Losing A Job, But Not Hope

Jeanine Cicenia lost her job in May and is scrambling to find a comparable job. The realities of the job search and what's ahead for the job market.

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Jeanine Cincenia is one of the faces behind the headlines.

She is one of the 6.7 million people who lost a job in this recession.

SOUNDBITE: JEANINE CICENIA, UNEMPLOYED (ENGLISH) SAYING" I've been unemployed for 2 1/2 months now so I thought I'd have a job by now even given the recession and the environment so I hope it's not much longer. I'm still hopeful."

Jeanine, who is looking for a business development job in new media, says she doesn't concentrate on the jobs reports or unemployment rates, she's more interested in the companies hiring, than firing. Still, it was hard to miss the July report.

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Employers cut 247 thousand jobs in July far less than expected, the smallest number since last August.

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With fewer workers laid off, the unemployment rate fell one tenth of a percent to 9.4%.

But, economists caution, that one report doesn't mean the layoffs will vanish and Help Wanted signs will appear.

Ken Goldstein, Economist at the Conference Board:

SOUNBITE: KEN GOLDSTEIN, ECONOMIST, THE CONFERENCE BOARD (ENGLISH) SAYING: "There's almost 7 million people who has lost a job since this recession started, most of them are going to eventually go back to work but the word is eventually and probably at a lower salary than they used to make."

Goldstein doesn't expect the job market to pick up until March of next year- and says that will likely mean higher taxes ahead as local governments struggle to pay jobless benefits. But Jeanine doesn't plan to be one of the long term job hunters:

SOUNDBITE I'm still staying positive and still kind of being picky and staying focused and looking for something I really want to do/// talk to me in 5 months from now and it might be different. (laughs)

For now, she is networking, volunteering, attending trade shows and seminars and has built her own website Jeanineforhire.com.

She does have time for an occassional cappuccino with the paper, the help wanted section of course.

Jill Bennett, Reuters