November continued a low activity trend for the job market in Fairfield County, with a modest 6 percent increase in job posting activity. This continues a softness trend that started in May, indicating that the market still remains stuck in neutral.
Some key items of note regarding November:
Ӣ Stamford led all towns in the county with the most jobs posted, followed by Greenwich and Norwalk.
Ӣ The industries most actively hiring this past month were accounting, health care and financial services.
Ӣ Top job categories were administrative, accountancy and health services.
As we enter December the picture locally is a bit less optimistic than nationally. The national unemployment figures released in early December suggest a continued level of modest improvement and therefore somewhat of a trend towards recovery. Fairfield County has not been in step with the national scene, with greater fluctuations and market weakness at times this year. In short that means that any national recovery is not necessarily one that the county will also experience.
Upon closer inspection the kind of unemployment the county has experienced is not going to be easy to address. Many white collar six figure jobs were lost since 2008, mainly for those in the financial services arena. Those jobs are not expected to come back, leaving those on the sidelines there to either find the rare opportunity at those few hiring in that capacity or to reinvent their careers. It should also be noted that this population is overwhelmingly 40-plus, further hindering their reemployment chances in a market fraught with ageism.
In summary, 2013 looks to end somewhat unremarkably with no broad recovery in sight. The hope for many is that with time comes a greater level of stability and opportunity, with the hope that new industry and associated jobs will emerge as the New Year approaches. Stay tuned.
David Lewis is president/CEO of FairfieldCountyJobs.com, the region”™s most prolific job board with 100,000-plus visitors a month to view jobs from more than 4,000 area employers. Learn more at FairfieldCountyJobs.com.
