Unemployment Rate Increases in November: Jobs Available?

On the heels of the Fed Beige Book announcement on Wednesday that the U.S. economy is improving, the Labor Department today released its unemployment figures for November. For the first time in seven months, unemployment rose across the United States to 9.8 percent.

While manufacturing rose, it did not create as many new jobs as anticipated. Economists predicted 150,000 new jobs in November, but the actual net was only 39,000 jobs.

Here in Ohio, thousands of unemployed and underemployed workers are facing the loss of their extended unemployment benefits this weekend. In this Columbus Dispatch report, local businesses lament the difficulty in filling available jobs due to the extended unemployment benefits. Grocery retailer Giant Eagle reports a need of 150 employees in non-seasonal positions.

The Labor Department report indicated that there are more than 1.3 million "discouraged" workers in the United States. This figure includes people who no longer look for a job because they believe there is nothing available. I am one of those 1.3 million discouraged workers, while my boyfriend spends several hours every day sending resumes all over the country.

While I work seven days a week to build a freelance writing career, I know this is the only job that will continue to bring in money. I have spent months in the past applying for jobs when I wanted to leave my former career as an operations manager for a regional inventory company. I was completely willing to take a pay cut and applied for jobs as an administrative assistant, a call center operator and data entry clerk. In every case, I was told I was overqualified and would not be happy with the position. This was in 2007, before the recession began.

The part-time jobs I've held over the last three years to supplement my self-employed income included being a bartender at a small-town neighborhood bar in Centerburg, Ohio, and a bakery clerk with Kroger. According to my resume, I've been underemployed for more than three years. I don't even try for the clerical positions anymore because of the gap in my resume.

While it is realistic for the employers to be discouraged that workers are not applying for the lower-paying jobs, it is also necessary to remember that many of these 1.3 million discouraged workers have already run the gauntlet. I have been turned down for jobs I was overqualified for. I have been asked in interviews if I have a problem being supervised by a much younger person. I have been passed over for a first interview because I had traditionally worked in a 9-5 situation and it wasn't believed that I would be willing to work a rotating shift.

While employers lament that no one is willing to fill their empty positions, there are more than a million Americans who would love to be given the opportunity to be interviewed for those same jobs. Until that happens, the unemployment situation in the United States will not improve.

Sources: Yahoo News; Economy Improving?; Columbus Dispatch