[fbs0724]

Hi everyone. I will be relocating to Papillion in January and although I've found economic data for Omaha, it's a bit dated and was curious to know what's the economy and job outlook looking like? has it deteriorated as much as the east coast?

i currently work in the financial industry and it's been hit pretty hard in NYC and was wondering if the same has happened in Omaha.

Also, if anyone has any suggestions on professional search firms they've used or heard positive comments, i would appreciate the names of those firms.

thanks in advance!

[Raphael07]

All of Omaha's Financial Corporations are doing great, most are hiring and expanding as we speak.

[thatguy1]

Originally Posted by fbs0724

Hi everyone. I will be relocating to Papillion in January and although I've found economic data for Omaha, it's a bit dated and was curious to know what's the economy and job outlook looking like? has it deteriorated as much as the east coast?

i currently work in the financial industry and it's been hit pretty hard in NYC and was wondering if the same has happened in Omaha.

Also, if anyone has any suggestions on professional search firms they've used or heard positive comments, i would appreciate the names of those firms.

thanks in advance!

As you may know the financial industry is more closely linked than most other industries.

If things on Wall Street are getting tight you can expect the same here, as well.

There are companies in Omaha who are having some trouble right now. Lincoln Financial, in particular, has put a freeze hiring, laying off temp workers, cut overtime, etc. They will probably be one of the first companies to sizably downsize their Omaha operations.

There are good areas, however. Mutual of Omaha Bank has been doing acquisitions of other financial institutions across the US. They are also expanding their products and services and are hiring because of that.

Good Luck, if nothing else maybe you could look towards positions in finance with other corporations in Omaha.

[buffy888]

There are a few job websites that can give you an idea of the job prospects you might have. Careerlink is a good one that is specific to the area. You can search for jobs several ways, including by career field.

[Dave1215]

The Omaha metro is in relatively great shape. Spoke with some senior level bank officers just last week - most of the regional and local banks that are based here are conservative - they never got caught up in the crazy lending practices of the last decade. While loan losses may be slightly up they are not real bad and they are still loaning money.

Omaha has a diverse economy from the industries that are here. Some of those industries continue to grow (insurance, education, transportation, finance, military contractors, etc) and that strong diverse market bodes well for the financial industry.

[thatguy1]

Anyone know how large of a presence citi-group has in Omaha? I'm guessing not much and hopefully so. They just announced layoffs of up to 50 thousand employees!

[Dave1215]

Originally Posted by burgerflipper

Anyone know how large of a presence citi-group has in Omaha? I'm guessing not much and hopefully so. They just announced layoffs of up to 50 thousand employees!

Nothing meaningful - never hear of them from a local perspective.

[vegaspilgrim]

Just out of curiosity, how do you think the job market in Omaha would be for an entry level accountant (audit) coming out of a top ranked Master in ACCT program? (whether that's with Big Four, mid-tier, local accounting firms, or private industry). Do you think the firms in Omaha this year would be willing to hire someone from out of state, or fat chance of that?

[Raphael07]

Well, Ironically there was an article about the future of Omahas economy today, it said that our economy will keep growing for a little bit more, than have a brief shrinking period (2-3 months) followed by growth again, so I would imagine you could get a good job at any of our Companies. (Mutual of Omaha, First National Bank, Union Pacific, Woodmen etc.)

[Dave1215]

Originally Posted by vegaspilgrim

Just out of curiosity, how do you think the job market in Omaha would be for an entry level accountant (audit) coming out of a top ranked Master in ACCT program? (whether that's with Big Four, mid-tier, local accounting firms, or private industry). Do you think the firms in Omaha this year would be willing to hire someone from out of state, or fat chance of that?

Being out of towner is NO issue... Omaha has a lot of transplants from many sources/industries: military, insurance, medical, educational, corporate... the only downside an outsider has (and that applies everywhere) is your lack of an established personal network to uncover those job opportunities that are not posted.