4 Reasons for Jobseekers to be Thankful in 2025: A changing world creates opportunities.

Many of us will gather for Thanksgiving next week.  But it is tough to feel thankful when you are searching for work or choosing a new career path in an uncertain economy. Nonetheless, data suggests there are at least four 2025 trends for us to be thankful for. Notable trends include:

1. Relatively low unemployment,
2. New Federal Government hiring procedures,
3. Technological innovation that will create jobs, and,
4. Continued benefits of higher education.

It is difficult at times to be optimistic in an economy that seems to be undergoing revolutionary change. Yet, there are reasons to be hopeful, and even excited about the future.

 The unemployment rate continues to be relatively low.

Our national unemployment rate continues to be lower than media headlines suggest. It is around 4.3%, up from 3.9% during the same period last year. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, The lowest unemployment rate in the country is 2.1% in Rapid City, SD, while the highest rate is 21.5% in El Centro, CA. A total of 30 metropolitan areas continue to report unemployment rates of less than 3%. So, your job market experience will vary depending on where you are located.

Remember, too, that each industry and occupation has its own boom-and-bust cycle. The oil industry is notorious for this. Additionally, the Federal Government has downsized more than 10% of its workforce in a historic restructuring effort.

While unemployment is at the highest rate since 2021, we are far from Great Recession levels.

New Federal Government hiring practices are bringing change.

While removal of nearly 300,000 workers from the federal workforce has shaken civil service to the core, another change could help jobseekers in coming years. Specifically, the Federal Government now mandates that jobseekers submit two-page resumes. Traditionally, federal regulations encouraged, and even required, five to 20 page resumes so this is a revolutionary change.

Federal resumes will continue to differ from professional business resumes in important ways. You will need to read and carefully follow the guidance on USAJOBS and perhaps consult an expert to get it right. The new requirements are more focused on relevant results and experience instead of process so it may become easier for “real world” jobseekers to bring their experience to bear when pursuing federal service.

For now, of course, most agencies have a job freeze. Most open jobs are in defense and homeland security occupations. But this will change.

New technology will create jobs.

Be thankful for technological innovation and scientific revolutions. Scientific discoveries and new technologies create jobs.

Industrial and technical innovations have created countless job and career paths in the past 300 years. Consider the economic growth spurred by the 17^th and 18^th century industrial revolution, railroads, the telegraph, the telephone and other developments in the 19^th century. The automobile, aviation, computer, and internet created new careers as they revolutionized the 20^th century. Then the smartphone revolution in our current century changed the world and created more careers in the first quarter of our century.

Today, workers fear job cuts that could result from the new AI revolution. But should we be fearful or thankful? Experts in machine learning—a key technology behind AI—are in high demand and are highly compensated, much like the experts that drove past technological changes.

Of course, new technologies may or may not work-out or be marketable. Chances are, though, that you will be able to find new developments to watch that will create jobs in your area of expertise.

College degrees are yielding a return on investment.

Politicians, pundits, and workers in skilled trades have been questioning the economic value of college degrees. But research shows they could be wrong.

College degrees take years to complete and require a six-figure investment in some cases. And it has been taking longer for new graduates to land their first professional job. It is wise, then, to carefully investigate whether a college degree yields an adequate return-on-investment. Reporting in Washington Monthly shows that college graduates continue to earn a premium income. Specifically “Census Bureau data shows that households headed by a bachelor’s-degree holder earn a median income of $132,700, more than double the $58,410 for those led by someone with only a high school diploma. Over the past two decades, degree-holding households saw real incomes rise by 13 percent, while high school-only households saw virtually no rise. As Carey wrote again in The Atlantic in 2023, that hasn’t stopped the cycle of headlines and sad profiles every time the economic cycle slows down.”

Last week, I heard a success story from a recent grad I coached in 2023. He used the resume we collaborated on to land a state civil service job that needed a college degree or equivalent experience. Now, he is up for promotion, so he feels successful despite a longer-than-expected post-college job search.

So, be thankful if you have invested in a college degree. Your investment is likely to yield the return you expect over time.

Concluding Comments

Our national leadership would like us to believe the job market is wonderful. It is not. The unemployment rate is rising, and it is more difficult to get a job, especially for new graduates. But we can be thankful that the unemployment rate is not at Great Recession levels and new technologies are beginning to give rise to new job and career opportunities.

En

joy Thanksgiving and be optimistic about the future.