Health Care Job Market

Now that the Copenhagen summit is done and everyone is heading back home to figure out what to do with it, everyone is publishing articles about just that- what they think of the deal and what they are going to do about it/ with it.

I read a great one for about four sentences that said the Copenhagen agreement meant essentially nothing to entrepreneurs- as in there are no clear things like targets or markets to walk away with and use as goals or building blocks. I read a great interview with the New York Times’ Thomas Freidman where he says what Obama should have done is told China that the U.S. would bury them in clean tech and essentially start an arms race- style international battle for clean tech supremacy. Great idea- Obama’s not much of a battle starter, though. He’s more on the diplomatic side, trying to keep everyone on ok terms with each other. Read more

Looking good in there!As we come up toward the Christmas break, the senate is butting up against the deadline that President Obama wants them to finish the bill by. We all know they need the 60 votes, and we all know that somebody is being a holdout. The most recent holdout has been Senator Ben Nelson from Nebraska.

I was listening to Friday’s Morning Edition on NPR this morning, which threw the timing off a little for me as it’s Sunday morning, but on the program, Ben Nelson was saying that he didn’t think there was much of anything that anyone could say to change his mind and get him to sign on to the health care reform bill before the Christmas recess. He said that the language around abortion wasn’t strong enough, and that that was only the tip of the iceberg about his issues and reservations about the bill. Read more

Where it's all happening...What? Now all of the sudden it’s a race to the finish? Now we are supposed to listen to the Senate democrats and believe that they are actually trying to pass the healthcare bill before the Holiday recess? Well, yes. And here’s why I think it’s a good thing:

1.    It’s about time. The last deadline that the senate was racing against was the one that Obama suggested and that was… August. So, for the last 4 months they have essentially worked on one piece of legislation, and yeah, it’s not at all out of the box thinking or pressuring anyone about anything to think about passing it… sometime… this… year… Read more

Unemployment Benefit Extension

The last time the nation's unemployment rate was over 10% was in 1983.  It’s been 26 years and October’s numbers reflect a worsening of the recession.  The official US unemployment rate is 10.2%, but this does not count people who no longer qualify for unemployment benefits, those who are under employed, and those who are discouraged and no longer looking for work.  The real unemployment rate, if these groups were considered, would rival that of the Great Depression, when 25% unemployment was seen.  At least back in the 1930’s the official numbers were not skewed and changed to try and reflect a rosier-than-reality employment environment.

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Doctors and Nurses

Without a doubt, one of the most secure sectors for employment is the healthcare industry.  The US has more healthcare professionals working inside its borders than many other European countries combined.  Human beings will always be breaking in one way or another, and society will always need professionals to put them back together again.  There are so many different occupations inside the health care industry; it’s tough to really pin down one or two in order to accurately represent the entire industry or even a single sector. Read more

Not all news regarding unemployment numbers and shrinking industry sectors is bad.  There have been a few sectors where unemployment has dropped since 2008 and others that have held steady in the midst of the economic turmoil and uncertainty.  Upon examining these industry sectors, one will find that an overarching theme begins to assert itself.  The theme is related to the idea that even during a massive recession there are a few key industries that are in such great demand that they are immune to the negative effects of the economic crisis.  Perhaps during this examination of these industries it will be easier to see why this is the case, and to begin to prepare yourself for the next recession by recession-proofing your skill sets and enhancing those characteristics and works experiences that employers are eager to find in employee candidates. Read more