Where the jobs are? Looking at some signs for 50 plus.

The US department of Labor just released the latest unemployment figures -- holding at about 4.6%. Not much to look at in the big picture, but I like to look at the report and see if there are any continuing/ongoing/new trends. I've linked to the report above for anyone who would like to read it directly.

Here are the points of interest for Gen Plussers. Of this 4.6% of unemployed, 1.3 million have been unemployed 27 weeks or longer. There are almost 370,000 discouraged workers in July. Discouraged workers are defined as those not currently looking for work specifically because they believed no jobs were available for them. This reflects posts and comments on my Careers group on Eons, emails I receive, and other general comments on this blog.

Healthcare continues to climb as a major industry with job openings -- over the year, health care employment has expanded by 377,000 and the trend continues to climb.

Not reflected in this report, but, sadly, breaking our hearts at the same time, the tragedy in Minnesota, brought a huge spotlight on American bridge infrastructure.

Reflecting that, at Gen Plus, we're seeing employers show an increased interest in finding engineers and those with communications experience and healthcare/allied health disciplines.

Billions of dollars may have to be spent on shoring up our infrastructure -- from engineering to healthcare -- and the money will be an issue, but the bigger issue is where will the skilled people-power come from? It is going to have to come from our demographic. The experience that is going to be needed is not currently available in sufficient numbers in the younger workforce.

I've been commenting on several industries for several months and this continues to give support to needs in engineering, transportation (rail, road and air infrastructures are all aging as well), healthcare and communication (field, technical, corporate).

If you have any expertise or skill in areas that could be helpful to these industries, now is the time to rework your resume to highlight those specific skills and get yourself posted -- on Gen Plus and on other free job boards.