Since December we have heard many announcements of mass-layoff, the employment rate has ticked up 0.2% point. This is only a fraction over what government calls statistically meaningful.

According to Economists, the current economic slowdown will not be marked by a shard rise in joblessness. A survey of 50 economists by Blue Chip Economic Indicators found that the consensus expects unemployment to be no higher than 4.5% by year-end, compared with 4.2% now. It also suggest a growth of 2.1% of gross domestic product this year, so jobs will still be created and should absorb some of the newly unemployed.

We also have notice recently that the manufacturing sector has fell to an average of 40.4 working hours in December from 42.2 hours in April. This change can be explain by the fact that employers seems to be motivated to hang on their full-time workers, opting for shortening the workweek and reducing temporary employment.

Anecdotal evidence, however, suggest that the job market has grown tougher for employees, Ms Gorman of Lee Hecht Harrison says:” Job-seeker need to be more savvy,” and they can expect employers to take a little longer to make up their minds than they did at the height of the boom.

In the 1990s,with a much larger economy, the working-age population is growing only 1% annually, a 55% decline. This mean the economy needs to create only about 100,000 jobs a month to keep the unemployment rate stable; that is roughly the job-creation rate now.

People are showing some discouragement and fear out there, but now isn’t the time to scale back on your career goals and ambitions.

If you are in a dead-end job, or in the fear of being restructure, if you realize that you need a change and a career-switch. If staff cuts are staring you in the face, there’s no better time to explore what else is out there particularly if you’re stuck in a job you don’t like. It might seems difficult to perform a career-switch and maybe you won’t get a positive response from employers, but you might want to consider volunteering to work under unsatisfying conditions. Offer a short-term, no-fault trial-either side can walk away if unsatisfied. This may be a particularly useful strategy for people switching functions or industries. It demonstrates confidence in your abilities - something that’s usually irresistible to employers-and gives the employer the assurance that, if things don’t work out, he can easily get out of what’s often an awkward situation.

“ Many of us tend to hunker down. We opt to stay on in jobs we dislike, for fear there’s nothing else out there. We take the sage job choices, rather than rolling the dice in search of a jackpot. Most of all, we grow discouraged and give up the chase. These are exactly the wrong things to do. Remember the maxim: Nothing lasts forever, and that includes economic downturns. Rather than growing more conservative in your career moves, I suggest being more aggressive.

Finally, don’t surrender those dot-com dreams just because the industry is in shakeout mode. We’re just in a period where the dreamers and schemers are being separated from the performers. Identify those New Economy companies that have long-term growth prospects and go for it. Now may be your best time for a change!