I often keep an eye on Google Trends to find the hot searches of the moment. This is a great way to find interesting news articles, and since I am a search engine optimization guy, it makes good sense. When “Target layoffs” became a leading search phrase at Google today, I could not help but wonder how it may affect my hometown of Topeka, Kansas. It was only a few years ago that the economy was strong and Target built a new distribution center in Topeka. Fortunately for many, Target says it will only plan layoffs at the corporate headquarters in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
The topic of mass layoffs got me to questioning how bad it has become. What I found was that The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports mass layoffs (defined as “establishments which have at least 50 initial claims for unemployment insurance (UI) filed against them during a 5-week period” ) are at an ever-increasing rate with totals as follows:
| Month | Mass Layoff Actions |
| January 2008 | 1438 |
| February 2008 | 1672 |
| March 2008 | 1571 |
| April 2008 | 1308 |
| May 2008 | 1626 |
| June 2008 | 1643 |
| July 2008 | 1512 |
| August 2008 | 1772 |
| September 2008 | 2269 |
| October 2008 | 2140 |
| November 2008 | 2328 |
| December 2008 | N/A |
Recent and Upcoming Mass Layoffs
Layoffs seem to be unavoidable with large corporations recently. A few of the companies joining Target with massive recent and upcoming layoffs include Sprint Nextel, Caterpillar, Home Depot, Pfizer, and Texas Instruments. This makes the Target layoffs seem like only a raindrop in a sea of recently unemployed, estimated at roughly 170,000 American layoffs in January 2009.
Internet Job Searches: Self-Promotion
Considering all of these layoffs, surely the number of people using the internet for job searches will be at an all-time high. It is an “employer’s market” due to the flood of available talent, which reminded me of my recent blog article on marketing in a recession. I realized that not only must companies develop a stronger marketing presence by embracing the Internet during a recession, this also applies to marketing an individual’s talents while seeking employment. I am very thankful that I am not seeking a job, but for anybody who is, a look at my list of social networks on the left of my blog would be a good start for the person wanting to make themself more visible for potential job opportunities. Using social networking and the power of search engines may be just what it takes to help you to stand out in a crowd. It only takes a few minutes to join and create a profile, and will likely be time well spent.