I'm a very fortunate guy. After yesterday's article, a friend I greatly respect emailed me and took me to task for conveying a hopeless situation to readers of the article. That certainly was not the intention. She ended her note to me with the admonition "They need hope, help and encouragement." This is a very fair statement and I am taking it to heart. As I have stated before, my goal is to motivate individuals to take charge to not only find work, but to find work they love. The truth is, even though we do get a lot of doom and gloom from the media, there is hope for job seekers, and they should be optimistic.

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The statistics continue to show that unemployment is rising still. It certainly isn't getting any better. The numbers show that the majority of job gains were in Government, Education and Health Services, Other Services, and Leisure and Hospitality categories. Jobs were lost in the Manufacturing, Financial Activities and Information categories.

If you look at the job gains, most of them show in the government sector. One of the reasons people in the past have worked in the government sector was for job security. Unfortunately, government positions and salaries have grown so large that it is going to be unsustainable. Government will have to cut back. This is already being seen at the local and state level.

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Unemployment for young people ages 16-29 is at 15.2%, the highest since 1948. The current recession has seen young people moving back in with their parents to make ends meet, and college grads are facing a difficult job market with lots of student debt.

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At the Celgard plant in Charlotte Friday, President Obama stated the economy is turning around because of 162,000 jobs added in March, the largest increase in 2 years. This is misleading because it includes 48,000 temporary census workers. Overall, the unemployment rate remains at 9.7%. However, if you consider underemployed and discouraged workers, the number is closer to 17%. The state's unemployment rate is at 11.2%. Of curious note is the fact that Celgard announced on March 2 plans to expand their South Korea facility at a cost of $30 million. The curiosity lies in that the federal government is providing $49 million to hire 300 employees in the Charlotte region.

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Today, President Obama will be coming to Charlotte to stop by a plant that has received $49 million in stimulus dollars for their "green jobs" efforts. His visit comes during a time of the high unemployment in Charlotte and North Carolina, the highest in at least 20 years.

Since the latter months of President Bush's time in office, the country has spent trillions of dollars in TARP, stimulus spending, and unemployment benefits. Folks will differ on whether TARP was necessary or wise for years to come. The stimulus was touted as necessary to keep unemployment below 8.5%, but it rose to 10.5%, with analysts believing that the "real" number is 17.3%. Unemployment benefits have been extended multiple times, and proposed to go up to 99 weeks. That's almost 2 years!

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I spent several articles this week attacking short-sighted and negative thinking. Yes, there is a tough market out there. This is the most difficult job hunting environment in at least 20 years. While it's easy to complain about things and not make any headway, it's just as easy to tell others to just toughen up and take responsibility for their job search. However, I also believe that it's important to encourage those in transition, and to provide resources that may be of assistance to them. With that, here are some excellent reading suggestions to help you find your passion and to conduct an effective job search.

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I talked in my last article about how your attitude may be sabotaging your job search. Hopefully, if you’ve been wallowing in self-pity, you have that out of your system. Maybe the stories of the two women I cited have encouraged you. Now, I’m going to highlight ways you may be sabotaging your job search without realizing it.

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I am continuing my assault against shallow thinkers this week. This started after I received a couple of negative comments to my article last weekend regarding the rising unemployment rate in Charlotte and what to do about it. In short, the comments were critical of me for suggesting that you take responsibility for your job search success, and to dare suggest you might consider going into business for yourself. Don’t misunderstand, I love the comments. I just believe that the folks criticizing me are likely the cause of their failure in working what they love to do.

For proof, let’s look at examples of folks taking responsibility for their lives. I do not entertain the thoughts that this is a Republican conspiracy, or the fault of the “Protestant work ethic”. Certainly we can find places where government policies have impacted the ability for jobs to be created, but it’s certainly been a bipartisan effort. However, we elect these people, so the first thing you might want to do is vote.

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Apparently I upset at least a couple of readers by suggesting that they are responsible for their job search, and that if the search isn't going well, you might consider launching your own business. Although my articles were not intended to be political talking points, I was accused of that. There was also the dig about the Christian church as well.

But I stand by my points. You are responsible for your results. Unemployment in the Charlotte region is the highest it has been in at least 20 years. It currently stands at 12.8%. However, based on other studies suggesting the national unemployment level is likely over 16%, the unemployment rate in Charlotte is likely higher. In Hickory, one of the hardest hit areas due to it's manufacturing base, the unemployment rate is over 15%.

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So my last article, I finished it by stating that regardless of what you read in the news, you are responsible for your own employment. I then suggested that you might need to consider launching your own venture.

Apparently this paragraph set off one of my readers on Examiner.com. The commenter took issue with suggesting that an individual with no skills could start their own business without money. They then took to making my points a political statement and a result of a "misguided protestant work ethic."it

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