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It was the worst of times and it was the worst of times for many American workers this past year.
With 10 percent unemployment, 2009 draws to a close leaving millions of Americans without jobs. Even those who still have jobs feel beaten down. The recession took its toll in the shape of job cuts, furloughs, and wage and benefit reductions in just about every industry.
But there were a host of professions that took a beating this past year in terms of job losses, from carpenters to architects to production supervisors. Indeed, manufacturing and construction as a whole were hit hardest. There were also some you might not expect, including pilots and mechanical engineers.
Health care seemed to be the only industry adding jobs last year, said James Walker, a labor analyst for the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
It was the worst of times and it was the worst of times for many American workers this past year.
With 10 percent unemployment, 2009 draws to a close leaving millions of Americans without jobs. Even those who still have jobs feel beaten down. The recession took its toll in the shape of job cuts, furloughs, and wage and benefit reductions in just about every industry.
But there were a host of professions that took a beating this past year in terms of job losses, from carpenters to architects to production supervisors. Indeed, manufacturing and construction as a whole were hit hardest. There were also some you might not expect, including pilots and mechanical engineers.
Health care seemed to be the only industry adding jobs last year, said James Walker, a labor analyst for the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
I was surprised to see accounting on there. I can't really see most companies getting by without accountants. and I hadn't really heard of many losing jobs.
Accounting/bookkeepers type jobs have lost a LOT, especially in small to medium businesses where the office manager/bookkeeper/accountant pretty much did it all (with maybe some minor clerical assistance).
Other job forums/boards I frequent have quite a few unemployed finance types (especially older females it seems).
These businesses don't seem to be hiring either - possibly small business is trying to get by on their own, or are utilising lower level skills/experience clerks, but they'll regret it when there's an upturn and their books are a mess.
Then the skilled people get to take jobs cleaning up the mess (again - sigh) - been there done that in previous downturns.......
I was surprised to see accounting on there. I can't really see most companies getting by without accountants. and I hadn't really heard of many losing jobs.
I think the job loss in accountancy is related to lower level positions like accounting clerks, accounts payable and receivable clerks. Most of these positions are filled with people who might have a lot of experience but lack a accountancy degree and are not certified public accountants. There is growth in the accounting field but I think its lead toward more middler career to senior level positions and individuals who have a good mix of education, experience, and are a CPA.
Nope, actually a lot of the job losses are in entry level positions with public accounting firms and private industry, the type of jobs that people with bachelor's and master's degrees would be doing. College students who could choose between multiple job offers in 2007 are now struggling to find a job at all, and firms, even the global "Big Four" are looking for reasons to cut as many people as they can. The regional, mid-sized, and smaller firms are even worse. About the only people hiring are the government, and they have a ton of people to choose from, so they usually go with people with more experience. So those who have just gotten out of school or who only have 1-2 years of experience are pretty much out in the cold.
I lasted a year at my job [a global accounting firm], thankfully enough to get my CPA license. I know of others who were laid off after a few months. Look at any of the various blogs and message boards related to accounting and you'll see that this has been going on since late 2008, yet accounting was still promoted as "recession proof."
From what I can tell in my job search, the lower level accounting clerk and bookkeeper jobs are actually not too hard to find, but of course now you're getting people with 4-year or even graduate degrees trying to get those jobs. Have no idea what it's like for people who only have associate's degrees or no degree at all, although at least those people don't have to worry about the whole "overqualified" thing.
Sounds like the article is focused more on the clerk jobs, but I can confirm that the job market for accountants, auditors, and financial analysts is very tough right now unless you have at least a few years of experience, and you're looking at a ton of people who either were laid off during their first couple of years or else were not able to find a job after graduation at all.
People who have 3+ years of experience are generally in pretty high demand, but there are a ton of people in accounting right now who have less experience who are seeking work. What companies do now is get rid of accounting positions and have the few people who remain each do the work of 2-3 people.
However, I do think that accounting will be one of the industries that recovers once things turn around, although I don't know if they will reach the level of hiring they've enjoyed from 2002-2007.
Anecdotally, I know of at least several who have lost accounting positions and have not been able to find further employment and they are neither entry level nor inexperienced - on average I would say most have at least 20 + years experience at all levels of financial responsibility and with a variety of industries.
I'm not sure WTH is doing the books these days, but I have a feeling it's not going to be pleasant cleaning up the mess.
Which is one of the reasons why I'm somewhat optimistic that things will bounce back--cleaning up the mess, and oversight of all the government spending. People with that much experience really should look into the government jobs out there.
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