How Job Seekers See the Economy

By Jon Greenberg on Friday, August 7, 2009.

The latest unemployment report surprised quite a few people. While the country still lost nearly 250,000 jobs, the unemployment rate basically held steady, even dropping a tenth to 9.4 percent. Most economists were expecting a jump. The jobless numbers for New Hampshire won’t come for about another ten days, but in his weekly economic round up, NHPR’s Jon Greenberg gives us the view from a knowledgeable source, people who are looking for work.

Every week in Nashua, a support group for the unemployed gathers for job hunters to share notes and hone their skills at finding a job. The group is called Network for Work. Admission is not free and it attracts people mainly from the realms of management and IT.

I asked some of the attendees, how did they think the economy was doing. Their response? Maybe better but still not quite delivering the goods.

Montage: (transcription coming soon)

Those were some member of the support group, Network for Work in Nashua. We heard from Mike Robie, Marie Schulman, Richard Griffin, Betsy Burtiss, and Tim McDaniel.

On other fronts, local car dealers are happy that Washington will spend more money on the cash for clunkers program. And the house approved 3 million dollars to fund an economic development program for the job poor region that stretches from Northern New York to Maine.

From the Working It Out page, this latest economic indicator out of Meredith. A measure of tourism is the wait time at the traffic light at Route 3. It’s been smooth sailing for most of the summer but in mid-July, they actually saw a back-up.

With this economic round up, I’m Jon Greenberg.

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Responding to the job seekers and the economy
Sean - Sat, 08/08/2009 - 13:43

The economy seems to allow for a degree of malaise. There is no doubt that the job market is the most competitive we have seen in the last 30 years. Employment is a lagging indicator, which means we are not out of the woods anytime soon. As tough as it is, stay positive. If you find yourself down and out, take a break from your job search. Surround yourself with people/things that inspire you. Being mentally fresh will give you a significant advantage when meeting with potential employers and members of your sphere of influence.