September Unemployment Rises

The latest employment figures are in, and they're discouraging to say the least. The US lost 159,000 jobs in September. This marks nine straight months of job losses for the American economy with a grand total of over 750,000 jobs lost in 2008. September job losses were double those of previous months, as they included jobs lost during the Wall Street meltdown that began two weeks ago.

“The economy is clearly going to get worse before it gets better, with or without the rescue plan,” said Stuart G. Hoffman, chief economist at PNC Financial Services in Pittsburgh. “The rescue plan prevents it from getting much worse, but it’s too late to prevent a recession.”

Even though things are grim, this isn't the 1930's and we aren't in another Great Depression. That being said, if you haven't given any thought to your career and what your plan B is should the worst happen to your job, this would be a good time to start passively managing (at the very least) your career. The recent bank collapses show how your job be can be lost due to circumstances completely outside your control, meaning it's always good to be on the lookout for promising opportunities.