Chef trainee Kelley Bryan enjoys a joke by instructor Tony Hedger in Ladue, Mo. After having no luck finding clerical work, Bryan, 46, changed careers.
Many jobless people have reached a conclusion that captures the depth of the unemployment crisis: Looking for a job is a waste of time.
The economy is growing, yet it's creating few jobs. That's why in the past eight months, 1.8 million people without jobs left the labor market. Many had grown so frustrated that they quit looking for work.
And it's why Barbara Bishop sat at her kitchen table in suburban Atlanta last month and joined their ranks. Her decision came seven months after she quit a public-relations job that seemed about to be axed. Sending out resumes got her nowhere. So Bishop made a list of her skills and decided to launch a business.
"I don't want to look anymore," she said of the job hunt. "It's become very discouraging."
The unemployment rate is 9.7 percent. But so many jobless people have quit looking that if they're combined with the part-time workers who would prefer to work full time, the so-called "underemployment" rate is 16.5 percent.
Their outsize numbers show that even though the economy is growing, the job market is stagnant. Employers remain reluctant to hire.
The exodus from the job market halted in January, when a net total of 111,000 people re-entered. But 661,000 had left in December. And the trend since spring has been people leaving the work force.
"It's very unusual," said Mark Zandi, chief economist at Moody's Economy.com. "At this point in the business cycle, we should be seeing some sort of labor-force growth. Layoffs have abated, but there really has been no pickup in hiring."
Some of the jobless are concluding it's more practical to return to school, start a business or care for their kids at home until the job market improves.
Kelley Bryan hopes to re-enter the job market next year, retrained for a new career. She was laid off a year ago after more than 20 years as a secretary.
Bryan spent three frustrating months looking for a similar job near her suburban St. Louis home. Last spring, she decided to return to school. She obtained a federal Pell Grant and enrolled at the L'Ecole Culinaire chef-training school.
At 46, Bryan was surprised to find herself learning to make soup stocks and creme brulee with former autoworkers and other 40-somethings. They, too, are changing careers after losing jobs.
For many, the struggle might not end once the job market improves. As more people re-enter the work force, competition will tighten, Zandi said.
"Even if the job market gains some traction this year, unemployment is going to rise," he said.
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