Unemployed May No Longer Qualify For Their Past Positions

October 11th, 2010 (1) Posted By Pat Dollard.

WASHINGTON (AP) – The jobs crisis has brought an unwelcome discovery for many unemployed Americans: Job openings in their old fields exist. Yet they no longer qualify for them.

They’re running into a trend that took root during the recession. Companies became more productive by doing more with fewer workers. Some asked staffers to take on a broader array of duties – duties that used to be spread among multiple jobs. Now, someone who hopes to get those jobs must meet the new requirements.

As a result, some database administrators now have to manage network security. Accountants must do financial analysis to find ways to cut costs. Factory assembly workers need to program computers to run machinery.

The broader responsibilities mean it’s harder to fill many of the jobs that are open these days.

The total number of job openings does remain historically low: 3.2 million, down from 4.4 million before the recession. But the number of openings has surged 37 percent in the past year. And yet the unemployment rate has actually risen during that time. Companies aren’t finding it easy to fill job vacancies.

The hiring shift reflects the push that companies made during the recession to control costs, squeeze more output from their staffs and become more productive. Productivity soared 3.5 percent last year.

And it means workers are bearing heavier burdens. In manufacturing, employees increasingly must be able to run the computerized machinery that dominates most assembly lines. They also have to carry out additional tasks, such as inspecting finished products, notes Mark Tomlinson, executive director of the Society of Manufacturing Engineers.

Manufacturers advertised nearly 200,000 jobs at the end of August, a jump of about 40 percent from a year ago, according to government data. Yet hiring by manufacturers has risen less than 6 percent over that time – evidence that they are having a hard time finding qualified workers.

“There are jobs available, but the worker just has to have more skills than before,” Tomlinson said.

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  • Steve Rogers

    A lot of the unemployed are that way because:

    A. they weren’t qualified for their jobs in the first place.

    B. Weren’t actually “working” while employed.

    C. Had jobs that simply existed because management tends to equate head count and budget size with success. In other words, “My department must be important, just look at how many people work for me and how much money I spend!”