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Free job advice offered in call-in Dec. 29 and 30
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Heavy year-end downsizing virtually ensures that annual job cuts will surpass 1 milllion for the first time since 2005. As more Americans involuntarily enter the job market, the time it takes to find a new position, along with frustration levels, are rising to new highs.
To help job seekers improve their odds of success in the increasingly competitive, recessionary employment market, global outplacement consultancy Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc. will suspend normal business operations on
Dec. 29 and 30 to take phone calls from anyone needing job-search advice.
The annual two-day national job search call-in will run from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Central Standard Time both days. The telephone number is (312) 332-5790.
Planned job cuts announced by employers have steadily risen throughout 2008. The first quarter saw 200,656 job cuts. Layoffs climbed 37 percent in the second quarter to 275,292.
In the third quarter, job-cut announcements reached 287,142, the largest quarterly total since 2005. Job cuts are likely to surpass the one-million mark for the first time since 2005.
Heavy downsizing is expected to continue through the first half of 2009, as measures to solve the financial crisis take time to work their way through the economy. Even if the measures work, it could take several more months for consumers and corporate America to regain confidence and begin spending again.
Meanwhile, as the slowing economy forces employers to shed workers and put the brakes on new hiring, job seekers have seen their searches lengthen by nearly one month.
The median job search among those winning positions in the third quarter lasted nearly 4.4 months. That was up from a median job search of 3.5 months among third quarter job winners. The findings are based on a quarterly survey of about 3,000 job seekers.
This is a once-a-year opportunity for anyone to take advantage of our counselors' expertise. With the current state of the economy and mounting job losses, we expect phone lines to be busy this year.
James E. Challenger, president of Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc., is in his fourth decade of job search counseling.
