Good News for the Unemployed

Marcianne Kuethen

July 22, 2014

If you’re one of those people who just hasn’t been able to find a job, cheer up, because there’s good news for the unemployed. The job market appears to be slightly improving!

According to MNI, “U.S. employers continued to add permanent staff in June at a healthy clip, as better business prospects combined with skills shortages that require more than an offer of temporary work, according to recruiters around the country.”

Wall Street Journal’s Market Watch announced that the U.S. small-business market added 20,000 jobs in June, according to Intuit Inc. Small Business Employment and Revenue Indexes. In fact, “Small businesses have added 595,000 jobs since March 2010, the beginning of the recovery in small business employment.” Market Watch quotes Intuit economist Susan Woodward as saying, “This month’s employment data makes for the fourth consecutive month of small-business job growth after a flat job market early in 2014.”

And the Randstad U.S. Employee Confidence Index stated that jobseekers’ confidence in their ability to find work has risen to 50%, with employee confidence in their personal employment situation at 69.4%. “Reports of positive economic indicators during the past several months have resonated with U.S. workers, whose confidence levels in the job market, economy and their personal employment situations all rebounded to multi-year highs.”

This is all good news for the unemployed. However, while you’re looking for your next job, don’t let the grass grow under your feet! Here’s some great advice from Ngee Key, a job search strategist and executive coach:

Continue developing your abilities by pursuing new things. Take classes, seminars or industry conferences that interest you, not just because it’s related to the work you are looking for right now. Enhance your credentials by getting a new professional certification. Enroll for lessons that are not necessarily related to corporate culture: guitar lessons, swimming lessons, even flower arrangement lessons. Keep your hands and your mind busy! Do all the things you’ve been meaning to do, but never had the time to. Explore the world that is out there, waiting to be discovered.

Key also gives jobseekers other great tips, such as keep practicing for interviews, spread your brand using social media, and never give up. As the economy continues to improve, the right opportunity is out there–you just have to keep looking!

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By Marcianne Kuethen