EDITOR'S PAGE CHEMICAL & ENGINEERING NEWS 1155-16th St., N.W., Washington, DC 20036 (202) 872-Λ600; TDD (202) 872-6355 EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Madeleine Jacobs DEPUTY EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Rudy M. Baum MANAGING EDITOR: Pamela S. Zurer ART DIRECTOR: Robin L. Braverman. Nathan Becker (Assistant Art Director) Linda Mattingly (Staff Artist) SENIOR CORRESPONDENT: Lois R. Ember NEWS EDITOR: William G. Schulz EDITOR-AT-LARGE: Michael Heylin CONTRIBUTING EDITOR: Κ. Μ. Reese
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The Real Face Of Unemployment Ν RECENT WEEKS, NEWS ABOUT UNEM-
ployment in the U.S. has been grim. Ear lier this month, the Labor Department reported that the nation's jobless rate rose to 6.1%, the highest it's been in nine years. Since March 2001, nearly 2.5 million jobs have disappeared, the vast majority ofthem at U.S. factories. The Bush Administra tion remains optimistic. "The increase in the unem ployment rate is disap pointing," Labor Secretary Elaine L. Chao said in a pre pared statement onJune 6, thé day unemployment figures for May were released, "but it is in line with expectations, and the number of jobs lost this month is significandy lower than in previous months.... The Jobs and Growth Act of 2003, which was recently passed under the strong leadership of the President, will spur faster economic growth and job creation." Economists have mixed opinions on whether this sunny oudook is justified But an upturn in employment can't come a moment too soon, especially for the chemical profession. In this week's issue, C&EN Editor-at-Large Michael Heylin reports that unemployment among American Chemical Society members responding to the society's annual employment and salary survey is 3.7%, the highest since 1972, the first year that the annual survey was conducted. (See page 12. A more detailed report will appear in the Aug. 4 issue of C&EN.) In 1972, the jobless rate was 3.2%; last year, it was 3.3%. The 2003 numbers should not come as a shock to C&EN readers. Nearly every week, we have reported layoffs by chemical, pharmaceutical, and biotechnology companies (see page 16). Overall, chemical employment is down significantly; this May, 919,200 people were employed in the chemical industry compared with 930,000 last May As the Washington Post pointed out in an article on June 15, job losses in the economy have been surprisingly "egalitarian," affecting both blue-collar and white-collar employees. In addition to these statistics, the ACS Membership Division reports a sharp uptick in the number of members receiving a dues waiver because of unemploy-
ment—1,403 as of May 30, only five months into the year; this is the highest it's been since 1997, when 1,616 members requested a dues waiver. For all of 2002, the number was 1,244. But statistics tell only part of the story Last year, when I raised an alarm about rising unemployment among chemical ο professionals, I noted that | there are human faces be| hind these data. Because I've been reporting on employ ment trends since 1969,1 know these human faces all too well. For one story I wrote, two unemployed chemists told me the following: • "It's not only the eco nomic loss that hurts. What really hurts is that we have well-developed creative abil ity to solve problems, to get things done, and it's being squandered. That's what hurts more than not getting that salary that we used to depend on." • "They [the companies} make a big fuss about their outplacement services. But what good is it to have 50 copies of a well-prepared résumé when there are no jobs to be had?" It may surprise you to learn that these statements are from the fall of 1971, one of the worst recessions in the chemical industry Fortunately, the economy and employment did recover and undoubtedly will again. Surprisingly, I have not heard recently from a single reader who has lost his or her job, and the ACS Department of Career Services has not noticed a sharp increase in requests for its myriad professional assistance services. The latter may be due to better outplacement services from companies. I'm both concerned and curious. I'd like to hear from readers who have recently lost their jobs for a story we are planning on the real face ofunemployment. Tell me what you were doing, how your layoffwas handled, and what steps you're taking now tofinda new job. Send your stories in confidence to me at
[email protected] and put "Job status" in the subject line.
Editor-in-chief
Views expressed on this page are those of the author and not necessarily those of ACS. HTTP://WWW.CEN-ONLINE.ORG
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