COVERITLIVE.COM

10:49

Jay Hancock - Hi everybody. Hanah Cho and Jay Hancock are chatting at 11 about Maryland's job market, which seems to be reviving, and the experiences of many of you out there who are looking for jobs. Feel free to submit questions at any time.

11:00

hanahcho - Welcome everyone! This is my first live chat, so be patient. But ask away.

11:01

Jay Hancock - Hi everybody. I talked to job seekers and biz executives for today's column in The Sun. The picture seems to be looking better. Baltimore has many more job openings per capita and almost any other region of the country. And employers I talked to, even if they're not hiring now, are thinking about hiring later this year after the stimulus kicks in.

11:02

Jay Hancock - We're going to put up a survey -- how long have you been job-hunting? This is a stat that the Labor Department tracks, and obviously the length of people's job searches has been getting extended.

11:02

[Comment From Liz ]
We all hear constantly about how hard it is to find a job, but there have to be some sectors that are hiring. What are those bright spots?

11:05

Jay Hancock - Liz: The sectors with jobs seem to be health care and defense. Also a lot of temp agencies are hiring -- but those aren't the first choice for many seekers, of course. The base realignment process is creating jobs here, and the hospitals and docs are still hiring. Education and government haven't been downsizing as badly as, say, finance or manufacuturing. But I don't get the sense they're in a super hiring mode, either.

11:05

hanahcho - I've also been hearing from recruiters and staffing firms that things are starting to look up as they're getting more requests from companies for employees. But no doubt, it's hard. In a piece I wrote today, I spoke with two laid-off workers that I've encountered over the past six to nine months to see where they are today. One, a former DHL worker, is still out of work after being laid off in November. He was a driver and he wants to find a similar job but he's having trouble. He says there are limited openings and far too many people applying. Another found a job but it's part-time contract work in her field of marketing and start-ups. She's going to waitress part-time as well to help her with expenses.

11:05

[Comment From Evan ]
I just moved to the Baltimore area because I heard how its one of the better places right now to find a job, but I am still having trouble. I try to go to companies personally to introduce myself or call on the phone, but still everyone just tells me to apply online, then I never hear anything back

11:06

Jay Hancock - Evan: What kind of job are you looking for?

11:07

Jay Hancock -

As noted, certain sectors are much more challenging than others.

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