February 2, 2009

Equal pay and other good news amid the usual doom and gloom

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Amid the never-ending reports of layoffs this past week, there have been a few glimmers of light.

I don't diminish the significance of losing one's livelihood. Nor am I living in an employment dream world. (Almost every outfit I freelance for has significantly cut their workforce and freelance budgets in recent weeks; like many of you, I'm preparing for the worst, just in case.)

But I do think it's helpful to highlight the positive news out there. So with that, I give you my picks for the best news I've heard in the past week:

1. Obama signs the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act. Of course we can't legislate gender discrimination completely out of existence. But this move to help eliminate the wage gap is a long-overdue milestone.

2. Washington's Employment Security Department adds Saturday hours. The hope is this will shorten the longgggg wait times that people applying for unemployment benefits by phone are experiencing. According to the News Tribune, the ESD is frantically training new phone agents to help lighten the load, with 27 more due on the job this month and 50 more in April. (It's worth noting that if you file your claim online, you don't have to worry about being put on interminable hold.)

3. Freelance, contract, and part-time work goes mainstream. Tina Brown's essay on the gig economy caught Newsweek's attention last week. And that tickles my heart. Because the more the rest of the country acknowledges that one-third of U.S. workers are independents, temps, and part-timers, the more likely we'll be to see an eventual shift in how health insurance is obtained and taxes are paid by the self-employed and alternatively employed.

How about you? Read or heard anything to cheer about lately?

Michelle Goodman is the author of "My So-Called Freelance Life" and "The Anti 9-to-5 Guide." E-mail Michelle at mgoodman@nwjobs.com

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1 Comments

Andy Brucia on February 3, 2009 12:00 PM | Reply

Hey Michelle,

I work as an employment advisor, and one of the things discussed at our last meeting was how to find good news in the midst of all of this.

And it is hard. The hits keep coming.

One of the things I do with students is walk them through downtown Seattle, showing them Westlake, Pike Place, Pacific Place, areas where they might apply for work. One of the things I've found is that, while jobs are scarce, they are out there if you're willing to look. And many of them, if not most, are not on NWJobs, Craigslist or anywhere else.

These are mostly retail and service jobs, but the action of doing this is valuable. Sending out email after email is frustrating, believe me I know. Hitting job fairs, applying to businesses in your area can open you up to new ideas, and allows you to practice those interviewing skills. I strongly recommend it!

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