This job market sucks (Minneapolis, Eden Prairie: apartments, leasing, condos)

[nick is rulz]

cite your proof of that, please.

[WannaBeinBoston]

http://www.ustreas.gov/press/releases/reports/07230%20r.pdf (broken link)

[Vagabond Vistas]

Originally Posted by Repubocrat

Most people that I know that are unemployed are NOT specialized techies, I know a few who were in finance, some were executives, and they hold at least a MBA. I have a friend who has a MBA from Carlson working a temp project making 12/hr. It is unbelievable how people here in MN like to live in denial "I guess, we are doing pretty good compared to the nation", reality is, the job situation in the Twin Cities is absolutely pathetic. Go to any workforce center and you will understand what I am talking about, whoever said that there are plenty of positions in non-profit is also full of crap.

Well said, Rupubocrat. And, to substantiate what R. has said, consider the following:

An unemployment rate of 7.5% is not doing better than the nation. The nation's unemployment rate does not exclude the outliers (Michigan's high rate of around 15%, California's high rate, and Little Rhody's high rate) nor does it exclude the low rates in the Dakotas and Nebraska. So, if those states were not included, the nation's unemployment rate would probably be somewhere where Minnesota is now, maybe even lower than Minnesota's. I agree, having lived in Minnesota for more than a decade, many folks from the area usually live beneath the sand or the fallen snow.

[Minervah]

Where I live, Portland Oregon, the unemployment rate is 12.7%. Our homeless population is more that doubling according to our local weekly newspaper and the shelters have run out of space. More people are living in their cars and the animal shelters are overflowing with pets that were surrendered because their people could no longer take care of them. Large companies are closing or laying off employees. The cost of living is ever rising. If one is very lucky they can find a job but it takes a great deal of networking.

Yet people are still flocking here without jobs like lemmings to a cliff.

So Mpls rate of 8.5% doesn't look so bad to me. It's all relative. It is on my list of places to which I would like to live but I will be content to wait a bit until things get better all around even if it takes a few or so years.

[knke0204]

Repubocrat just crys about everything. Why don't you just move away? Its the wost recession the country has seen. The country loses hundreds of thousands of jobs a month. You expect to just find the perfect job? Nobody is down playing anything, there is nothing wrong with optimism. "Yeah its not as bad as the rest of the country" is pure optimism, not downplaying. We are well aware of the economic climate, but frankly there is nothing people can really do. You cant just protest to create jobs.

[Vagabond Vistas]

Originally Posted by uptown_urbanist

I don't see anyone here saying that the job market in the Twin Cities is good. It IS doing okay compared to other places. The job situation between my friends and family in MN versus those in Southern CA is like night and day. It is much, much better to be in the Twin Cities right now: more jobs (relatively speaking) and lower cost of living. That's not denying that the situation is still bad.

All of that said, I still wouldn't move without a job lined up, but the big problem for would-be Minnesotans is that it's tougher to break into the job market from out-of-state (even if you're willing to pay for all relocation expenses) because there's still the vision that people don't want to move to MN, and will leave for greener pastures as soon as they can. When we were living elsewhere and applying for jobs back in MN you could practically see the difference it made when the people doing the interviewing realized that we had roots there. That's probably less of an issue for the big companies or for corporate transfers, but it is a catch-22 for those who want to move to the Twin Cities without any connections. It's a bad idea to move without a job lined up, but it's also going to be tough to get a job without a local address.

It's not only tougher to break into the job market, it may also be tougher to just break into the Minnesota society. Perhaps that is the reason for employers to not want to hire people from out of state. It's unfortunate but true that Minnesotans will gravitate toward those from the area, have relatives in the area, on an on. Much hasn't changed in the area. And, the same goes for many from the area who were offered transfers in years past; they refused to relocate out of state.

[uptown_urbanist]

On the "it's not as bad as many areas" comments, I think that it's a very valid point that stating the fact (because the fact is that it's not as bad as many parts of the country) isn't downplaying anything. I wouldn't move to MN without a job right now, but at the same time if I was unemployed in the Twin Cities I wouldn't take off for another city without a job, either. It's a bad situation to be out of a job anywhere, but for those already in the Twin Cities and looking for work the grass is probably not going to be greener elsewhere. Unfortunately it's a bad economic situation in most places right now, and it's still better to be unemployed and looking for work in a metro area with a slightly lower unemployment rate (and a relatively affordable cost of living) where one presumably already has established professional contacts than it is to move somewhere new without something already lined up.

[Vagabond Vistas]

Originally Posted by Slig

I think your buddy with the MBA isn't looking hard enough. I just looked and my office is hiring a few corporate support positions, we seem to lose somebody who goes to another company in the Twin Cities a few times a month. There are jobs out there, you just have to apply to 20 places a day and when you get the call back nail the interview. It isn't rocket science.

For me I would probably give up if I had to apply for 20 jobs a day. Anymore, I just don't see it worth it. I now keep my expenses really, really low - actually got rid of debt this past summer - and that is fine. I will never be a slave, anymore, to any employer, to any HR recruiter. I'd rather work for myself, obtain my own health insurance (I've usually succeeded at that very well and had better coverage than with some damned company with its high deductibles and premiums), and pay my own payroll tax at double the rate.

I won't gravel at people's feet. I won't sit in front of so called HR recruiters, who are all of 22 with no experience except what they learned in a college class, if they went to college.

I won't have these, usually HR women, wearing their long skirts or pants dragging on the floor (yeah, that's really professional), look at this 46 year old female who has a lot of good experience and they will tell me what is the "perfect fit" for me.

And, I won't subject myself to their damned "personality profiles." I told one recruiter that I, at the age of 46 and having lived in different areas of this country, having worked with people from all over the states and the world, think I have more insight into my personality than some young, inexperienced, home grown HR recruiter.

[Vagabond Vistas]

Originally Posted by Slig

I'm pretty sure he gives a crap, but don't expect the government to spoon feed you for the rest of your life. Maybe it's time to see what you can do for yourself.

Yes, Slig, I agree with you post. People shouldn't expect the government to keep on bailing them out.

Think how more mobile people unemployed would be if they didn't buy into the great American dream that all of the deserved a home they "owned" and it was their right to be "mortgage holders." They wouldn't be tied to their homes, paying on overpriced mortgages, and using unemployment checks to do so. They could up and move to somewhere else to find a job.

Frankly, I'm sick of these people getting extension after extension on their unemployment comp. I know of someone who was an architect in California and he and the wife wanted to move closer to their relatives, so they move to Kansas City and the California company says, "Fine, we'll just set you up with a home office." And, then six months later, he gets laid off. That was over a year ago.

They decide to try for a baby while on unemployment (that to me is not a smart move since they bought a house as soon as they arrived in KC - yep, get the big job, get the first paycheck, and get the mortgage).

He is still on unemployment. She won't return to school to get an RN (is an LPN) because she wants to keep her 9-5 job. Last I checked, RNs make a lot more money than LPNs.

The baby has arrived. And, they are now saying, "Oh, we got another unemployment extension, and since I worked in California, I get even more money and longer extensions." Besides, he commented he won't take a job at Target or somewhere like it since it wouldn't pay. No, it doesn't pay like what he made when the company was throwing money at him, but at least the amount his unemployment is reduced by would be banked only for him to draw on, even after all his extensions run out. But, kids under 30, or just turning 30, don't see things this way. They had it made for the past 30 years, and most of that they were not supporting themselves. They felt it was all owed to them, and still feel that way.

Eventually, unemployed people have to make a decision to pack up and move out.

[Vagabond Vistas]

Originally Posted by uptown_urbanist

I think the perception is outdated, but it still lives on in some places. When my dad was applying for jobs back in the 1970s it was far more obvious, and people would outright ask him "why do you want to move HERE?" I think some Minnesotans have an inferiority complex! The winter weather gets old fast, but it gets cold and snowy other places, too. Hmm. I'm not sure what people (those who wonder why people move to MN) say to Canadians; you might not get it as bad because you're coming from somewhere else known to have winters.

MxdWithLuv, I think you're okay moving without a job (it will be easier to find one once you're in town), since you will have significant savings built up.

Thanks for writing that some Minnesotans have an inferiority complex. It's good to see that admitted and in writing.