Behind the Headlines Layoffs Hit Jews in 4 Major Cities

Jews in the professional, managerial and technical fields have been hard hit by layoffs in recent months in four major urban centers–New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles and Miami–but much less affected by recession firings in 11 other cities surveyed by the Jewish Occupational Council last month.

Mrs. Louis A. Bernhard, president of the JOC, the coordinating agency for Jewish job agencies in the United States and Canada, said the survey was carried out by telephone to affiliates during the week of April 14. The findings were in line with the employment distribution of American Jews. Jews were reported less affected by layoffs in cities where heavy industry predominates and more hit in cities with many service enterprises.

In virtually all of the reporting cities, recent Jewish college graduates with no experience are generally unable to find jobs, according to Henry B. Stern, JOC executive director.

SITUATION IN NEW YORK

In New York City, home of two million Jews, the Federation Employment and Guidance Service reported a growing problem in handling job applicants in the professional-managerial-technical fields. The FEGS file of job seekers in those categories has jumped from 1000 to nearly 2000. The FEGS said that, in seeking to develop openings for such job hunters, it is sending promotional bulletins regularly to 1000 social agencies and to 2000 business firms, in addition to an intensive telephone solicitation effort. Applicants with experience who were formerly resistant to leaving the New York area are now more amenable to re-locating, the agency said.

The FEGS said job openings for new college graduates in social agencies, previously available to graduates without a Masters degree, have disappeared as a result of layoffs and tightening personnel programs of the city and the state. In summary, the FEGS reported, the general job picture in New York City is not bright because of changes in the garment industry and contractions in printing, construction and government.

THE CHICAGO SCENE

The Chicago Jewish Vocational Service described the job situation in Chicago, home of 253,000 Jews, as bad. The agency reported that placement was much more difficult than a year ago and that the number of job seekers coming to the agency is increasing. The agency also reported that applicants it has placed are being dismissed because they failed to meet “very demanding” employer expectations or because of business deterioration.

The agency described the job outlook for new college graduates as even worse. Most of these applicants are liberal arts graduates who refuse to give up the goal of finding their “dream jobs” and reject the kinds of jobs the agency can find for them. The agency indicated it expected there will be increasing numbers of competent, trained Jewish job-hunters in the months ahead.

LOS ANGELES HARD HIT

In Los Angeles, home of 463,000 Jews, the Jewish Vocational Service said the area, with a general jobless level of 10 percent, “has been very hard hit.” The JVS reported that its job orders are down 30 percent, placements down 30 percent and registration up about 25 percent, adding that the registration total would be higher if the agency could handle an increase.

The JVS is registering Los Angeles Jews who have been laid off after years of service, including executives and other managerial personnel. The academic community was reported to be “very tight” on jobs and anticipating layoffs. The agency said it had on its rolls many professionals including several Ph. Ds in the natural sciences, who cannot find jobs, as well as high-level business people in their 30’s and early 40’s who had earned more than $25,000 a year.

The agency has a large list of recent Jewish college graduates, particularly in the humanities and social services, whom it cannot place, even if they were prepared to give up their professional goals. Graduates trained in business have somewhat better chances. In summary, the JVS reported, job prospects in Los Angeles are grim.

The employment situation in Miami, which has 200,000 Jews, was described as bleak, except for the hotel field. The two largest industries–the garment trade and construction–are dead, the Jewish Vocational Services reported, adding it has had since January a full-time placement counseled under a program funded by the Jewish Federation. Also reporting in the JOC survey were affiliates in Cincinnati, Cleveland, Columbus, Dallas, Detroit, Kansas City, Louisville, Minneapolis, St. Paul, Philadelphia and St. Louis.

OHIO WEATHERING THE STORM

Unemployment in Cincinnati, which has 30,000 Jews, is most widespread in blue collar fields and joblessness has not yet hit Jews. Jewish college graduates with no experience are the main concern of the Cincinnati Jewish Vocational Service.

The 30,000-member Cleveland Jewish community has not yet been hit by massive joblessness, the Jewish Vocational Service there reported, but if the recession continues, there may be a “drastic” change. The agency reported an increase in the number of male applicants dismissed from high-level managerial positions but said most of them appeared to be executives who were not too effective and who were being replaced by younger, more dynamic people.

The Cleveland JVS reported that openings for persons with Masters degrees in business administration and for accountants, computer personnel engineers and in insurance, banking and social work continue to be available. Persons with Masters degrees in education, a field traditional with many Jews, are having problems, as are new college graduates with Bachelors degrees. The JVS also reported that there were jobless 1974 graduates in the humanities, psychology and social work still registered with the agency.

The jobless rate in Columbus, Ohio, home of 13,000 Jews, is at nine percent but the unemployed are mostly blue collar workers and there is, as yet, no unusual unemployment in the Jewish community.

The Jewish Vocational Counseling Service of Dallas, which has 20,000 Jews, reported that, generally, the Jewish community has not been affected by growing unemployment, with some exceptions. Some Jewish high-level executives and managerial personnel in Dallas electronics firms have been dismissed because of a general economy drive men in their 40’s and 50’s who had been earning $30,000 a year and more.

Some have come to the JVCS for help but the agency found it has been almost impossible to place them. Also hurt are recent graduates with Bachelors degrees, who are taking any kind of job, Grad- uates with Masters degrees in business or in social work are having no problems, the agency said.

‘RIPPLE’ EFFECT IN DETROIT

The approaching end of special benefits for laid-off auto workers in Detroit, which has 80,000 Jews, is having some “ripple” effect on the Jewish community, the Detroit JVS reported, adding that its suburban office has been seeing highly qualified professionals who have been laid off in property management, accounting and engineering.

While they can be employed in other firms, their problem initially is an almost total inability to react effectively to their new situation because they have never before been jobless and have been “at the top of the heap” for a long time, the JVS said. Once helped to organize themselves for job-hunting, the agency said. in most instances they have been able to make the right contacts.

Up to now, most graduates with Masters degrees have been placed, the Detroit agency reported. Possibilities of jobs in banks and other financial institutions, and in social work, rehabilitation and other employment related fields are reported as “good.” But there are few jobs for graduates with only Bachelors degrees and this problem is expected to worsen in Detroit.

The tight job picture in Kansas City, home of 22,000 Jews, does not appear to be having any effect on the Jewish community, with the exception of young people seeking entry-level jobs.

The 9200-member Louisville Jewish community has not been too severely affected. About 25 executives laid off by General Electric, airlines and a computer firm have come to the Louisville Jewish Vocational Service for help. The JVS reported it had been able to find openings for them but that most refused the job offers because they involved large salary outs.

The Jewish Employment and Vocational Service of Philadelphia, home of 350,000 Jews, reported there are no critical employment problems for Jews in the professional, technical and managerial areas but that recent college graduates are having a very difficult time finding jobs. St. Louis has 20,000 Jews and a 10 percent general jobless rate but no specific adverse effect on the Jewish community was reported.