Business Week Annual Jobs Outlook

This is a good one to read. Each year Business Week prepares a rather thorough job outlook with lots of valuable commentary by experts. Read on.

January's disappointing figures on job growth in the U.S. pretty much tell the story. This year is shaping up to be more promising than 2003 for execs looking for work. But it's not going to be a hiring cakewalk by any stretch. Last month, companies created some 112,000 jobs -- the strongest month for job creation in more than four years. But the feat looks less impressive when you consider that economists had been hoping for at least 150,000 new jobs, which is the minimum monthly rate needed to absorb all the people who actually want to work.

The bottom line is, competition for these scarcer-than-expected openings will remain fierce, and as a result, the job hunt will continue to be a long and miserable odyssey of four to six months on average, according to DBM, a large outplacement company. "There's a ton more scrutiny of candidates because businesses want the perfect employee who will have an immediate return on investment on salary," says Penny McBain, a managing consultant for DBM in Falls Church, Va. "I've had one candidate who's had 11 interviews at the same company, and still no offer."

If that's not enough to worry about, job seekers will also have to contend with a growing trend of companies shipping jobs overseas to places like India and the Philippines, where highly educated professionals are willing to work for a fraction of what their U.S. counterparts make. Although the "offshoring" threat to jobs, especially for U.S. professionals with specialized skills, may be overblown, many experts say the phenomenon is a factor in keeping any U.S. jobs expansion in check.

Read more here.