The Weekly Conference of Economic Forecasts

Each week we search the globe for the latest economic news so you don't have to!
Let's talk about Jobs and Careers. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) the Unemployment Rate rose from 6.8 in November to finish the year at 7.2 percent nationwide. This is up 0.2 percent since just one month ago and 1.9 percent over the previous quarter. It is the highest unemployment rate in 16 years, and the worst unemployment forecast since the Great Depression. What's more, in real terms, the unemployment rate for people of color has always been much higher than the national average. For African Americans overall the unemployment rate remains in the double digits at 11.9 percent. For Black teenagers it stands at an abysmal 31.2 percent. For Hispanics the unemployment rate is 9.2 percent; and for Hispanic teenagers the rate hovers somewhere around 28 percent. These figures hide the actual rate of people who have given up on the job market and simply just stop looking altogether. Nonetheless, the truth remains shameful enough, that if you are a young adult White male lacking a high school diploma, and coming out of prison with both a juvenile and an adult criminal record you still stand a far better chance of being hired anywhere in the United States than a young Black or Hispanic college graduate with excellent grades and no criminal record at all. Still, we cannot dismiss the fact that a part of this discrepancy concerning unemployment in the African American community, is due to the fact that the Black Talented Tenth is just as unlikely as the larger society to hire their own people. Isn't that something?

Nevertheless, after eight years of economic pain and uncertainty Bush the Younger will leave office in less than two weeks leaving the American people with an economy that is quite noticeably much worst off than when he took office. When he arrived in 2001 there was a 350 billion dollar budget surplus. He will now leave Americans with a trillion dollar deficit, after having amassed more debt than all other presidents before him combined. Bush the Younger came into office inheriting one of the longest sustained periods of economic prosperity in American history. He will leave office after sinking the nation back towards the economic malaise of the Great Depression. The unemployment rate was at 4.2 percent when he came on board, and the nation had gained over 22 million jobs during the previous Clinton Administration. He leaves office after creating a total of 3 million jobs over an eight year period, two thirds of which were lost again over just the last 12 months alone. The unemployment rate has actually risen under his watch by three percentage points to a whopping 7.2 percent; back to where it was when Clinton took office after the presidency of Bush the Elder 16 years ago.

Looking towards the future, the Obama Administration is set to come into office wielding the promise of wide-sweeping economic change. Some of this change is sure to occur due to the ambitious initiatives of the new administration. However, much of it will occur as a natural organic aspect of the new developments that were already set in motion over the previous few years, and are now bound to have an effect upon the new economy. Two of these trends, the movement towards a greener economy and the trend towards wireless technology could not have gained a more affluent advocate in the incoming President of the United States. We should expect to see employment blossom in both of these sectors of the new economy. With a renewed emphasis upon rebuilding the nation's roads bridges, highways, and schools construction jobs are sure to make a comeback as well.

In the new economy, there will be an increased need for Civil Engineers, and Project Managers. The desire for energy independence will spur the need for more Electrical and Mechanical Engineers. We should expect to see the Biofuels Industry get a boost as well. Modernizing the Healthcare industry will require more Software developers, Nurses, Translators, and Information Technology Specialists. In spite of the dismal jobs outlook there is a wealth of opportunity in a number of fields coming right around the corner. Tax Accountants and Auditors will be necessary in order to facilitate greater oversight of the Financial Markets, and let us not forget the opportunities coming as President Obama ambitiously seeks to lay a wireless network across the entire nation. Of course someone will have to assist in the marketing of all of this change, and this is sure to put an even greater emphasis upon Search Engine Marketers as the industry gains a even higher profile in the new economy. There is probably no better time like the present to start a business of your own, as there are sure to be lucrative government contracts just around the corner.

Author/Publisher T. S. Aschenge is a fulltime writer who lives and works in Atlanta Georgia. Among his writing skills and qualifications are Search Engine Marketing and Optimization, Ghost Writing, Technical Writing, Journalism, Resumes, Press Releases, Abstracts, Essays, and Research Papers. His website is called I CAN WRITE THAT 4 U! http://www.okwriteit.wordpress.com This year will mark his debut as a fiction writer as he publishes his first novel set in titled Woodruff Park.