See the complete list of trends that we analyze.

1) U.S. Job Market Overview

Job seekers in 2009 will find the toughest hiring climate since 2002, when the economy was suffering broadly due to 9/11 and the end of the dotcom boom. Many types of employers are restructuring and downsizing thanks to the deep financial crisis of 2007-2008. Job seekers who want good positions will be forced to be better prepared and to do better research than in the boom years of the recent past. They will also have to work harder to find a good job.

The general outlook is that 2009's job market will be slow. Employers will be very cautious about hiring new people or investing in new facilities. There will be large numbers of layoffs.

In the 2007 edition of this guide, we warned of "a slowing housing market that may become very soft in 2007." Unfortunately, we were right. Job seekers in 2008 felt the effect. Job seekers in 2009 should be prepared for the fact that nearly all industry sectors will suffer some ill effects from economic and financial market problems that originated when the housing bubble finally popped in mid-2007 and the financial meltdown accelerated in 2008.

The good news is that a select set of employers and growth companies will offer good job opportunities during 2009. Meanwhile, America's unemployment rate grew steadily through 2008, and unemployment will remain high in 2009, relative to recent years.

In this period of challenges and opportunities, some companies will enjoy booming business. For example, it's a terrific time to be in the business of oil field services. Many sectors such as solar energy, education and health care are booming. Today's high price of gasoline will further boost many firms that sell goods and services online, offering PC-based alternatives to a trip in the car. Other employers will hire only limited numbers of employees, while some will continue to downsize due to a variety of factors. For example, the automotive sector will remain very slow.

However, some types of manufacturing may continue to get a boost from the relatively low value of the U.S. dollar. In fact, savvy job seekers will be alert to changes in the value of the dollar. Through mid-2008, many U.S.-based manufacturers were enjoying good growth in sales to overseas customers thanks to the low value of the dollar relative to foreign currencies.

Most firms that specialize in manufacturing or selling luxury items and discretionary items will find business to be slow.

Many companies will continue to wrestle with challenges such as intense competition and high energy costs. Americans who find themselves in the market for a job will need to understand the changes surging through the economy in order to determine which companies to pursue and which to avoid. The U.S. employment market is evolving quickly, and job seekers must be both knowledgeable and nimble in order to position themselves to find promising careers.

Job seekers in 2009 will continue to hear a lot of conflicting and sometimes confusing information about the state of the job market and the state of the economy overall. In order to create a robust job market, corporate investment, profits, productivity and revenues must align themselves correctly. Fortunately, many of these economic indicators were positive during the 2004 to mid-2007 period, and millions of new American jobs were created. As 2007 was winding down, the residential real estate crash, higher financing costs and difficult corporate credit markets were combining to restrain the economy and put a damper on the creation of new jobs. Unfortunately, 2008 saw these problems begin to spread throughout most U.S. business sectors and into the global economy as well.

During 2009, chief executives will continue to find themselves under intense pressure to maintain profitability while keeping their staffs and investment needs lean. The uncertainty created by the financial crisis and high energy costs will make corporate executives cautious.

New grads may find it extremely difficult to land their dream jobs. Nonetheless, there will still be great opportunities for those who are diligent in seeking good employers in stronger business sectors.

Many people who would prefer to be hired as permanent employees will find work as temps instead. Other employees will find that their jobs have been eliminated because work has been outsourced to another firm.

Economic Factors Affecting the Job Market

Business Productivity: Productivity has been rising at desirable rates in recent years. That is, more business can be produced—whether it is goods or services—by utilizing fewer workers than before. This will be extremely beneficial to the U.S. economy in the long run, but it can hurt the job market over the short term. Productivity is boosted by new technologies, improved management methods and other factors. It can also receive a quick boost from restrained corporate hiring. If rising productivity occurs along with rapidly rising sales and profits, then the job market will improve. Corporate Sales: For 2009, many sectors, particularly those directly affected by housing and financial markets, will find revenue growth difficult to come by. This will make many employers much less likely to hire new people, and it will lead to layoffs at some firms. Corporate Profits: When profits increase sharply, companies are inclined to increase business investment and hiring. Fortunately, 2004 through 2006 saw steady growth in corporate profits as the economy rebounded. As a result, large numbers of new jobs were created during that period, and the national unemployment rate was extremely low through mid 2007. Profitability took a downturn in 2008, and profits will be disappointing for many business sectors in 2009. The jobs market will suffer as a result.

The employment market during most of the 1990s was exceptionally strong. In April 2000, the unemployment rate dropped to 3.9%, a 30-year record low, and 24 million new jobs had been created in the U.S. during the then nine-year-long economic boom. (Like all boom times, the boom of the '90s finally came to a close; likewise the unprecedented job market and stock market wound down as well.)

By late 2001, as the tech boom tapered off, the national unemployment in America rate shot up to 6%, representing just under 9 million people seeking jobs.

The unemployment rate in August 2007 was only 4.6%. By August 2008, the unemployment rate shot up to 6.1%, and could easily go higher in 2009. To put this unemployment level in hard numbers, the U.S. civilian labor force was 155.3 million in August 2008 (up from 153.4 million a year earlier). The number of people considered "unemployed" was 9.4 million, up from 7.0 million a year earlier.

Meanwhile, America's 78 million Baby Boomers are hoping to retire soon and leave the job market-this will make prospects more promising for younger workers. However, this trend will be tempered to some extent by the weak financial markets of late 2008. Many people over the age of 60 who want to retire will be reluctant (or unable) to do so because the value of their investments in real estate, stocks, bonds and/or funds is down considerably, and they have lost confidence in financial markets at the same time that they lost retirement dollars. Some would-be retirees will be working later into life than they had planned.

In order to compete effectively in today's job market, one of the most important things you can do is arm yourself with knowledge. It is vital for the knowledgeable job seeker to use the best reference tools possible in order to seek out employers that offer a reasonable balance of financial stability, coupled with opportunities for advancement and monetary incentives. Excellent job opportunities exist if you know where to look. Many of America's most successful firms currently need multitudes of new employees.

For example, the health care sector continues to create large numbers of job openings yearly. There is a critical shortage of nurses and other health care specialists. Leading companies in biotechnology, renewable energy, accounting, online services and education will greatly expand their businesses over the mid term. Thousands of additional companies, in technical and non-technical sectors, will need large numbers of new hires. In particular, companies that offer products or services that save time and/or money will prosper-for example, many types of discount retailers, along with companies that offer services that help businesses operate more efficiently. Meanwhile, large companies that are not increasing their overall numbers of employees will be hiring on a regular basis due to normal attrition-that is, the loss of employees due to retirement, relocation or other personal circumstances. For example, a company the size of Walgreen's typically needs to hire tens of thousands of workers yearly due to normal attrition.