I was reading a magazine with a cover story called “The Permanent Temporary Workforce.” The in-depth section, “The Disposable Worker,” reported on the negativity currently in the labor market. “Since the early ’80s the U.S. economy has been taking longer to regain all the jobs lost in a downturn.”

The fact is that companies have been hedging their bets by hiring temps instead of a steady workforce. And this trend will likely continue, just like Europe, which uses more temporary and part-time workers. The article also mentioned that 26% of working Americans have “non-standard” jobs. These are people who work less than 35 hours per week and are generally independent contractors, on-call workers, or day laborers. The article talks about “labor on demand”–and this is on all levels and not limited to low-paying jobs. Because of these conditions, Americans are willing to accept lower pay (except at the executive level).

The article predicted that as soon as the economy show signs of improvement, the better employees will jump ship to a company that pays better. This will lead to openings and opportunities. The long-term prediction is that a decade from now the retirement of the baby boomers could cause labor shortages that could again lead to opportunities. It is important for job seekers to understand the big picture, but they need jobs now and not in the next decade. So what are they to do?

Because of the tough competition the answer is not simple. Since most jobs come through networking, more and more networking is the answer. I am talking about quality connections. People need to become more sophisticated in their job searches. They also need to learn how to benefit from fast-evolving social media. If you don’t buy into these concepts, then somebody else will. Can you guess who is going to get the first available jobs? It won’t be those who lag behind…

Alex Freund, the “landing expert,” supports job seekers into employment. Alex is an effective and successful career and interviewing coach. He is known for making people feel comfortable when interviewing. Feedback and/or questions can be directed to [email protected]

By Alex Freund