Talking to candidates in my role as a Technical Recruiter serving the Plastics Industry, I am constantly asked "how is the job market". The job market for the first two quarters of 2006 has been hot for what I call the good hands people; engineers, production managers, quality managers, process technicians, etc. The rate of placements for sales managers, vice-presidents, presidents, etc. has not been quite as good because of all the consolidations in the plastics industry, reducing upper management opportunities. Having said that, at Discovery Personnel, Inc. we are seeing a definite hiring slow down and given the following data, it is easy to see why.
The US Federal Government recently reported that in the second quarter of this year (April-to-June 2006) that employers added an average of 108,000 jobs a month and that is down from 176,000 a month from the first quarter (January-to-March 2006). The government and businesses are tightening their belts. Government spending is growing at just 0.6 per quarter, compared with a 4.9 percent growth rate in the first quarter and business spending has dropped to a 1 percent pace, the first cut in 3 years. Gross Domestic Product has decreased from the first to second quarters by more than a half.
Basically, the economy is contracting as inflation increases. This does not bode well for those seeking jobs in the plastics industry in the near future, and I suspect for most industries because the plastics industry is the fourth largest manufacturing sector of the United States economy and it is closely tied to the automotive industry, the largest manufacturing sector. I say all of this because many jobs seekers and potential job seekers have become complacent. The job market has been something of a buyers market for almost a year (although not all companies caught on to this reality) but that is changing quickly. If you have been considering a job change, or if you are looking for a new job, now may be the best time to make a dash for the finish line. It is also a good time for job seekers to start readjusting their mind set to a buyers market.
11:16:15 AM 
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