Drop in Unemployment?

Last Friday the U.S. U-3 unemployment rate for the month of November dropped to 7.7% from the 7.9% rate for October. Great, right? Not necessarily. We all fervently hope for improvement in our economy, but the numbers behind these numbers reveal that this 0.2% drop occurred because over 350,000 people dropped out of looking for a job. As weird as it may sound, if a person is unemployed but not actively looking for a job, they are not considered officially unemployed. Hurricane Sandy was also a significant factor in the new unemployment rate. Other numbers show further uncertainty: the Consumer Confidence Index rose about 1/2 point, but the CEO Confidence Index dropped a full 5 points, showing less inclination for businesses to invest in capital equipment.

What does this mean for the job searcher? It partly means our U.S. economy is still stalled and not growing at the rate is should be historically if we are truly coming out of a recession. But it also means more opportunity for the job searcher who is willing to put in the correct effort. This sounds callous but it is really just an economic observation: when 350,000 people stop looking for work, that means there is less competition for you and others still actively looking for a position. As I discuss in Hired! the important factors are to identify the skills you bring to an employer, and identify the companies or industries that match those skills. In yesterday's report the industries that added new jobs are retail, professional services, hotels, restaurants, and health care. So there are jobs out there. I urge you to focus on being the one who does not drop out, and let the official numbers fall where the will. You have no control over those numbers. Please don't let them control your job search.