Women Gain as Recession Batters Male-Dominated Fields

Employment picture likely to remain grim for years, and predicting winning industries is a challenge

(NEWSER) - The job market is likely to be grim for years to come—economists expect that even if job creation returned to the brisk pace of the ‘90s, unemployment wouldn’t return to 5% until 2017. And for many of the unemployed, the numbers belie the real problem: The positions they're trained for may be gone forever. The real estate and finance industries, for example, will probably never support as many employees as they did before the recession. More»

Surging unemployment solves industry's chronic struggle to haul in drivers

(NEWSER) - Hard times have reversed the trucking industry's trouble finding recruits, the Wall Street Journal reports. Applications have surged as workers who once shunned the industry's demanding conditions can no longer afford to be choosy. At the same time the number of trucks on the road has dropped. Firms that once engaged in cut-throat competition to lure drivers now have a backlog of applications. "I've never seen it like this in 24 years," said one company owner. More»

Recession has been especially hard on traditionally male jobs

(NEWSER) - Male unemployment has hit an all-time high, with a whopping 1 of every 5 working-age American men jobless, according to the latest government figures. The economic downturn has been especially brutal on traditionally male-dominated fields like construction and manufacturing, the Huffington Post explains, leading some to label it a “mancession.” The figure includes many people standard unemployment figures don’t track, including those who’ve chosen not to look and those who have given up on job hunting. More»

(NEWSER) - Top law school grads are competing this fall for just half the number of entry-level positions big firms offered last year, in what the New York Times calls the most difficult employment season in half a century. One of New York's biggest firms has cut its hires by more than 50%, while a respected Philadelphia firm has foregone hiring completely. At top-ranked Yale, many leading law firms aren't even bothering to recruit. More»

(NEWSER) - If the downturn has you considering a “recession-proof” job like teaching or medicine, think again, Greg Burns writes in the Chicago Tribune. The recession has affected all sectors, from layoffs and lower enrollment at educational institutions to dwindling state budgets choking civil servants. “It’s a question of degree,” one expert says. “I really don’t believe there is any such thing as recession-proof.” More»