The Job Market

Everything looks pretty grim out there. The jobless rate just hit 7.2% and could go much higher.

Our service sector is shrinking rapidly because there were too many jobs. Companies are finally getting to the realization that many of them are not needed and can afford to trim necessary positions.

However, I have read the books The World is Flat by Thomas Friedman and The Little Book of Bull Moves in Bear Markets by Peter D. Schiff and they give very sound advice. Thomas Friedman recommends that people should become "Untouchables" and become "resilient in the field that they work in. Peter Schiff predicts in his book that the service economy will shrink and recommends several job sectors that will hold up well during the financial crisis or emerge from it stronger. Services such as banking, accounting, teaching, and law can be outsourced to India and other countries. However, labor related jobs such as agriculture, baking, hair salons, fishing, and construction should hold up well because those jobs are hard to replace.

If you are fear for or already lost your job, then you should seriously consider learning a trade in case to back you up. That way you can be an "untouchable" as Friedman recommends in his book.