Time for a Deep Breath

These are interesting times, indeed, notes Jeff Testerman of www.brokerhunter.com in his latest employment report. The economy recently suffered its worst job loss since March 2003, with payrolls shrinking by nearly 160,000 jobs. “Hidden” unemployment, which counts workers who have given up their search for a job, reached 11 percent, he notes. This is the highest rate in 14 years. Headline unemployment remained at 6.1 percent.

The financial-services industry did contract by more than 12,000 jobs, but the carnage has been contained so far, Testerman believes. “We remain at less than 2 percent off of historical high employment in this sector and in light of the recent bailout bill passage, we remain hopeful that employment within the securities industry will stabilize — sooner rather than later,” he concludes.

“We have actually experienced a brisk demand for our job posting and search services, indicating to us that the majority of firms are willing to invest in new employees, especially producers,” Testerman adds.