One cost of the federal government slowdown is a delay in the monthly checkup on the nation's job market. The September unemployment report was due out Friday morning, but U.S. statisticians are among those on leave until there is an agreement on funding the government.
Despite the lack of updated data, Sal Clemente from Oakland Park is among the hundreds of thousands of people without a job in South Florida. He's among the millions of Americans considered unemployed in September. While he has a couple of decades of experience, first in retail management then in legal assistance, Clemente's odds of unemployment are higher since he does not have a college degree.
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The unemployment rate for college graduates is half that for those with no college experience. Clemente has some college but no degree. He tells the Sunshine Economy he doesn't think the lack of a formal college diploma has hurt his job hunt. Instead, he thinks the job market has changed significantly since the last time he looked for work. He has found the job search to be more time consuming, more difficult and tilted toward personal connections instead of professional experience.
Clemente describes the job market as "pretty difficult." As the national September unemployment rate of XX* percent indicates, millions would agree.
*Due to the U.S. government shutdown, the September jobs report has not been released yet.