The global financial crisis that the world is experiencing is affecting all of us. However, some job sectors have been more affected than others. There are three main areas that have had the most troublesome outcomes; Real Estate, Financial Services, and Retail.
The affects on the real estate community and all of their counterparts has been going on for a while now. When we speak of the real estate sector, we are seeing significant declines in not only real estate agents, but mortgage underwriters, home inspectors, and even home improvement businesses. It is important to note however, that the number of professionals in these fields were driven up in the housing booms heyday.
The financial services community, is not only Wall Street, but your neighborhood financial planner as well. Financial services has lost entire facets of their workforce in the last year due to the global credit meltdown. Jobs in securitization of debt, that is the mortgage backed securities, that nearly caused the whole system to collapse, are all but gone. Financial planners are having a difficult time retaining clients as they revert to more conservative investment plans or keep all their investments in money markets or CDs. The deterioration of this sector is especially troubling for those without employment because they generally are well educated and highly compensated. It is truly a challenge to find comparable employment.
Lastly, the retail sector has been struggling for quite some time. With the financial downturn people are saving more and spending less. This means that even though the stores are cutting their prices to the bone, the consumer is not coming through the door. Even if they do, the cut in prices affects the companies bottom line as well as the sales persons commissions. As the world become more confident in recovery, we can only hope people will go back to the stores and start buying again.
If your have found yourself unemployed, know you are not alone. As painful as it is, there has never been a time in history when resources to improve your personal situation have been more available.
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