or just a momentary uptick? (courtesy ken simonsen, agc chief economist):
Residential building and specialty trade contractors shed a combined 13,000 jobs in September, barely a third as many as the monthly average over the 12-month span. One faintly positive sign was that architectural and engineering services employment, a harbinger of future demand for construction, rose for the first time in 15 months, albeit by only 500 jobs (0.04%).
also, because this gets asked quite a bit:
The largest 12-month percentage construction employment gains were in Columbus, Indiana, 14% (combined data); Anderson, Ind., 6% (combined); Tulsa (construction only); Longview, Wash. (combined) and Baton Rouge (construction only), 3% each. The worst construction job losses were in Reno-Sparks, Nevada, -35% (construction only); Duluth, Minnesota-Wisconsin, -33% (combined); Tucson, -31% (construction only); Wenatchee-East Wenatchee, Wash., -30% (combined); and Redding, California, -28% (combined).
the sectors seeming to show some signs of life include residential (single family, especially starter homes); manufacturing, and 'power'. the institutional market is finally starting to contract at an accelerated pace.
My firm is hiring. It's pretty official too! One of the managing principals just told us that we are in an absolute staffing crisis. we weathered the storm relatively well over the past two years but there was certainly a moment where we were hurting a little mainly when everyone else was.
We just got notices to proceed on several prjects that had been stalled earlier as result of funding and now our staffing directors are figuring out ways to staff the projects. We also have a decent backlog as well.
But NOW things seem to really be taking off. Some of our competitors in the area such as Gensler, HDR, P+W, Jacobs, Smithgroup, and HOK are reporting spikes in work volumes as well!
And a lot of my friends who had been laid off are actually starting to get hired! :)
Some of the firms here that absolutely freaked out in January and axed like 50% of their staff are starting to hire again.
I've noticed a trend that they start by trying to get back some of the people they laid off earlier.
Another trend I noticed is that many of these firms are low-balling people pretty badly. One individual I know recieved an offer in NYC for 30k! Unacceptable, in my opinion.
i am in philly now looking for a job, applying like crazy while getting to know the city and keep myself busy-- went to some design philadelphia events last night and overheard many conversations about the economy/profession
some of what i overheard:
visitor to an open house at an arch firm --
Person 1:"yeah, i'm unemployed"
Person 2: :"yeah me too."
Person 1: "really!!?? HIGH FIVE!! I was laid off a month ago!"
my mental response---yikes. people are STILL being laid off as of a MONTH AGO!! Please don't tell me that...ugh.
another visitor at same open house:
"from what i understand up to 1/3 of architects in philadelphia are unemployed right now."
my mental response---STOP LISTENING RIGHT NOW!!...i'm trying to stay positive and not completely give up looking for a job after only living here 2 months!
principal of firm at a second open house, giving an interview to press:
"yes the economy has effected our office, but it's alot easier to go from 7 people to 5 people than it would be for a corporate firm to downsize from 200 people to 75."
"we are still working on some projects but things have slowed down considerably..." blah blah blah
my mental response--you will need me soon...PLEASE HIRE ME!!
med, I wish you were right about things picking up.
Are you sure you aren't generalizing based on some anecdotal evidence? if you look at job postings, there's only 2 for DC in the last 2 months, so how can you say things are picking up even more than LA or NY?
The job market is definetly not normal right now, but the quantity and quality of jobs has improved. For years it was an employee's market, but now the tables have turn and it is most definetly an employer's market.
There really is no need for architectural firms to place advertisements for job postings at this time. As med mentioned, many firms can simply rehire staff that they were forced to lay-off earlier this year. Hiring an employee can be costly for an employer, especially if they don't work out. It makes alot of sense to rehire instead of hiring someone that you don't know. Unfortunately, salaries have been reduced so the expectation of being hired back at full salary may not be realistic at this time.
Hiring will probably be spotty for a while and there will probably still be spot lay-offs here and there, but nothing like what we experienced earlier in the year. We are in a time of transition...it doesn't feel good, but it certainly doesn't feel as bad as it was.
Most of the jobs that I have had during my career materialized because of an introduction by a colleague or because of one of my projects, not because I answered a job advertisement. You never know how or where your next job opportunity will materialize.
As far as the DC jobs go, I counted around 24 opportunities in the last month or so on Craigslist alone and almost as many in Baltimore. That's 40 something people who now have jobs or will shortly...that's 40 something less people you will no longer compete with for a job. There were close to 90 opportunities in the NYC Craigslist in the last month or so, more if you browse the outlying areas...and even more when you look at the Archinect job ads.
Most people see things in reference to their own microcosm and miss what's happening in the larger scheme of things. Perhaps that's why most people don't notice things until they reach up and bite them in the ass?
In any economy/job market, any jobs board will have a variety of opportunities from higher quality to schlock. There will also be a variety of applicants whom have impressive resumes to those that do not. Keep in mind that one persons supposed trash may be another persons treasure. There are alot of people out there who simply want to continue working in architecture even if it is on the fringe of the business. Alot of people will be taking those jobs temporarily while they continue to look for something better.
As always, there are alot of highly qualified people competeting for the higher quality jobs. Many times the difference in getting or not getting a quality job may lie in one's attitude and personality, both of which will come across in correspondence and in interviews.
faint glimmers of hope?
or just a momentary uptick? (courtesy ken simonsen, agc chief economist):
Residential building and specialty trade contractors shed a combined 13,000 jobs in September, barely a third as many as the monthly average over the 12-month span. One faintly positive sign was that architectural and engineering services employment, a harbinger of future demand for construction, rose for the first time in 15 months, albeit by only 500 jobs (0.04%).
also, because this gets asked quite a bit:
The largest 12-month percentage construction employment gains were in Columbus, Indiana, 14% (combined data); Anderson, Ind., 6% (combined); Tulsa (construction only); Longview, Wash. (combined) and Baton Rouge (construction only), 3% each. The worst construction job losses were in Reno-Sparks, Nevada, -35% (construction only); Duluth, Minnesota-Wisconsin, -33% (combined); Tucson, -31% (construction only); Wenatchee-East Wenatchee, Wash., -30% (combined); and Redding, California, -28% (combined).
the sectors seeming to show some signs of life include residential (single family, especially starter homes); manufacturing, and 'power'. the institutional market is finally starting to contract at an accelerated pace.
My firm is hiring. It's pretty official too! One of the managing principals just told us that we are in an absolute staffing crisis. we weathered the storm relatively well over the past two years but there was certainly a moment where we were hurting a little mainly when everyone else was.
We just got notices to proceed on several prjects that had been stalled earlier as result of funding and now our staffing directors are figuring out ways to staff the projects. We also have a decent backlog as well.
But NOW things seem to really be taking off. Some of our competitors in the area such as Gensler, HDR, P+W, Jacobs, Smithgroup, and HOK are reporting spikes in work volumes as well!
And a lot of my friends who had been laid off are actually starting to get hired! :)
med. what city are you in?
still looking for work ..
Washington DC. I've been seeing a lot of pickup lately. People ARE getting hired.
posts full of hope make me hopeful.
Some of the firms here that absolutely freaked out in January and axed like 50% of their staff are starting to hire again.
I've noticed a trend that they start by trying to get back some of the people they laid off earlier.
Another trend I noticed is that many of these firms are low-balling people pretty badly. One individual I know recieved an offer in NYC for 30k! Unacceptable, in my opinion.
i am in philly now looking for a job, applying like crazy while getting to know the city and keep myself busy-- went to some design philadelphia events last night and overheard many conversations about the economy/profession
some of what i overheard:
visitor to an open house at an arch firm --
Person 1:"yeah, i'm unemployed"
Person 2: :"yeah me too."
Person 1: "really!!?? HIGH FIVE!! I was laid off a month ago!"
my mental response---yikes. people are STILL being laid off as of a MONTH AGO!! Please don't tell me that...ugh.
another visitor at same open house:
"from what i understand up to 1/3 of architects in philadelphia are unemployed right now."
my mental response---STOP LISTENING RIGHT NOW!!...i'm trying to stay positive and not completely give up looking for a job after only living here 2 months!
principal of firm at a second open house, giving an interview to press:
"yes the economy has effected our office, but it's alot easier to go from 7 people to 5 people than it would be for a corporate firm to downsize from 200 people to 75."
"we are still working on some projects but things have slowed down considerably..." blah blah blah
my mental response--you will need me soon...PLEASE HIRE ME!!
Philly is a tough spot in architecture.
It seems from what we can gauge, DC, followed by New York and LA seem to be the markets that picking up the most rapidly.
med, I wish you were right about things picking up.
Are you sure you aren't generalizing based on some anecdotal evidence? if you look at job postings, there's only 2 for DC in the last 2 months, so how can you say things are picking up even more than LA or NY?
The job market is definetly not normal right now, but the quantity and quality of jobs has improved. For years it was an employee's market, but now the tables have turn and it is most definetly an employer's market.
There really is no need for architectural firms to place advertisements for job postings at this time. As med mentioned, many firms can simply rehire staff that they were forced to lay-off earlier this year. Hiring an employee can be costly for an employer, especially if they don't work out. It makes alot of sense to rehire instead of hiring someone that you don't know. Unfortunately, salaries have been reduced so the expectation of being hired back at full salary may not be realistic at this time.
Hiring will probably be spotty for a while and there will probably still be spot lay-offs here and there, but nothing like what we experienced earlier in the year. We are in a time of transition...it doesn't feel good, but it certainly doesn't feel as bad as it was.
Most of the jobs that I have had during my career materialized because of an introduction by a colleague or because of one of my projects, not because I answered a job advertisement. You never know how or where your next job opportunity will materialize.
As far as the DC jobs go, I counted around 24 opportunities in the last month or so on Craigslist alone and almost as many in Baltimore. That's 40 something people who now have jobs or will shortly...that's 40 something less people you will no longer compete with for a job. There were close to 90 opportunities in the NYC Craigslist in the last month or so, more if you browse the outlying areas...and even more when you look at the Archinect job ads.
Most people see things in reference to their own microcosm and miss what's happening in the larger scheme of things. Perhaps that's why most people don't notice things until they reach up and bite them in the ass?
Seems like things are starting to pick up slowly. My luck changed this week as I was hired as well. I've heard DC has been staying healthy all along.
the thing with craigslist is that there's a lot of horrible quality postings going on there.
like, the responses that i got for a few e-mails i sent to craigslist listings made me want to work at walmart.
if walmart was hiring that is.
Congrats to odee!
In any economy/job market, any jobs board will have a variety of opportunities from higher quality to schlock. There will also be a variety of applicants whom have impressive resumes to those that do not. Keep in mind that one persons supposed trash may be another persons treasure. There are alot of people out there who simply want to continue working in architecture even if it is on the fringe of the business. Alot of people will be taking those jobs temporarily while they continue to look for something better.
As always, there are alot of highly qualified people competeting for the higher quality jobs. Many times the difference in getting or not getting a quality job may lie in one's attitude and personality, both of which will come across in correspondence and in interviews.
Thanks urbanity; I truly feel lucky!
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