WCBS 880 Special Series: Where The Jobs Are - Part 1
With the economy struggling to rebound and the unemployment rate having just spiked up to 8.2 percent, WCBS 880's news anchor Wayne Cabot other members of the Newsradio 880 team are producing a weeklong special series of reports, running through June 8, called Where The Jobs Are.
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) - The jobs situation actually is getting better, if you know where to look, reported WCBS 880's Wayne Cabot.
"We certainly have our challenges, but we really have some opportunities," the Long Island Association's Kevin Law told Cabot.
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He said there are industries that are hiring.
"First and foremost, the health care industry continues to grow and expand," Law said.
He said Long Island's largest employer now is North Shore-LIJ Health System, which he said is hiring about 100 people a week.
Health care jobs are hot everywhere.
There were 1/3 of a million new jobs already this year, and it wasn't just bedpan changing. There were a lot of office jobs.
"There are certain technology companies where they're actually having a harder time filling positions that they have open," Law said.
He told Cabot that Long Island tech companies are hiring, but they can't find enough qualified engineers.
That's why Stony Brook University is expanding its engineering program, and Law said that Hofstra University is actually creating a brand new engineering and applied science school.
Cabot reported that the present demand for the 2012 graduates includes computers, engineering, and accounting.
Jennifer Grass at Careerbuilder.com is trying to fill a variety of jobs.
"AIG, Coinstar, Liberty Mutual - all of them are also hiring for technology," she said. "We've got Bon-Ton hiring over a thousand people in retail sales and merchandising."
Many jobs available are entry level, but even experienced workers can find jobs if they know where to look.
In New Jersey, where there have been significant reductions at pharmaceutical companies, some of those people are going to smaller biotech firms.
"Some of these biotech companies may be started by scientists that have been let go from the big pharma. They said 'What the heck! Let me start my own company and take a chance,'" Hang from East Brunswick told Cabot.
Biotech can take on diseases too small for big pharma and the workers there are jazzed about making a difference.
Qualified people can pick their jobs as the number of biotech companies in New Jersey more than quadrupled from 80 in 1998 to 335 today.
Be sure to check in on Tuesday, when WCBS 880's Alex Silverman will bring you the second in this special series.
Do you know of any job openings? Share what you know in the comments section below.
