It's a great time to volunteer

A report issued last week by The Corporation for National and Community Service concluded that volunteerism is up this year despite the economic situation, with more than 61 million Americans contributing 8 billion hours of community service worth $162 billion dollars. Now is a great time to volunteer, which provides several benefits for job seekers and employers alike:

• Feels great -- good for self esteem and good for employee morale.
• Great networking -- meet people from different professions and network with workers from different companies.
• Skills sharpening -- great way to flex your skills muscle by taking on projects you otherwise wouldn't have access to in your current job, especially if you're unemployed.  Organize an event, design a flyer, or even help build a home.  If the nature of your volunteer work is within your profession, it looks great on your resume and shows enthusiasm and passion for your field.

Some of the 20+ Jobfox team members throughout the country who recently stepped up to donate blood.  Blood supplies in the Washington DC area whre Jobfox is headquartered are at a half day level, underscoring the need for folks to get out and donate blood.  Visit the American Red Cross website to locate a blood donation center near you, to host a blood drive at your company, or to find additional volunteer opportunities.

Unemployment Rate Reverses

In its latest monthly unemployment report released today, the Department of Labor reported the July unemployment rate at 9.4% nationwide, indicating the first monthly decline in unemployment since the economic crisis began over a year ago. While this may seem little consolation for the 200,000+ people who lost their jobs in July, on the whole it's good news for everyone as it clearly demonstrates that the worst is behind us as a nation.

Naturally, we welcome those affected by the economy to create a free profile on Jobfox.com to be matched to thousands of jobs currently active on our site, and consider having a Jobfox professional resume writer critique and/or rewrite a resume in order to make the best presentation to potential employers. Because despite the fact that American employers shed a quarter million workers last month, there have been an average of 2.7 million job openings per month from January through May this year, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. And while unemployment is at 9.4% overall, the unemployment rate among professionals with a college degree is much lower, actually less than 5% nationwide.