Is it a tough job market in Chicago now? (construction, college)

[Jesse69]

Is it a tough job market in Chicago now? Are you unemployed and finding it hard to get a Job in Chicago? What job are you looking for and how long have you been looking? Or how are your unemployed friends doing? Or how long did it take you to get your current job?

IL unemployment rate 7.3%
TX unemployment rate 5.0%

[BrandonSi]

Honestly it depends on your specifics.. What do you do, or what are you trying to get into? I know advertising/marketing is getting hit pretty hard (my wife works for fox television, so I hear it all the time).. I quit my job, and then ended up landing a new position with a $10k raise in 3 weeks. I'm in a specialized area of IT though, so I'll admit that's a unique case. Generally I think you're much better being unemployed and looking for work in Chicago, than being in a smaller city or suburb.

[lisakf1]

I had a much easier finding a job here than in Austin, TX. I found the staffing agencies here for the most part were more efficient in finding jobs in me and my husband's case.

It took me 3.5 wks to find a job and he was 8-9 wks. He had just gotten out of the ARMY, so we had some savings and moved to Chicago without jobs. It was so stressful not knowing about the future, but I know had we stayed in Austin, he wouldn't have ever found a job (super tech city with over qualified individuals) and I was bound to be laid off any day.

[Jesse69]

I typically go for CAD, Proe Designer, or sometimes Technical Writer jobs and I see more job ads of these in Houston vs Chicago.

[Attrill]

It is tougher than it has been in recent years, but it isn't horrible. These are the areas I know about through personal experience and the experiences of friends.

I have friends in advertising/marketing who are in fear of being laid off, but they also have some promising prospects, so it isn't as bleak in advertising as it was around 2002.

I have a good friend looking for a new job in PR who has gotten 2 offers after 6 weeks of looking.

Construction seems to be getting a little rough, I have a friend who is a crane operator who was laid off this summer but found a new job operating lighter equipment after a 1 to 2 month search.

I'm actually looking to hire people in my department - if you're a programmer who knows Python/Django DM me and I'll direct you to the posting.

[Titan 3]

I quit my job arrogantly thinking I could land a new one w/o a problem. Four months later I did.

[Jesse69]

Gee, not many people answered this thread... I guess they're well employed!

[b0nb0n]

I think it depends on the field you're in, your skills etc. I'm in my last semester of college getting my management/hr degree and have been looking for jobs since late sept, I've already had a few offers but nothing I liked enough to consider seriously yet...I don't think it'll be hard for me to find a job by Jan. just because I have time but Ive had many friends who graduated last year who've looked for job for 3-5 months before finding anything. It's not impossible to find a job but I'd say its definitely more competitive now.

[Jesse69]

I graduated Dec 1992 - Gen X era - took me 1 year to get a job after college! No experience = hard to get a job.

[Avengerfire]

Originally Posted by Jesse69

I graduated Dec 1992 - Gen X era - took me 1 year to get a job after college! No experience = hard to get a job.

What does that have to do with the current job market? Nothing.