By , ,
Published May 08, 2015
Cultural shifts through industrial and technological advances have re-written maps and world histories as people responded to events, grasping for that which drives humankind: survival.
The Industrial age shaped cities, while famine and disease shift whole populations from one continent to another. These kinds of events fill our history books, but they’re not over.
We are confronting economic forces reshaping our economy today. Job seekers must face a paradigm shift: how can they build a full-time life in a part-time world.
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The growing realities of finding and holding gainful employment means that new patterns must be developed to win in a game with new rules. It is not your grandparent’s economy anymore.
In light of the Labor Department’s jobs report out Friday revealing once again that fewer jobs had been created than expected, the time is now to take a hard look at what a jobless recovery means to those who want to work.
Case in point: The hardening sector of part-time employees (people unable to find full-time work) cannot be ignored any longer or written off as a temporary correction. The Wall Street Journal recently reported, “More people have left the workforce than got a new job during the recovery—by a factor of nearly three.”
Since the recession officially began in December 2007, 5.8 million fewer Americans hold a full time job, while 2.8 million more are working part time (defined as people working less than 35 hours a week.).
The impact of this kind of math on the moving target of the unemployment rate was recently noted in the New York Times, “If you include both part-time workers who want full-time work and people who have stopped looking for jobs but still want to work, the unemployment rate is actually 14.3 percent.”
Universally reported, the impact of ObamaCare on a growing part-time employment rate looms large. Employers will be required to pay fines or fund costly insurance plans for full-time employees, pushing them to create more part-time positions in response.
Most affected by the scarcity of full-time jobs are young people, college graduates, and those in mid-career transition.
Currently, there are about 40 percent of 20-somethings who are underemployed, according to the American Staffing Association.
In fact, almost half of recent college graduates are in jobs that require no degree, leaving many to question the value of their college education.
The American dream of employer and employee bound ‘til death do us part is passing away. Today we must become “life-style entrepreneurs” and embrace mobility as we leverage our skills in creative ways. As with every economic shift, these changes can be daunting.
It’s widely believed that the average U.S. worker will have seven careers in a lifetime. To begin that process, here are seven tips to help find those different careers and have success during this transition:
Over a 50-year span, the average American spends about 100,000 hours working. No matter how many full or part time jobs make up that math, a life well lived can be achieved by embracing new opportunities … wherever they may be found.
https://www.foxnews.com/opinion/jobs-hunt-getting-you-down-how-to-build-a-full-time-life-in-a-part-time-world