By Kathryn McKee When people lost their jobs in the last downturn, they moved away. Kravetz observes, "Now jobs are back, but in Santa Barbara we are several thousand short, thus employers are forced to recruit outside the area, and we know how difficult it is to bring people here due to the cost of housing."

By now, most Californians are all too familiar with the phenomenon in the Pacific Ocean called El Nino. It is caused by an imperceptible rise in ocean temperature and the relaxation of trade winds. The ocean rises and warmer water moves inexorably toward the eastern Pacific. That push and pull realtionship is not isolated to the natural world. The labor market, for instance, operates on comparatively similar principals of being. There are the same imperceptible shifts in supply and demand, causing the market to change shape and speed. The Temporary Staffing segment of the labor market is on the edge of such change and may feel the affects sooner than other segments of the market.

Jodi Davis, Owner and CEO of HR Staffing, discusses the impact this segment is having on the job market. "We know right before an industry is impacted either up or down. We help with rightsizing efforts and placement of employees who are or will be let go or on the opposite side with the employer's growth needs" Gary Kravetz, CEO of Santa Barbara Staffing, and National Careers Corporation says, "As fast as the economy changes, it goes down much faster than it returns".

This in mind, there is usually some demand for temporary staff as employers take measures to balance their need for people with a demand for product and services. Kravetz explains that, "as the economy improves, these companies start hiring their temporary staff, eventually hiring directly from the labor market, causing the supply of jobs to become greater than the supply of people.

This is especially true right now in the Santa Barbara area. When people lost their jobs in the last downturn, they moved away. Kravetz observes, "Now jobs are back, but in Santa Barbara we are several thousand short, thus employers are forced to recruit outside the area, and we know how difficult it is to bring people here due to the cost of housing."

Currently the "Hot" jobs in Santa Barbara are Administrative support and Accounting/Bookkeeping, Technical Support, Marketing and Sales. Website Development, Embedded software, & software technologies are also on the rise. On the Engineering side, there is a growing demand for wireless, digital and analog engineers, but employers seem to be looking for seasoned technical/scientific staff. This means recent UCSB engineering/scientific undergrads without hands-on experience could find it difficult to stay in town. But Sheri Griffiths, Santa Barbara Branch Manager for Apple One, insists that "UCSB grads with at least one year of Office admin experience can be snapped up to fill entry level administrative positions". She agrees with Kravetz regarding the high demand for Admin Assistants, with little supply, and in some cases, she says, "These positions have been filled in less than 48 hours."

Davis indicated that Santa Barbara has seasonal opportunities such as catalog sales that anticipate the spring, summer and winter clothing lines, as well as seasonal retail sales and automotive accessories. These industries provide opportunities for people who are looking to move in and out of employment.

So then, what does this mean to people already at work, and for those who are pounding the pavement to no avail? Employers are reaching out to those employed to entice them to switch jobs. This means offering an increase in pay or some other incentive to leave their current job. This could mean any number of perks, be it better or more flexible hours, day care, a more convenient commute, bus or train passes, or a company backed carpool system. If an employer has high turnover, it behooves management to diagnose the causes of it, as it will be difficult to replace staff since the number of qualified candidates is smaller than the demand.

One option is to utilize the service of staffing agencies, which have a pool of people who prefer to work when and where they want. The staffing industry offers flexibility to both employees and companies. People can choose when, where, and how they want to work. Companies can get the skills they need to keep fully staffed during busy periods and the flexibility they need in case of short or long term economic shifts. If you're looking to change jobs, Griffiths suggests "networking with friends to learn what is happening where they work." Some companies in Santa Barbara have employee referral bonus programs so there is an incentive to find qualified people to fill openings. Other techniques are to explore other industries to learn as much as you can about them and then ask for an opportunity to meet with HR executives to find out what the future holds for the industry and their companies in general. Differentiate yourself by sending thank-you notes and following up with prospective employers. Complete self and skill inventories to identify the strengths in your technical and interpersonal skills sets, and then develop a resume that serves as your "Sales Brochure". And above all, be genuine, positive, flexible and enthusiastic.

For employers, a tight labor market means creating or maintaining a positive, high-morale environment so employees are not tempted to stick their toe in the warm job market waters. For employees in high demand jobs, this market shift means an opportunity to control your career path with more ease and flexibility than was available to you last year.

©2005 Santa Barbara News-Press