The Federal Government Hangs Out The Help Wanted Sign
Friday, April 24, 2009SUSIE GHARIB: Since August, New York City has lost more than 30,000 jobs in the financial services sector. Today, hundreds of unemployed Wall Street professionals lined up at a job fair in Manhattan for a chance to speak with prospective employers. As Suzanne Pratt reports, it may surprise you to learn who's hiring.
SUZANNE PRATT, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT CORRESPONDENT: Forty-four-year old analyst Ken Laudano has been out of work since last October, when he lost his job at a German bank here in New York. Finding a new position has been tough, so Laudano's expanded his search to include working for Uncle Sam. Today at this job fair for financial analysts, he got the chance to meet with recruiters from more than a dozen Federal agencies ranging from the CIA to the SEC.
KENNETH LAUDANO, UNEMPLOYED ANALYST: I think it is helpful because I did find that a lot of my skills are transferable to the government sector.
PRATT: Irene Fang was recruiting for the Treasury's office of the controller of the currency. Those are the people currently stress testing the nation's banks. No surprise. They're hiring.
IRENE FANG, DIR., COMPLIANCE RISK ANALYSIS, OCC: We are looking for talent to fill some of our vacant positions. We're looking for quantitative modelers, people with experience working with data, large data sets, analyzing risk in financial institutions.
PRATT: Fang like other recruiters took in piles of resumes from hundreds of financial professionals who attended. The New York Society of Security Analysts sponsored the event and director Alvin Kressler said his members have the right experience for regulatory jobs.
ALVIN KRESSLER, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, NYSSA: We know there's a transformation of the industry. We know that the industry is in a lot of upheaval. But, there are job opportunities out there. Where are they? Well, one of them was -- it became clear that the regulatory mechanisms needed some additional staffing.
PRATT: Some of those jobs are here in New York, but many would require a move to the nation's capital. That potential drain on New York's talent pool worries Kathy Wylde, head of a group promoting business in the city.
KATHRYN WYLDE, PRES. & CEO, PARTNERSHIP FOR NEW YORK CITY: Financial services is about 25 percent of our New York regional economy which is a big number. As a result, there's no industry that can replace it. Nothing has the high paying jobs, nothing is going to produce the tax revenues.
PRATT: Experts predict New York's financial sector could lose a total of 100,000 jobs before the recession ends. Finding new positions for many of those people is critical if New York is to remain the financial capital of the world. Suzanne Pratt, NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT, New York.
