Will I Lose My Job? Who is Most at Risk in This Economic Downturn?

Will I lose my job? That seems to be the million dollar question everyone is asking these days. As the economy seeks a bottom many industries, businesses, and small companies are being forced to do layoffs, in some cases permanently.

Bank Failure Was the First Bomb to Drop on the Labor Force
Although the seeds of destruction for this present economic struggle were laid prior to the Lehman Bros. banking collapse, that initial bank failure set in motion and unstoppable decay of other linked institutions globally. The sudden failure at Lehman put not only direct financial creditors of Lehman at risk, but also dealt a blow to every single industry which supplies the investment banking industry including financial services, technology, telecommunications, and on down the line to small businesses like the local caterer. If you're already laid off or are concerned about your industry, maybe now is a good time to brush up on your presentation so you get a new offer before the old job gets cut.

Grim Outlook in Some Surprising Fields
The Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) puts out its Occupational Outlook to track the overall impact of changes in the economic environment to the demand for labor in the United States. This time around many of the unfavorably impacted industries are not the types of occupations you'd typically expect to see in the study (see the highlights here).

Don't Despair
There are plenty of reasons for optimism however. One example is the back-lash from the Bernie Madoff ponzi scheme (side note: to learn about how it could have been avoided, click here). Clients lost an estimated $50 billion dollars in wealth handled by Madoff, yet this clearly demonstrates a need for both greater accountability (read: more accountants and management analysts - see Top Future Jobs), and more financial service providers (see more Hot Future Jobs here).

If your background doesn't prepare you for one of the aforementioned industries but you are in one of the troubled industries, maybe it's time to look at your present skill set and experience and begin looking at new ways to re-package your old skills and transition to a new, more stable industry or field. Depending on your skill set, you might also trying starting a simple web business as a hobby while your still have a job that pays the bills.