APRIL 2008

It's not surprising that news about the current unemployment rate indices are following the same general trend as the economy. Latest figures have the unemployment rate at around 8 percent, which, at face value, may seem to contradict all the talk about short supply and high demand of talented professionals in the refining industry. However one need only to dig a little deeper into the currently released figures to read the real story. The unemployment rate for individuals with SOME college education is 3.7 percent. 3 percent is considered NO unemployment by the way. More remarkable, however, is that the unemployment rate for individuals who are four-year college grads is only 2.1 percent! This is DOWN a full percent just since the Nov/Dec reports! So despite what the media may lead you to believe, degreed technical professionals are still very much in short supply and high demand in the marketplace, and this trend appears to continue into the foreseable future as the Baby Boomers continue to move toward retirement age. Obviously it's an optimal time to consider a next career opportunity move!