Marc Cuniberti They say windows of opportunity close quickly. Nothing can be truer as it relates to the current job market.
I had three kids in college this year, and during CoVid, I encouraged them to apply for apprentice programs at the highest quality institutions they could find. I explained to them firms like banks, financial advisory firms, insurance companies, high tech companies and the like were clamoring for warm bodies.
Simply put, regardless of whether potential workers were afraid of CoVid or sitting by the river contemplating their naval (as my dad used to say) few people wanted to work and companies were desperate to fill their many job vacancies.
Heck, even my local Bank of America shuttered its doors on certain days due to the lack of available bodies to man the teller windows.
Unlike decades before where the world was flooded each and every year with college grads viscously competing for jobs, these last few years reminded me of the proverbial kid in a candy store for those willing to set the alarm clock and get their butts out of bed and to a work desk somewhere.
I hammered on all three of my lovelies to hit the yellow pages (well nowadays the internet) and put their face in front of a hungry interviewer who was given the edict to fill the seat with a willing worker.
In fact, in my 45 or so odd years of working, I could not remember a time when it was easier to land a good paying job somewhere than during and right after the CoVid era.
In the past, a college degree in no way guaranteed you a job, even with a solid degree in a hard science, let alone those majoring in sociology or communications. Not knocking those degrees mind you, but they are two of the harder to employ degrees out of many on surveys of past graduates a few years into the workforce.
Not so during Covid.
Institutions of the highest caliber were more than eager to hire high school grads willing to work, and if you had a college degree, all the better. College grads have had a golden opportunity of not only getting a job, but getting a good job.
Fast forward to today and the employment picture is reverting back to where it was for decades. Graduates who sat back and took their time to grab a job may now be realizing that with inflation soaring and CoVid savings evaporating, grads by the ton are hitting the streets again looking for work.
The sobering news is that companies may not be hiring due to the slowing economy, and many are laying off workers as the worst inflation of 40 years takes a bite out of consumer demand.
From Reuters just last week comes the sobering news for graduates and non-graduates alike looking for work:
“U.S. job openings dropped to more than a 2-1/2-year low in October, the strongest sign yet that demand for labor was cooling amid higher interest rates”.
One of my sons has just graduated from U.C. Irvine and having to now spread his wings and pay rent in Los Angeles, he has moved into the ranks of those looking for a good paying job and finding a time to secure employment.
As dad warned him a few years back, an apprenticeship with a bank or advisory firm or some other high paying employer a year or so back would have likely solidified him into a great job now once graduated. Having waited however, he is now competing with many others in the same predicament: Too many graduates sans a parent paycheck needing work but finding fewer job openings.
In conclusion, the CoVid years was literally a once in a lifetime window where landing a job was a foregone conclusion as long as one wanted to work, which apparently not many did.
Now that times are harder and prices are higher and the economy doesn’t look to improve much anytime soon despite what the CNBC cheerleaders tell you, the job market has reverted back to where it was for so many years.
If you want a good paying job, once again, you better have a sturdy pair of walking shoes and fast internet and be prepared to use them.
“Watching the markets so you don’t have to”
This article expresses the opinion of Marc Cuniberti and is not meant as investment advice, or a recommendation to buy or sell any securities, nor represents the opinion of any bank, investment firm or RIA, nor this media outlet, its staff, members or underwriters. Mr. Cuniberti holds a B.A. in Economics with honors, 1979, and California Insurance License #0L34249 His insurance agency is BAP INC. insurance services. Email: [email protected]
