Putting America Back To Work Job Fair Series Returns To Pittsburgh August 4th at Mellon Arena

The “Putting America Back to Work” job fair series, with over 50 events scheduled to be held across the country, returns to Pittsburgh on August 4th at Mellon Arena (home of the Stanley Cup Champion Pittsburgh Penguins) from 10AM to 3PM.

The March event, which was also held at Mellon Arena, featured 45 companies and schools and was attended by approximately 1,500 job seekers. One aspect of this series across the country is the post event tracking of how many job offers are made to the job seekers who attended each event. The goal was 10,000 jobs by 2010. We expect an announcement soon on the status, nationwide, on how close we are getting to the goal now that we are half way through 2009. The Pittsburgh event in March has resulted so far in over 150 job offers made giving those in attendance a better than 1 in 10 chance of landing a job.

The upcoming August event is expected to be somewhat smaller in size due to the seasonal aspect of an early August job market. About 25 to 30 companies are expected to attend.

The doors will open to the public at 10:00AM with free admission and no pre-registration required. As we get closer to the event date a list will be made public of what companies and schools will be on hand to speak with job seekers.

This event, the 2009 Pittsburgh Diversity Employment and Career Education Expo, is produced by the Pittsburgh office of EmploymentGuide.com, The Urban League of Greater Pittsburgh, AARP Foundation WorkSearch and Allegheny Department of Veteran’s Affairs. Representatives from each of those organizations will be on hand to speak with job seekers about programs offered to help with job searches in this difficult economy.

April Unemployment Rate for Pittsburgh Metro Rises to 7.3%, Up 1/10th Point

HARRISBURG (JUNE 2) – The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for the seven-county Pittsburgh Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA) rose one-tenth of a percentage point in April to 7.3 percent.

The rate was below those of Pennsylvania (7.8 percent) and the United States (8.9 percent). The civilian labor force decreased for the third consecutive month due to a drop in resident employment. The unemployment count has been increasing for a full year, and has reached its highest point since October 1986 at 88,900. This has been the longest run of increases in resident unemployment on record (current data set back to 1970). The Pittsburgh MSA’s unemployment rate was 2.6 percentage points above the April 2008 rate.

Among Pennsylvania’s 14 Metropolitan Statistical Areas, the Pittsburgh MSA held the sixth lowest unemployment rate. Rates in the Pittsburgh MSA ranged from 6.5 percent in Allegheny County to 9.8 percent in Armstrong County. Allegheny and Beaver counties experienced unemployment rate declines, the first drops in the MSA since September 2008.

In April, the Pittsburgh MSA’s seasonally adjusted jobs count declined 3,200 to 1,123,500. This was the eighth consecutive monthly loss. Over the year, jobs were down 2.4 percent in the Pittsburgh MSA, a smaller percentage drop than Pennsylvania, down 2.8 percent from April 2008.

Industry Detail (Not Seasonally Adjusted)

Goods-producing jobs in the Pittsburgh MSA increased 2,500 in April due mostly to a seasonal construction gain. Manufacturers inched down to a record low of 90,900 jobs with both durable and nondurable goods manufacturers at their lowest levels on record (current data set back to 1990). Over the year, goods producers shed 11,600 jobs with losses in construction and manufacturing.

Service-providing jobs increased 5,200, the smallest April gain since 2002. The majority of increases were within leisure & hospitality and professional & business services, both of which showed less April gain than usual. Information dipped 300 to a record low of 19,900 jobs.

Service-providing companies dropped 16,000 jobs from April 2008. This was the largest over-the-year decline on record (current data set back to 1990). Aside from education & health services, all supersectors posted declines from last April.

See the full report from the PA State Department of Labor and Industry here.

Point Park University Presents Free Series for Unemployed Adults In June

Here is a press release we received from Point Park College on a free series of workshops to help recently unemployed workers put their job search on track:

Point Park University Presents Free Series for Unemployed Adults
“Bridging the Career Gap – from Panic to Planning”

Workshops Offered Five Evenings in June

Pittsburgh - A job loss can feel overwhelming. How do you market yourself in the digital age? What is the most effective way to uncover job prospects in today’s market? How do you handle finances? Should you consider switching careers? Point Park University is offering a free program for recently unemployed adults to help answer these questions and create a strategy to bridge the career gap.

“Whether a job loss is expected or not, people need a plan to move successfully through the change,” says Mary Smith Peters, associate dean of students, business school adjunct faculty member and instructor for the series. “As part of its service to the community, Point Park is offering this series free to residents who now find themselves unemployed. Even those who have been without a job will find tools to help them move to the next step in employment.”

“Bridging the Career Gap – from Panic to Planning” will be held Tuesday evenings in June, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., at Point Park University’s Academic Hall, Room 309. Smith Peters suggests that participants plan to attend all sessions for maximum benefit. Registration is required. Register online or by e-mail dbateman@pointpark.edu or by calling 412-392-3433.

June 2 “Where You Fit in Today’s Job Market”
6-8 p.m. Learn what job types are prevalent now in this region, what the market will be for the future, and how your skills can be applied.

June 9 “Managing Debt and Finances Without a Paycheck”
6-8 p.m. Hear from a panel of experts about available resources and effective ways to manage finances and debt.

June 16 “Is it Time for a New Career Path?”
6-8 p.m. Find out if the best next step is changing your career.

June 23 “Updating Your Self-Marketing for the New Economy”
6-8 p.m. Facebook? Twitter? Create a “digital age” resume that will work for you.

June 30 “Your Custom Career Plan”
6-8 p.m. Build a winning strategy tailored just for you.

“The last class will help individuals with their personalized plans,” says Mary Smith Peters. She will be joined in the final session by Debbie Bateman, director of transfer and articulation and enrollment management, and Sandy Cronin, Point Park University’s director of financial aid, both of whom will also answer questions about University programs for participants who want to pursue further education opportunities.

Smith Peters teaches career planning and decision making courses in the School of Business. In her role as associate dean of students, she also works to ensure an intellectually stimulating and supportive learning environment for non-traditional students.

Point Park University, founded in 1960, is an independent, four-year coeducational institution located in the heart of downtown Pittsburgh. Point Park enrolls approximately 3,800 full- and part-time students in 67 undergraduate programs and eight graduate programs offered through its School of Arts and Sciences, School of Business, School of Communication and Conservatory of Performing Arts.
The University is transforming its campus and Downtown Pittsburgh with the Academic Village at Point Park University, a $244 million campus and public enhancement space plan. For more information about Point Park, visit www.pointpark.edu.

Manpower's Annual 10 Hardest Jobs To Fill Survey Finds Four Years of Similar Data Points to Gaps in the U.S. Workforce

Even in the midst of the biggest "buyer's market" in decades, these are the posiitons found to be most difficult to fill nationwide, according to Manpower:

MILWAUKEE, May 28 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Engineers, Nurses and Skilled/Manual Trades are among the nation's most challenging positions to fill, according to survey findings released today by Manpower Inc.

"In the four years we have performed this research, the same positions appear on the list again and again," said Jonas Prising, President of the Americas. "Despite the current economic instability and high unemployment, there are still skills that the U.S. workforce seems to lack."

The 10 Hardest Jobs to Fill, as reported by U.S. employers for 2009, are:

Engineers
Nurses
Skilled/Manual Trades
Teachers
Sales Representatives
Technicians
Drivers
IT Staff
Laborers
Machinist/Machine Operators

Each of the 10 job categories on the 2009 list has appeared on the Hardest Jobs to Fill list in the past. Technicians, Machinist/Machine Operators and Sales Representatives have been present all four years. Engineers, Drivers and Laborers have appeared three out of four years; and Nurses, Teachers, Skilled/Manual Trades and IT Staff have been present in two of the four years Manpower has performed the survey.

Even with unemployment at or near record levels in many communities, Manpower's research highlights the problem many employers are having finding individuals with the right combination of job-specific skills, experience, training and soft skills.

"While talk has slowed in the U.S. about the pending talent shortage, it is becoming more clear that there is a talent disconnect," said Melanie Holmes, vice president, world of work solutions for Manpower North America. "Our workforce needs to be more open to retraining and upskilling for jobs that are in demand. And, our government, business leaders and educational facilities need to take action together to ensure students are being enticed to enter these fields."

The U.S. findings are part of a Manpower global study that surveyed more than 39,000 employers across 33 countries and territories in January 2009. Positions in the skilled trades, sales, technical work and engineering remain the most difficult for employers to fill globally. Manpower surveyed more than 2,000 U.S. employers in the fourth annual survey to determine which positions employers are having difficulty filling this year.

Duquesne University Student Featured in CBS News Story on Job Hunting for College Grads

We found an interesting blog post on Katey Couric's blog "Couric & Co." on the CBS News website. A local Duquesne University graduate is featured as well as other interesting aspects of the most difficult job market for graduates in 30 years. Follow the link here: http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2009/05/27/couricandco/entry5044062.shtml

Tourism Rally Announced For June 10th in Harrisburg

We just recieved this by email from the Pennsylvania Tourism and Lodging Association. The main intent of this rally is to protect JOBS right here in Pennsylvania. Use this link to go to their website:

http://www.patourism.org/iMails/090522rally/

Click on the picture to enlarge

Have Pittsburgh Job Seekers and Recruiters Jumped on the Social Media Band Wagon?

Facebook. Twitter. LinkedIn. These and literally hundreds of other networking sites on the Internet, with new ones popping up everyday, have seen dramatic increases this year in both traffic and news headlines. Pittsburgh area jobseekers and recruiters are just now realizing the advantage of using these newer tools in their recruitment and search mix (along with the rest of the country).

LinkedIn, considered to be populated by a more professional networking audience, allows users to build out an online resume showing career history, awards, group memberships and education background. Users can communicate both publically and in private. Due to the popularity of employment networking on LinkedIn the site has been actively pursuing this as a revenue stream.

Facebook is more family and friends oriented. Once you create a profile on Facebook the site helps you locate people you might know by looking for similar school histories, hometowns and more. You can allow the site access to your email contact list and it will tell you if any of those emails are registered with the site. The biggest advantage Facebook offers jobseekers and recruiters are “Groups” established on the site specifically set up to help them find one another. These are usually uncovered by doing searches on the site or from “Friends” passing along information (called viral).

Then there is Twitter. Everyone it seems is still trying to figure out what to do with Twitter. How to use it and NOT use it has become the topic of hundreds of news articles, blog posts and even “Tweets” (postings on Twitter). Twitter is a “micro blogging” site that lets you tell, in 140 characters or less, what you are doing. Pick any topic, hobby, political view, or quest and you will find “Tweeps” (people who use twitter) that specialize in what you are looking for. This allows you to “Follow” any and all whom you find interesting and eventually build a list of hundreds or even thousands of “Tweeples” (also people who use Twitter). If you are so inclined, you also have the ability to build your own following depending on how public you wish to be. As a job seeker or recruiter this gives you the ability to find one another, or those with similar interests, and communicate on regular, even daily, bases.

How the social networking phenomena will change the recruitisphere is so far unknown. Some consider most of it a fad that will fade over time. Many believe it is only in its infancy and will eventually transform how jobs are filled even more than the advent of the big job board. If any of you who are reading this are not at least putting your toe in the water, you are missing out on a very important tool for your toolbox. Pittsburgh, it seems, is embracing this new way of communicating as well as most areas of the country. Local communities of people who otherwise have never met are forming bonds and taking advantage of this new ability to “get their story out”.

If you have read this with familiarity because you use these resources then you can feel good that you are ahead of the curve. If you have resisted taking the social networking plunge we ask “what are you waiting for”? Since it can take a few months to get up and running on these sites, and build a network that can be of value, starting now can mean the difference between a three month job search and a six month job search! But remember, these are additional tools in your toolbox. No successful carpenter uses only one tool!