Job vacancies have lessened significantly especially in more recent times with the worldwide recession; many companies have either filed for bankruptcy or have cut their staff in order to try and stay afloat in the unstable economy.

As the economy is struggling and companies are closing down or fighting to stay open, the market has fluctuated and both opened and closed doors for the certified and uncertified alike; when a company is trying to save money it will hire persons who are certified but have little experience, and pay them less than they are worth in order to cut their expenditures.

This is done at the expense of those who worked there before and may or may not have been certified but know the inner workings of the market and their job. As such, uncertified persons may lose their jobs to make way for a single person or smaller group of certified persons to take over the roles of those that have been let go; also certified persons may be let go in order to employ cheaper labor forces.

Due to the downsizing trend being practiced today job vacancies are few and far between; with no improvements in sight persons have no choice but to settle for what they can get. Evidence of this trend can be seen in larger companies that are filing for bankruptcy and large, established store chains such as Circuit City that have completely closed down.

Thousands of people are now unemployed and with old companies not reopening and new companies not being formed the chance of many of these persons getting reemployed soon does not seem likely. In the case of new companies opening, it is possible but improbably as investors is reluctant to invest with the market in the state that it is; even if a new company does start up the employment rate will be very low until the market picks up enough for additional branches to be opened.

Looking at how this has affected the Caribbean region for example, can be seen in the bauxite industry. Almost all the bauxite companies have closed leaving thousands unemployed while keeping on an extremely small workforce for the sake of maintaining the equipment at the sites so they are operational for the uncertain reopening date. This has affected the environs greatly with many businesses suffering that had carved out various market niches based on the needs of the larger companies.

Persons who were employed at the various companies that have closed, and those who were providing external services have all experienced the sting of the economic collapse; jobs are hard to come by and more difficult to keep because of the financial restrictions which prevent companies from taking on any new employees; as a result many persons are seeking alternate sources of income through self-employment and going into areas based on their expertise or simply based on what they perceive to be and hope will be a feasible means of maintaining their standard of living.