Total nonfarm payroll employment continued to trend down in June (-62,000). Since peaking in December 2007, payroll employment has fallen by 438,000.

In June 2008, job losses continued in construction, manufacturing, and employment services. Health care and mining added jobs over the month.

Job Rate Declines in June 2008

Within professional and business services employment services lost 59,000 jobs in June; about half of the decrease (-30,000) occurred in temporary help services. So far this year, monthly job losses in temporary help services have averaged 26,000 compared with average declines of 7,000 per month in 2007.

Employment in construction fell by 43,000 in June, as job losses continued across the industry. Since its peak in September 2006, construction employment has fallen by 528,000.In June, manufacturing employment fell by 33,000. Job losses were widespread throughout the industry, with notable declines in fabricated metal products (-9,000), printing and related support activities (-6,000), and wood products (-6,000). Employment in motor vehicles and parts edged up by 6,000 over the month, largely reflecting the return of workers from strikes and related shutdowns. Over the past 12 months, manufacturing has lost 353,000 jobs.

Job Rate Increases in June 2008

Retail trade employment changed little in June. A job gain in general merchandise stores (9,000) was offset by small declines elsewhere in the sector. Since its most recent peak in March 2007, retail trade has shed 194,000 jobs.

Employment in mining rose by 8,000 in June. Support activities for mining and oil and gas extraction accounted for most of the increase. Mining employment has expanded by 208,000, or 42 percent, since its most recent low in April 2003.

Health care employment continued to grow in June (15,000), although the increase was half the size of the average monthly gain during the prior 12 months. In June, employment rose in ambulatory health care services (13,000). Since June 2007, health care has added 348,000 jobs.

In June, food services employment continued to trend upward (16,000), although job gains in this industry have slowed recently. The industry added an average of 13,000 jobs per month from November 2007 through June 2008; this compares with an average increase of 27,000 jobs per month for the first 10 months of 2007.

Government employment continued to trend up in June and has grown by 257,000 over the past 12 months. Local government has accounted for about two-thirds of the growth since June 2007.

“Why should I interview you over all the other candidates?” is the question. Now, look at your résumé and see if it provides the answer – see if it is easy to read with a clear job target and value-based. Keep in mind that the résumé has about 15 to 20 seconds to reflect value, grab the reader’s attention and spark interest, leading him / her to pick up the phone and contact you to schedule an interview (Yes, 15 to 20 seconds!).

To get quality interviews for the job(s) you really want to explore requires a top-level, highly polished résumé that serves as the marketing, advertising, and sales brochure highlighting your personal skills, qualifications, and past accomplishments. Anything less than this is most likely lacking the value factor that employers want to see in a résumé.

Value, Value, Value + Marketing, Advertising, Sales = Résumé That Gets Results!

Most people continue to distribute resumes that undersell what they are worth. They end up settling for jobs that are below their abilities and a salary far less than what they deserve.

Simply said, your resume is your personal marketing tool that demonstrates the benefits of your skills to employers. Hiring managers care about your talents and education – but, what they care about foremost is the value you can bring to their organization.

Remember, you don’t get paid for how much time you spend on the job – you get compensated for the accomplishments you achieve while you are there. So, establish your resume as your first impression centerpiece of future value that will generate interviews.

Just like the decision to get away for the weekend and unwind a bit, when you choose to take action and make a change in your career or job, there is a level of work satisfaction that is achieved. No matter what you are facing in your job, you can take action to make it better. In other words, don’t just settle for what you get or what you have if it is not for you. Be aware, take action, and create change.(/font>

Building your “dream career” is not all about having the best paying careers or the most prestigious job - it’s about having a career where your work is exciting for you. This leads to being highly enthused and motivated about doing daily work that doesn’t feel like a job – you become fulfilled and satisfied within the working world. And yes, that does in fact have a tremendous impact on your level of energy in every day life.

“The Confused, Undecided, Frustrated, Stressed-out Career and College Destroyer” – that’s what the fictional, yet powerful, “career virus” has rightfully been named. This make-believe virus affects the way the mind processes critical career decisions - sometimes it numbs the thinking so severely that it’s just not possible to make a confident career decision at all.

Yes, “the virus” is all made-up stuff, but this scenario plays itself out in the minds of thousands of people around the world on a daily basis. It affects everyone ranging from a high school or college student lost in the maze of career decisions, college majors, and university choices to working adults who have that “knot in the stomach” feeling on Sunday evenings.

This is a HUGE problem! Career confusion and indecision leads to frustration and stress that then leads to students dropping out of college and adults living in a world of work they dislike. This doesn’t paint a very inspiring picture, but this is a part of real life reality that needs to be highlighted and reversed.

“What do you want to be when you grow up?” is a question we hear all the time. We even hear fifty year old adults personally trying to answer the question.

“What are you passionate about?” is the real question that needs to be answered. The best paying careers are not automatically going to give meaning to your work life.

Three key mistakes made by college / college-bound students that contribute to going in the wrong direction and college dropout are:

Not discovering personal interests / not having a long-term career goal.
Choosing a mismatched college major.
Selecting the wrong university.

Three major errors made by adult workers that contribute to the lack of work inspiration and satisfaction:

Settling for what you get and not going after what you deserve.
Not discovering personal interests.
Not having a Motivational Action Plan (M.A.P.).

Can you see how these critical career miscues can nose-dive a person’s emotion, desire, and drive into an out-of-control spiral?! Do people want this? Of course not! When will this change? It needs to change sooner than later!

Wake up the sleeping passions within you, forget about the best paying careers, and take control of your career path! You’re doing yourself a disservice if you simply go through the motions on the surface.

If we had a penny for every time that question is asked, none of us would need to wonder about what our future occupation or profession would be, because we would all have enough pennies to retire at a very early age. The reality – even though this question is repeated often by children, teenagers and working adults – is that we don’t get a penny every time, and so we all need to plan on making some extremely important career decisions to steer us toward the most satisfying and inspirational career possible.

At a very early age, little Johnny wants to be a policeman, and tiny Suzy wants to be a ballet dancer – but let’s face it – that will change significantly between age seven and the mid-teen years when college planning starts kicking in. Preparing for college is when “what do I want to be” stops being cute and starts having real life meaning to “when I grow up”. If taken lightly, the education received during the college years can be misdirected away from a person’s true interests. This can create additional costs for more studies or even lead to a working adult career that is unfulfilling.

College-bound students are faced with the decision of what career path they want to pursue. Most times a career path is chosen based on career popularity or salary potential because many individuals have a difficult time mapping something of personal interest into a career or occupational option. The college major chosen will begin to shape the next four years of college and begin the long-term personal and financial investment based on a specific career target.

Statistics show that more than 75% of college graduates do not work in a career field associated with their major area of college study; More than 60% of college students change their major two to four times; The average American changes careers at least three to five times during their life. These numbers indicate the importance of choosing the most suitable career path and college major as part of the college enrollment process. Entering college as “exploratory” runs the risk of extending the number of years required to graduate – all tying back to not having a clear career goal and declaring a specific major area of study.

Spending a little bit of time and a small amount of money on a career interest assessment, before deciding on a career path and college major, can pay off in more ways than one. It can position you to graduate on time saving significant time and money. For working adults who are already in a career you do not like, you should consider a career interest assessment to help identify career change options.