📰 In this issue

🔹 Industry Pulse: Trade Truces, Job Troubles: Market Reality

🔹 Trade Deals: Trade Tensions Simmer Despite Temporary Truces

🔹 Why it’s tough: Federal Workers Flood Already Competitive Market

🔹 Where to find hope: Resilient Sectors Defy Economic Uncertainty Trends

🔹 The Survival Plan:Tomorrow's Jobs Need Today's Actions

🗃 Insider

📰 Industry Pulse

Since last week there are a couple things of note. The economic waters are still choppy, even with the 90-day tariff truce with China and the UK. It’s a temporary pause, but we’re just kicking the major issues down the road. EU talks are going nowhere fast (can you blame them?), displaced federal employees are saturating the job market 💼, and AI continues to disrupt traditional roles.

Where does this put you? We’ve been digging into the data 📈, chatting with hiring managers, and parsing those guarded corporate releases🔍. It’s a tough scene, but there’s light at the end of the tunnel 🌞. Here’s the real scoop and how you can navigate it.

Knowledge workers face a challenging but not hopeless job market. The temporary trade truces provide some breathing room, but multiple headwinds keep hiring subdued.

TRADE DEALS: WHAT'S THE REAL STORY?

China Deal: Don't Get Too Excited

• That 145% tariff nightmare is now down to 30% (for us) and Chinese tariffs dropped from 125% to 10%

• But here's the catch – it's only for 90 days, and businesses know it

• Companies are reluctant to place big orders when tariffs could snap back in July

• If you're in supply chain or logistics, you might see a short hiring bump, but don't count on it lasting

UK Situation: Much Ado About Nothing

• The so-called "zero effect game" basically maintains the status quo

• White House trumpets "historic breakthrough" while actual trade terms remain virtually unchanged

• We're still looking at 10% baseline tariffs with 25% on cars, steel, and aluminum

• Companies with UK connections are just treading water – not cutting, but definitely not expanding

EU Standoff: The Ticking Time Bomb

• This is where things could get ugly – talks are stalled and patience is wearing thin

• EU's temporary tariff suspension masks von der Leyen's imminent retaliatory strike

• WTO says global trade could drop 0.6% if everyone starts slapping tariffs on each other again

• Translation: Companies that export to Europe are getting nervous and keeping their hiring freezes intact

Why it’s still tough out there

The Federal Worker Tsunami ⚠️🌊🏛️

Those 275,000 government layoffs in March? They're not just stats – they're your new competition and these numbers are low, expect double to triple that number. These are people with experience, in some cases security clearances, and they're desperate. D.C. got whacked but the majority (over 80%) of federal employees work outside this area. California has the largest number of federal employees of any state, with 147,487 employees as of March 2024. Most of these employees work for the VA (26.4%) and the Navy (23.5%).

The AI Reality Check 🤖🧠🔍

The robots aren't coming – they're here. When the World Economic Forum says 39% of our skills will be obsolete by 2030, believe them. We're seeing it daily: companies want AI knowledge, and they're paying a premium for it while showing traditional knowledge workers the door.

Industry Snapshot

• Tech & Finance: Unless you're in AI or cybersecurity, hiring managers aren't calling back.

• Consulting & Marketing: Client budgets are getting slashed with all this uncertainty.

• Trade-Related Jobs: There's a small hiring bump to handle all this tariff chaos, but it's temporary.

Where to find hope

Despite economic uncertainties, the job market shows resilience in key sectors. Healthcare remains a powerhouse, adding 56,000 jobs last month, driven by demand for nurses, medical technicians, and administrative roles, particularly in telehealth and home care.

AI companies continue their hiring spree, with roles like AI ethicists, data scientists, and machine learning engineers in high demand—especially at firms integrating AI into healthcare, where salaries for entry-level AI specialists range from $57,000 to $112,000.

Trade negotiations and global supply chain shifts are boosting the need for experts in international regulations and compliance, particularly those navigating tariffs and ESG standards.

Biotech and pharma are also hot, with cell and gene therapy roles surging 400% from 2019 to 2023, and regulatory affairs specialists increasingly sought after to ensure compliance with evolving global standards. These trends signal opportunities for skilled professionals amid a dynamic economic landscape

YOUR SURVIVAL PLAN

1. Stop procrastinating on upskilling. That AI certification or data science bootcamp? Do it now, not "someday."

2. Get picky about your job targets. Broad applications aren't working. Focus on trade compliance, healthcare tech, or AI implementation teams.

3. Work your network like your career depends on it. Because it does. A warm intro is worth 50 cold applications in this market.

4. Embrace the gig economy. Companies are commitment-phobic right now, but they'll still pay for project work.

Next newsletter we’ll outline a slew of different opportunities and where you can find upskilling and reskilling both paid and free. Also we’ll get into networking strategies. Who knows what the next 7 days have in store?????

The next three months are make-or-break. If we lock in permanent trade deals, we could be looking at a serious upswing by fall. But if July reignites the tariff wars, brace yourself—this thing could go south fast and it’s going to be a white-knuckle ride. We’re keeping a close eye on every twist and turn, and you can count on us to give it to you straight—no fluff, no filters and certainly no BS.

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