Post-disaster, comes the job search - Sep. 15, 2005

 

Post-disaster, comes the job search - Sep. 15, 2005

 Read the entire article at: http://money.cnn.com/2005/09/15/pf/katrina_jobs/index.htm

Summary:

NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Post-disaster, now comes the job search Katrina victims face incredible challenges. But there are resources to help them get back to work.

 

Hurricane Katrina will cost the nation 400,000 jobs by the end of the year, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

To put that in perspective, employment in New Orleans and the Mississippi Gulf Coast totaled about 775,000 at the end of 2004.

If you are suddenly displaced and unemployed, how do you find new work?

Your first task is to make sure at least some income is coming in while you hunt for work.

Many companies, such as McDonald's, Marriott International and Union Pacific are continuing to pay salaries.

But if not, there are other options, including unemployment insurance or disaster unemployment assistance.

The latter provides assistance to disaster victims not eligible for regular state unemployment insurance, such as the self employed.

To apply, contact your state employment commission, or the U.S. Department of Labor at 1-866-4-USADOL or www.dol.gov.

The Texas Workforce Commission, for example, already sponsored job fairs in Dallas, San Antonio and Austin.

Adecco, a temporary-staffing agency, held a job fair in the Coliseum in Charlotte, NC.

Other staffing agencies and state employment commissions are holding similar fairs.

Look for flyers in and around shelters and areas heavily populated with evacuees.

Nationwide, the Department of Labor has 3,500 walk-in CareerOneStop centers, which provide assistance filing unemployment claims, applying for jobs and searching online.

You can search for permanent full-time jobs and temporary disaster recovery employment.

Contact professional organizations, if such things exist in your industry.

Or consider taking work outside your former specialty.

Many of the displaced employees in the Gulf Coast worked in hospitality or retail, but you may not find these jobs in your adopted town.

For now, don't sweat a lack of documentation.

For 45 days the Department of Homeland Security is allowing employers to hire workers without the documentation usually required.

Consider growing occupations such as registered nurses, post-secondary teachers, retail salespersons, and customer-service representatives.

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