The economic downturn has drastically altered the job market.  No one’s arguing with that.  This bad economy has touched everyone’s lives whether jobs were lost, cut back, or if they have simply changed forms.  But how exactly has the job market changed?  And what does this mean?

More Competition

With fewer jobs and more people out of work, the job market is a much more competitive place than it used to be.  Education is more important than ever and those without it do not stand much of a chance.  Even those with education are competing against all those who can match them in this aspect and are still having trouble finding work.  The competition is fierce and not getting better anytime soon.

Fewer Jobs

There are fewer jobs.  This is the result of a plethora of reasons.  Part of it is just that the bad economy feeds into itself.  With more people out of work and many who work making less money, less money is being spent.  Less money being spent hurts the companies where these people used to spend their extra cash so these companies cut back on hours, employees, or close altogether.  The situation becomes a downward spiral further decreasing the number of jobs and making things tougher.

Construction Requires Fewer Workers

The field of construction is a great focal point because it supports so many workers.  Construction jobs have been cut dramatically in recent years.  Everyone has been talking about the housing market.  People are not buying homes like they used to and those who are selling are forced to do so at a loss.  With fewer jobs many people are already in danger of losing their homes so they cannot very well afford new ones.

Without a demand for homes, there is little demand for the construction of new homes.  The field of construction has lost well over 1.6 million jobs since this economic downturn began.  Until everything else turns around then people are not going to be buying new homes, much less commissioning the building of new ones.  And for those who rely on construction for income, it will be difficult to turn things around until and unless the construction field recovers.

Many Fields Require Fewer Workers

Technology marches forward.  This is usually thought of as a good thing but as more tasks become automated then people are no longer required to get jobs done.  There still need to be flesh and blood employees to maintain technology and to perform tasks that machines cannot yet complete on their own but many jobs are being eliminated because technology decreases or completely eliminates the need for said jobs. Jobs disappear and the job market has no need for those specific skills anywhere else.

How has the economic downturn altered the job market?  The job market is more competitive and there are fewer jobs.  Specifically, technology has eliminated the need for many jobs and the bad economy itself prevents as much money from flowing to maintain the jobs that still exist.  The economic downturn has created a situation where more money would lead to more jobs but people need jobs to have the money to spend.

Tom Rheinecker blogs about how to find the best programs for a Master’s in Human Resources.