mentality of a guest worker, who is now a manager, and who actively does all he can to AVOID hiring the people who were born in the country he now lives and works in.
I try to turn it around, but it does not make sense to me. if I moved to india and I brought all my friends with me, and if I was allowed (this part would NEVER happen) to hire only americans, what would the locals think?
again, it could not happen in many countries other than the US. the US cares nothing about what happens to its own people. not really. people don't matter. after citizens united, companies now rate more respect than people and if hiring cheap foreign indentured servants helps the person known as CORP ABC, then by golly, no one is going to stand in their way. peo^H^H^Hcompanies have to eat, afterall!
I guess its a mental trick that guest workers play, when they come over here. they must know that what they are doing (actively avoiding locals) is horribly wrong and it would NOT FLY if done in their own country, and yet once they get jobs here, they seem to look 'right over' anyone who needs a job and is a US citizen. how they justify this lock-out in their minds, I just don't get that. they have to know what they are doing. they see that, yet another desi is being hired in their group and whitey, well he's still on the moon. what do they think when time after time, its only indians (and some other asians) that are hired? does this bother no one??
"It is now safe to switch off your computer."
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 09 2016, @05:12PM
At least you are getting some interest in your account.
I am moving somewhere else to get a job. Where I live there are exactly 3 places that want programmers.
(Score: 2) by TheGratefulNet on Monday May 09 2016, @07:27PM
this is what scares me about 'moving for a job'
I know people mean well, but when I relate my difficulty in finding work in my own area, I'm told, time and time again, 'just move out and go somewhere else!'
first of all, that's really a huge deal for many people. if you are fresh out of school, its not a big problem most likely, but as you get older, you are more rooted to your locale and moving away is not as easy as some may suggest.
second, you move for a job and then find it didn't work out. you are now worse off! and if you want to move back, you need relocation and good luck finding THAT in today's economy.
if I can't find a tech job in the center of tech jobs in the world, I guess I might just have to give up. and I'm trying my best to stay positive and not give up, but its really hard, week by week, and you see your savings decrease with no job in sight.
"It is now safe to switch off your computer."
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday May 09 2016, @08:21PM
you are now worse off
Yeah that is possible too. However, 'no job' is not exactly better either.
It was clear to me 20 years ago that the SF area was in serious trouble. The median rent and housing was 2x everywhere else. It is why I avoided it if at all possible. Unfortunatly my prediction is coming true and much worse than I had thought. Luckly you do not need to make 100k in the rest of the country to have a nice middle class living. That area has a serious problem with too much money. I have seen it time and again with people I work with. They get too much and suddenly they do not realize they are not much better than everyone else and start acting *real* snobby.
Ageism, racism, and sexism is rampant in our industry. Even in 'progressive' cities like SF. I see adverts for people that state H1B only. Some are not even bothering with the pretense anymore.
I am lucky I am not 'rooted' to the area I live in. So I will move. It is a risk though as you point out. But I am not really much worse off than I am now. I also saw the writing on the way for the last job I had here. I saved like mad (200k in the bank and 200k house paid off). So I should be 'ok' for a bit. But I am not sticking around here.
Remember the 'tech center' is not all that. A good 80% of that is 3-4 companies. The rest are left overs that are probably going nowhere.
(Score: 2) by bitstream on Monday May 09 2016, @10:38PM
Remember the 'tech center' is not all that. A good 80% of that is 3-4 companies. The rest are left overs that are probably going nowhere.
SF area only has 3-4 real companies?
About housing costs. I have been thinking that if one can drop that. Then one will have loads of cash flow..
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 10 2016, @05:28AM
My point was all the 'success' is concentrated in a small amount of companies. These companies are so large they swamp everything else out. It ends up making everything around it seem better than it is.
I did imply that was a bad thing. I apologize I should not have done that. It can have a nice halo effect on the other companies. But just beware of a cargo cult culture as it can happen easily. Where someone is successful therefore 'they must be right'. It is why you see lots of 'open office plans'. Not because it has actually been studied to be a good thing. But because one large company did it.
As for housing. Unless you 4x (minimum) the amount of housing available and crash out all the equity people who own property nothing will change (in fact it will get much worse). Remember the people who own most of the property in that area already control the zoning board. Do not think for a second the housing crunch there is not manufactured. That is creating a perception of value. One that is built upon the gov controlling the amount of housing built. That could easily change. Do not rely on it. When I see, what in the rest of the county a ~100k - 150k (and that is being very generous) house going for millions. Something is out of wack. Given a real market the natural reaction would be to build more (lots more at those rates). That the building is not happening tells me someone or a group of someones is price fixing. The usual way is a combination of zoning laws, environmental studies, and section 8 rules. I have seen it many times used to scuttle smaller projects. But nothing on the scale that is happening there. Probably the most amusing FU that I have ever seen is what George Lucas is doing with skywalker ranch.
I personally feel I am successful (nearly 1 million in equity, cash, and stocks). However, I do not believe I could live there long and not pretty much lose everything I own. I am not the right age, color, and ethnicity. Right sex though.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 10 2016, @05:38AM
Here is an example for you: Melbourne and Indialantic, in Florida.
It's nothing, right? Not so for a nerdy US citizen!
There's a Raytheon facility that does offensive cyberwar, and they hire as many people with low-level (assembly) skills as possible. There are several startups formed out of there, such as Vector35. There are NASA contractors. There is Harris, with thousands of people doing... stuff... for the military and NASA.
They all demand US citizenship. They are mostly not doing web/phone fluff; they want real programmers and even true engineers.
If one job doesn't work out, there are the others. Houses within a mile of the beach go for 80,000 to 200,000 usually, and lots cheaper if you buy in Palm Bay.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday May 10 2016, @04:54AM
Fail 1) Focusing your job search on LinkedIn. There are newspapers, company sites (they really suck but apply through them anyway), other job sites, poster boards in local stores, word of mouth (ask a librarian for help), walking in the front door and handing over your application, etc...
Fail 2) Assuming you won't get the job for any reason. You're mentally setting yourself up to fail so you're probably making mistakes you otherwise wouldn't do and aren't noticing. You're looking at people's race and using it as a reason to fail instead of succeed. You think all H1B1 workers are shit? Then prove it to them by Acing the interview they give you. Even fake interviews give you the chance to practice your interviewing skills. Try/say something different if you're going to falsely believe you've already been selected out and that everyone in the process is wasting their time dealing with you instead of saving their time and lying that an interview took place.
Fail 3) You sound aggressive/angry/annoyed and depressed. Would you want to work with a person like that? Fake being cheerful in all your forms of communication.
Fail 4) You said you don't way to live the bay area but your only other choice is to leave the country. That's bullshit. The bay area is bullshit. There are so many better places in the country. Apply to places outside of the bay area. Once you pass the phone interviews, many companies will pay to fly you out there for an annoying day of in-person interviews. Then after they want to hire you, tell them you need assistance relocating. Are your current set of friends worth starving for? Do they not use phones or email? Is your social anxiety too high to leave a place you're familiar with?
Fail 5) You're only thinking of putting together a portfolio. You should absolutely have a portfolio and you don't even need to start any new projects. What about all your contracts? Did you ask for letters of recommendation? All you allowed to show off the work you did? If not can you add that into your next contract? How did that work improve the company, why did the company pick you over their internal employees? Are you leaving those on good terms? Have you asked them what you could do better or if they knew anyone who might need you?
Fail 6) You're limiting yourself to only positions in your current field. If the field is drying up for you, you need to find a better pasture. Don't be stubborn, learn something new instead of trying to show off your current skills. This new thing could be in a different field. You might have to go to community college to learn it. Ever wanted to give massages? It builds strong arms.
I got laid off in under six months from my first job out of college. No one wants someone who lost their first job so quickly. Couldn't find a job for 13 months and attempted suicide. You sound like you're frustrated and have basically given up in your job search. That is hurting you more than you realize. You're not getting hired with your current approach, you might as well try a different one. The worse thing that might happens is that you also won't get a job, but you already know your current approach isn't working, why stick with it? I found Glassdoor (and Bugmenot to login) very helpful when preparing for interviews with companies.