Florida's jobless rate at record high ... but there's good news in The Miami Herald! by gimleteye

The only point the Herald missed in today's story: if you are young and out of work, you can always join the military. If you are old and out of work? The Herald didn't address that one. Here's the recap, reprinted at "click more".

Dismal job market may have hit bottom!
Florida did not lose jobs for first time in more than two years!
Analysts predict economy will start to recover later this year!
Move back in with your parents!



Posted on Sat, Mar. 27, 2010
Florida's jobless rate at record high

By TOLUSE OLORUNNIPA
tolorunnipa@MiamiHerald.com

For the second month in a row, Florida's unemployment rate broke a new record, rising two tenths of a percent to 12.2 percent in February. But even as the state recorded higher joblessness, there was a sign that the dismal job market may have hit bottom.
Florida did not lose jobs for the first time in more than two years, the state's Agency for Workforce Innovation announced Friday. Instead, it added 26,300 jobs in February, more than any other state in the country.

In Miami-Dade County, February's unemployment rate, which the federal government adjusts to account for seasonal fluctuations, was 11.8 percent, up a tenth of a percent from January.

The government doesn't publish seasonally adjusted numbers for other Florida counties, which makes month-to-month comparisons hard to interpret. But the raw numbers for February were 10.8 percent in Broward, 12.4 percent in Palm Beach County and 8 percent in Monroe, which has the second lowest rate in the state.

More than 250,000 South Floridians are out of work, and at least 50,000 of them are 24 years old and under.

When Florida's economy begins to recover -- which analysts predict will start later this year -- teens and young adults are likely to face the steepest climb back to employment.

Nationwide, the under-24 unemployment rate stood at 18.4 percent in February, higher than any other sector of Americans. The most recent age-specific employment statistics for South Florida -- which date back to 2008 -- show that unemployment among Miami-Dade and Broward counties' youth was 15.2 percent in the first year of the recession. That was more than twice the rate for all workers.

Faced with few openings and more experienced competition, many South Florida young adults are ditching the crowded job market for other alternatives as graduation and summer break approaches.

At one two-story house in Coral Gables, five graduating college students -- including a bilingual honors student, a double major in economics and marketing and a finance whiz -- share living space, as well as the frustrations of searching for entry level employment during the worst economic downturn of their lifetimes.

Only one of these University of Miami roommates has a job lined up. If no jobs materialize before graduation, the others contemplate volunteering, continuing education or simply moving back in with parents.

The disparity between young and old has likely only sharpened in the last 14 months with the most recent federal figures showing that 1.3 million workers ages 16 to 24 have left the U.S. labor force since the recession began. Young adults are leaving the job market at a rate more than three times that of middle-aged Americans.

Meanwhile, the number of workers 55 and older is on the rise, increasing by 2.5 million people since 2007, and senior citizens are competing for -- or holding onto -- the same jobs that students are hoping to snag.

BUYING TIME

Chase Hamann, one of the five roommates living in the Coral Gables house, graduated in early December and spent six weeks job-hunting before opting to pursue a master's degree in international relations instead of full-time work.

``I think I could've found something, but I don't think it would've been something I would've liked, or something I would've been passionate about,'' said Hamann, whose résumé boasts a near-perfect grade point average, a bachelor's degree in communication and fluency in Spanish.

John Moriarty, assistant director of career services at Barry University, said a growing number of students are looking for nonwork alternatives.

``You're seeing more students today that are going right from their undergraduate degree into graduate school,'' he said. ``The thinking being that `I can get more education and give the economy some time to recover.' ''

And, with stubbornly high unemployment in South Florida, it's hard to say when things will improve, or when the effects of an improved job market will trickle down to younger workers.

LACK OF SPENDING

Still, the fact that the state added jobs in February is cause for cautious optimism, said Rebecca Rust, chief economist for the state's Agency for Workforce Innovation.

However, she said, as more people rejoin the labor force, unemployment could continue to rise in tandem with net job gains.

"There are a number of reasons it's taking so long to recover,'' she said. ``Small businesses still have very tight credit conditions. And also the frugal consumer spending. In past recessions it's generally been the consumer that pulls the economy out of recession in terms of increased spending -- and we're not seeing that.''

The 12.2 percent statewide unemployment rate is the highest since the state began tracking job market statistics in 1970. The agency has forecast an increase in employment in the second quarter of this year.

In the meantime, students continue to prowl job boards on their laptops.

Jimmy Dempsey, a UM senior, has been looking for post-graduation work for much of the last year. With no prospects yet, he is starting to consider other plans, including getting a master's degree.

"You can submit your résumé and your cover letter online as much as you want,'' said the 22-year-old Dempsey, who will graduate with marketing and economics degrees in seven weeks. ``It's kind of like when you click that submit button, your résumé disappears.''

Dempsey is searching for "just about any'' job and is planning to move back in with family in Chicago to continue his search after graduation. If he's not employed by December, he said, he'll start preparing for the Graduate Management Admissions Test and apply to graduate schools.

Other young people are turning to volunteering as an option for waiting out the recession. City Year Miami, a yearlong service program for 17- to 24-year-olds, is expecting a 25 percent increase in applications this year, said Jeremy Cramer, the program's deputy director.

The Peace Corps received a record-high 15,386 applications in 2009, up 18 percent from 2008.

HEALTHCARE HELP

One potential bright spot for students graduating into unemployment or underemployment is the passage of a massive healthcare reform bill this week that would allow them to remain on their parents' healthcare plan until age 26.

That provision would take effect this fall, and many students would be moving under their parents' insurance plans just as they move back under their roofs.

Ivette Duarte, associate director of career services at Florida International University, said as the number of hiring companies has dwindled, so has students' zeal for joining the workforce after graduation.

"We've seen some student apathy, some students saying, `Why even bother, nobody's hiring,' '' she said.

Postings on the school's internal job site are down more than 50 percent from 18 months ago, and at a recent job fair, only 71 organizations were present, down from an average of 135, Durat said.

For Hamann, 22, going back to school seemed like a better option than continuing a tough job search, he said. He submitted an application to the University of Geneva last month and is hoping to gain admission into an international relations masters program there.

"I'll give the U.S. economy a year and half to two years to recover, and see if it's better after that,'' he said. "Plus, this will give me some international experience.''



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