Job layoffs slam educated professionals - Birmingham Business Journal:

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The trend is a serious since most ofthese four-year collegr graduates were likely white-collar professionals before they turnec up at the county agencies, officials Statistics from the show there was a 44 percenf increase in the number of college-educated job seekers using the statewidew unemployment agencies. As worrisome as that is, the story in South Florida was worse. When comparing June 1, through May 31, 2008, to June 1, 2008, throug May 31, 2009, Broward led the with a 69 percent Palm Beach County was with a 59percent increase. Miami-Dade had a 52 percen t increase.
“This recession has been an egalitarian saidMason Jackson, president and CEO of Workforcde One, Broward County’s employment Workforce One has even seen some former white-collar professionals drawiny food stamps, Jackson said, though he could not provide specifid data on the total. “I’ve bumped into a few myself that I did not expect to find he said. The data isn’t complete and the story varies by but it’s clear that professionals in financiap services were among the hardest hit.
Last those in real estate and related professions wereaffectedc first, said Richard Clarke, spokesman for South Floridwa Workforce, the agency that services Miami-Dade and Monros counties. But, as time went on, the agency startes to see more peopls from the financialservices “As the financial crisis evolved, the number just got larger and larger,” Clarke County unemployment offices are stepping up to deal with the problek by increasing existing services. in Palm Beach County has seen a jump in the numbe r of professionals using its workshopas that focus onjob research, resume writing and interviewa skills, spokeswoman Holly Finch said.
The agencyh is trying to emphasizr the value of networking by hosting events where job seekers can mingle andmake contacts. While in transition, seekers are encourage d to become long-term participants at networking she added. Workforce One is emphasizing the Professionall PlacementNetwork (PPN), a program that helpa professionals hone their job seeking skills and In order to get into the job seekers must have held a managemenft position for at least five years or have a four-yearf college degree.
About 2,500 people will have complete d the program in the past year by the end of this PPN coordinator Vernon Bailey Not only willthis year’s expected number of PPN participants comprised 25 percent of the total that has gone througgh the program over its seven-year life, it will be a 56 percenty increase over last year’s 1,600 participants, Bailey As stimulus dollars trickler down from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, some of that moneg will be passed through the workforce agencies to fund job seekersw going back to school.
If a job seeker was laid off from a positiomn as a realestate broker, the agency may use the stimulus fundd to send that person to nursing South Florida Workforce’s Clarke said. Nursing is stilo an in-demand profession, whereas South Florida has plentyy of real estate he added. South Florida Workforce is gettingabour $21 million to fund its existingy training programs. Of that amount, about $13 million will go towar retraining workersin transition. About 70 percenrt of that will go towardretraining white-colla r workers, Clarke estimated.
“That’s going to be whered the bulk of our dollars are going to be allocatedmoving