I See.....Jobs
 

The Greater San Francisco Bay Area is pretty much central California, from Monterey in the south to Sacramento in the east.
Millions of people live here and there are many roads connecting the housing developments shopping and business parks in this megalopolis.

I am a courier and regularly traverse the entirety of this geography and, I observe. Businesses we used to deliver to and for are gone as are places I noticed in transit.
Here, businesses like Apple have campuses, Cisco has a campus of more than two dozen multi-story buildings and some of their competitors and suppliers are closed.
We all know about Solyndra who built a factory and immediately closed in bankruptcy. Shops in strip malls, on city streets and in neighborhoods everywhere are closed.
The old Codding Mall in Santa Rosa is remodeling and is half empty, but has the salvation of Sears, and Macy's as strong anchor tenants so they should pull through. Maybe.

As of this writing, America's GDP, the measure of how much business we are doing, is around 1%, nowhere near what is necessary for the economy to grow and thrive again.

But I see work taking place as I travel.

The rail yards at the Port of Oakland, three times that I've seen this year, have been full of stacked lumber indicating that, somewhere someone is building.
Highway 80 in the mountains has been repaved; it was worn to the foundation and was so rough it was damaging trucks as well as cars,
and there are paving projects along the rest of 80 in the Bay Area as well as most of the rest of the freeway system.
The new Bay Bridge seems to have all the parts here and installed, the final steel roadbed pieces were just lifted into place by 'Left Coast Lifter' the giant floating crane
and the concrete connection to the tunnel is coming right along.
All the major hospitals have not just added-on, they have built entire buildings on their sites and there are brand-new hospitals under construction.
Housing tracts, that were 'in the pipeline' when the economy turned south are being built.
There were three cruise ships docked at San Francisco last Wednesday. There seem to be almost as many cargo ships as before.
Semi trucks help clog the Oakland freeways.

But is it just me? All the jobs seem to be union.
What kind of jobs do you see where you are?

Re: I See.....Jobs
 

not many unions here in florida. september is seasonably slow for us, but we just had our best september ever. like hospitals(we deliver to btw) tho, we are relatively recession proof(maybe resistant is a better description) because we sell and deliver food.

i too see many places closing their doors all over central florida. unfortunately, outside of delivery, vocations dealing w/ food employ relatively low earners(for the most part).

it's been estimated that corp America is holding at least $2 trillion in revenue, delaying spending and hiring largely because of uncertain future tax concerns.

i'm convinced lower and flat taxes(or something similar) are imperative to America's future prosperity(or lack thereof). the loopholes and non-tax payers must be eliminated.

there's A LOT more to do, but it's not pertinent to this thread and would most certainly ignite an ugly political debate!

Re: I See.....Jobs
 

Nope. I just wonder if what I see is just here.

Re: I See.....Jobs
 

check the jobless rates by state...https://www.bls.gov/web/laus/laumstrk.htm

your state has the 2nd highest rate. north dakota ain't bad...but the cattle outnumber the people! actually those number are tweaked...they do not include the under employed nor those who have quit looking.

Re: I See.....Jobs
 

I don't see them now, but I am hopeful for them in the near future.

For me, the biggest indicator of how well the economy is doing is the manufacturing sector, which has been virtually obliterated by China (with the exception of cars).

I'm hopeful for some manufacturing to return to the US, because there is quite a bit of inflation in China- this is causing inflation on Chinese-made items, and this will make the US somewhat competitive again in certain areas (depending how much the Chinese economy falters).

I think the mass-exodus to China has stopped for the time being, we'll see how quickly it returns.

-BC

Re: I See.....Jobs
 

I just lost my job last Tuesday. Ugh.

Re: I See.....Jobs
 

what do you do/what skills have you?

Re: I See.....Jobs
 

I have been an analyst and document processor for commercial lending for 4 years. In my prior life, I was a salesman (cars, appliances, lawn & garden, tools, etc.). I managed a restaurant, and I was the sales manager for a Sears store. I finished up my MBA in June. Throughout high school and college, I worked in a graphic arts machine shop and in security.

A little of everything, eh?

I have 24 applications out there. I'm interviewing for a job in 2 hours. Let's see how it goes.

(I didn't mean to hijack the thread).

Re: I See.....Jobs
 

You need to apply to the federal government. Go on USAJobs.

I've been with the federal government for 8 years after 12 years in the private sector. And I'm not looking back.

Re: I See.....Jobs
 

mine is the opposite story. i left the public sector...and i'm never looking back.

Fetch, let me know how it goes. my company(food distribution) is consistently growing and hiring. you likely would need to relocate as most of our locations are on the east and west coasts, with a handful in the mid US.

Re: I See.....Jobs
 

The reason I love the federal government is as an engineer my pay is not far off from the private industry and I only have to work 40 hrs/ week instead of the 50-60 hrs I was expected to work in the private industry.

At 60 hrs a week I was actually paid less than I am now using a 40 hrs as a benchmark.

In addition I'm at a place where I only work 4 days a week (10 hrs/day). It's great for family life and low stress.

Re: I See.....Jobs
 

i don't see the correlation between jobs and "occupy wall street" however.

Re: I See.....Jobs
 

You one of those government employees getting paid twice what the same job in the civilian sector gets?

Re: I See.....Jobs
 

No, I'm one of the federal government workers that is paid a WORKING wage without having to work 60 hrs / week slave labor.

Actually I would make more in the private sector as an engineer but have to work 50-60 hrs/week to get it and live with the fear everyday of losing my job because of the greed of CEO's and mismanagement.

I personally think we should have the work week and vacation like Germany. And since we have become so efficient over the last 40 yrs why is 40 hr workweek still a standard and not 30 hrs?

Re: I See.....Jobs
 

if federal and local govt(including politicians) would first fix their greed, mismanagement, and corruption; taxes on individuals and corps could be lowered stimulating growth enough to not only save jobs, but to create new ones. that said, i would fear being in a govt job as cuts are needed to bring budgets under control. insane govt (and private for that matter) benefits, pensions, salaries; as well as unneeded positions will be on the table for cuts as things progress...or regress if you will.

Re: I See.....Jobs
 

Well where I work there is seniority so if there were cuts I wouldn't be the first to go.

As well they would offer incentives for those that could retire to do so. I think 25% of the federal workforce could retire right now.

Corporate greed will still exist regardless of the improvement in taxation.

I will take the good with the bad staying with the federal government as I've experienced the cut-throat nature of the private sector for 12 years.

I could make more in the private sector but my quality of life is much better since my stress level is lower and I only have to work 40 hrs / week.

Re: I See.....Jobs
 

What people don't seem to understand is that job growth need not be any greater than population growth. If the population were to be stable, then zero job growth would be perfectly suitable. If pop growth is x percent, that's all job growth needs to be. So when we stop paying all these retreads to reproduce, we can stop crying about job growth, and we can stop all this stupid, ugly sprawl, and we can stop increasing commute times on increasingly clogged roads.

Re: I See.....Jobs
 

is 40 hrs a week the standard?

man I have worked too many 50 and 60 hr weeks to remember.

Re: I See.....Jobs
 

As long as you are compensated for the extra hours you work I don't see anything wrong with 50-60 hrs a week. That is why I believe companies deserve unions because of the mistreatment of their salaried employees.

Unfortunately employers take advantage of their employees especially in this job climate.

I just wished I would have gone right into a government job right out of college. But better late than never. :)

Re: I See.....Jobs
 

these are all great points of focus...

seniority doesn't matter outside of govt and private unions. this is what hurts efficiency and production ultimately affecting an organizations future. job security should(and is in the non-union private sector) be based on performance...tho i would argue that older laborers should be given slack in regard to production and promotional opportunities.

many public pensions are WAY out of control and budget. there have even been reports of those working AND collecting a govt pension. they need both more self funding and a reconstruction of the amount in % paid(lower would be ideal for a great many of them).

there would be less corp greed w/ a fair or flat tax AND employees that would not abuse workplace benefits, time, and resources. if corp were confident about future taxation they could hire more and offer incentives for employees to be(or become) shareholders provided they worked together to make their company more profitable. i will concede the point of ridiculous CEO(and such) pay, but that's the company's money not yours or mine; and certainly not tax payer money!

companies to some degree have to "cut throats" to survive. govt gets in trouble when difficult cuts are not made...like the fore mentioned seniority topic. if some one is found to be in subordination such that termination is mandated...make it so, no matter the years served...PERIOD

the private sector saves money by requiring overtime during seasonal peak in business. fewer employees on the pay roll at less busy times often is crucial.

i'm with ya on your employment choice. and i agree that regulation is needed...but it would be prudent to first regulate govt. i'm tired of the Barney Franks of the world cutting back room deals while promising that things are ok with their govt committee and self regulation. what if in the early part of this century the housing market(freddie and fannie specifically) was better regulated?...

Re: I See.....Jobs
 

Yeah, there is abuse all the way around. I would just rather take the abuse of the government and have better working conditions than take the abuse in the private sector and work like a dog.

Re: I See.....Jobs
 

Trad, not attacking you personally at all so please don't take it that way. I know a high number of government employees and they are the laziest, no-working, overpaid bunch I've ever seen. Sometimes I'm jealous they can make so much, do so little and get such great benefits. Other times I just have no respect for them. My quality of life and stress levels are just fine working in the private sector. I cannot complain. Most of all, I'm respected by others for the work I do, and I respect myself. Again, nothing personal toward you Trad, just an observation I've made but I pretty much cant stand them.

Re: I See.....Jobs
 

YOU!!!! haha read your posts about fed work, my dad worked for the state as a chemical engineer for 25+ years, i had an internship with the state and absolutely loved it, friend of mine works for the federal govt, AND I WANT TO TOO Ive applied, got resumes floating about but its going slow.

i realized before i was even out of college that i wanted a federal or state job, i like all the perks you get (not MAJOR ones and certainly no monetary value but its the little things in life) but didn't see any i qualified for (i got a 4 year degree graduated with high honors yet it wasnt in the RIGHT degree), graduated college threw the wad of applications/reumes out there in the world out of the 40 or 50 i threw out heard back from about 10 of em (good ol F-you letters) got an interview with one and pretty much had to take it. it BLEEEEEEEEEEP sucks!

non union working in a manufacturing plant oh yea i know all about legalized slave labor, lied to daily, threatened to be fired if i (insert dumb reason here) have seen 3 supervisors quit, 5 HR people, 14 coworkers leave, 2 get fired for asinine reasons all in a years time, working every holiday (thats right buddy thanksgiving day, Christmas eve, Christmas day, Easter, 4th of July, etc but dont worry we were told family comes first- buncha lying ***********) for crap pay for what we do...its bad when you start getting envious of the stupidest jobs like the cafeteria workers that get every weekend and holiday off.

the private sector sucks, i knew that before leaving college and have my own hard evidence for why it blows. private sector is just a buncha greedy ceos that have thier head up thier butt 99% of the time or wasting money on stupid crap around the plant instead of fixing major safety violations (dont worry noone ever dies in this plant, if your having a heart attack they will haul your butt off their property faster than u can think so you die in public property.) get fined by osha every year hundreds of thousands of dollars but its cheaper to pay the fine than to fix it.

not sure what you do Arky but im glad you can find a company that gives a hoot about you, ive heard they exist but i havent seen one...i wish i got a little appreciation. my stress was thru the roof but lately i give up, i just dont care anymore and input the least amount of effort in what i do at work as i get the same output. I used to be gung ho! but noone cared if i saved them 20 grand (yes $20,000 from my actions alone using the skills i know and brought to the table) in one month 12 the next 17 the next (i stopped adding it up when i realized noone gave a crap) all i got was oh thats good but we need you to go do this. lol my quality of life is crap, have so many unfinished projects as i cant finish them working 6-7 days a week. Cant do half my hobbies anymore as if i get one day off its filled with laundry, cleaning, dishes, etc (lifes chores) only a few hours of light and it takes awhile to get stuff setup for my hobbies so i need a full day to do them. would love to travel but WHOOPS cant now, not even a weekend day trip or overnight fling...

ok im done with my rant, i broke the soapbox ill apologize now if there are swears in there i didnt see...

Re: I See.....Jobs
 

VetteOwner,

Well said. You have summed up my experience and a lot of others I've known in the private sector.

The interesting thing is that I've seen quite a bit of lazy people in the private sector that knew how to suck up to the right people.

The only difference now is that those suck-ups can't fire me.

VetteOwner, I've sent you a PM.

Re: I See.....Jobs
 

Oh yes, tons of "yes men" in my work place...They will not hesitate for a second to throw you under the proverbial bus if it makes them look good.

PM replied to :)

Re: I See.....Jobs
 

you guys sound like the "occupy wall street" crowd. trust me, private was more efficient than public before the obama recession, and they've been forced to be even more so now to survive. reminds me, i ran across this today...https://www.huffingtonpost.com/jo-pia...b_1028190.html

interesting take on things.