So where are the jobs these days? If you're speaking geographically, they're in the heartland at places like North Dakota and South Dakota. This is a major reversal from the last few decades where job growth was on the two coasts and throughout the Sun Belt.
Yet one employer seems to have continuous hiring needs all around the country. This should actually come as no surprise -- it's the federal government.
As government grows larger, there is obviously a need for more employees. In addition, there are waves of older employees getting ready to retire. Most of them were originally hired on during former President Johnson's Great Society initiatives in the '60s.
And here's a secret about federal hiring: Back when our nation had a population of 200 million, there was a cap on the number of non-military civilian federal employees. That cap was set at 2 million or 1% of the population.
Now that our nation is more than 300 million strong, will that cap be bumped up to 3 million? Or will the cap hold steady and most of the extra government work go through contractors? It's anyone's guess.
One final note: The federal screening process can be very confusing to those in the private sector. Clark recommends networking with anyone you can find -- a relative, a friend or even an acquaintance at your house of worship -- who is already in the system.
