A few sources claim there has been job creation – well, job creation with a sardonic twist. The government itself is one of these sources. They claim, for instance, that over 110,000 direct jobs were saved or created in California from January 1st through September 30th 2009. (How many jobs were saved and how many were created? Look it up!) Most of these jobs were in the areas of "infrastructure." (You know - highways and the like.) Some were in security related services (think airports) and a few were scattered throughout other areas. Compared to the size of California's population (37 million), very modest U.S. Recovery Funds have been allocated to Clean Tech and selected other businesses.

But, the point is that pundits, economists, media spokespersons and others may mean what they say when they say it; but a lot of information is left out in the telling. The general public hears few longer-term answers when these same folks are asked basic questions about the future, such as:

• Where and what are the newly created jobs in the private sector, for instance?

• What and which specific skills, specific credentialing and specific education do most of these new jobs require?

• Where is the invention and innovation that predicts future opportunities for which you, and others, might prepare?

What is the S-AGE advice? Stop confusing yourself by reactively believing the news-du-jour from single source media in particular. Use your common sense. You must continue to track the future yourself for it is not the jobs that were lost that matter most to the future, nor even the jobs that were saved. Look for - and prepare for - the opportunities that have been newly created, impacted by technological advances or innovations that will affect how you work, when you will work and if you will work.

More about Jobs… Jobs… Jobs… across the Nation

The unemployment side of the job equation:

When you see, read or hear that the unemployment rate is 10% +/-, but want to get closer to a picture of the actual numbers, go to http://www.shadowstats.com/. Or, do an Internet search for U6 Unemployment and scan various reports that change the bare-bones government statistics (U3 stats) to a more realistic estimate of actual unemployment in the U.S.

For example, in December 2009, (U3) reports reflected the public numbers reported nationwide by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, (U6) reports offered the BLS' broader analysis of real unemployment, and Shadow Statistics painted an even different picture of unemployment at year-end. On the www.shadowstats.com site, economist John Williams, the Wizard of Shadow Statistics, offers ongoing analysis of underlying economic issues, including unemployment, as depicted in this chart. Ask yourself, if you were single sourcing information, might you miss important data that multiple sources provide?

Even among those still working, job dissatisfaction appears to be growing:

• The Conference Board surveyed 5,000 people at the end of 2009 to determine their levels of job satisfaction in jobs they currently hold.

• 45% of respondents stated they were satisfied with their jobs and there was little difference in responses between age groups.

• Stagnant wages, lower wages, vanishing pension plans and retiree medical benefits, plus the increased costs of health care, offer a few hints as to some of the changes in job satisfaction between 1987 and 2009.

Remember what the S-AGE said about single sourcing –
Don't confuse a snapshot with a wide-angle lens perspective!

Ah, you might next ask if jobs will look better, pay better and be better day-after-day-after tomorrow. This is a subject unto itself. Here's a hint about some of what you need to know. Globally, the U.S. ranks 10th in the percentage of those aged 25-34 with associates or even high school degrees. (Source: American Association of State Colleges and Universities Commission report.) Now, what are your first thoughts about America's ability to compete when the mature workers have exited the workforce? Must we build a new and better bridge to the future with the work time left to us? You decide.