Several years ago the United States was associated with a very receptive market, full of opportunities and possibilities. A few years later,  with the fall of dollar, earnings were not as favorable in terms of capabilities as in the Polish labor market thanks to our growing economy. High cost of flights made the  unskilled workers’ trips less profitable. However, they were attractive for those trained for Hi-Tech technologies. The greatest demand of skilled professionals involved  IT specialists  and doctors.

For many years it was popular to go on programs such as Work & Travel and Camp America that offered students the chance to work abroad, with people from other countries and cultures. Although the incomes weren’t so stringent, the acquired experience in the hi-tech institutions and the ability to use a foreign language made those students distinctive from other applicants.

It was also an opportunity to work in an international environment and it gave a better understanding of economies and cultures of other countries. Such  an experience was and is highly valued especially in the international corporations or companies whose business relies on cooperation with international partners or customers.

The current minimum wage in the United States is $ 7.25 per hour, far more than the national average in Poland. However, high cost of living and the general situation of the market are much worse than in our country (the unemployment rate remains steady at about 10%), which effectively reduces the desire to go on expensive overseas trips. Although the last quotations show that the period of rapid economic decline in the U.S. belongs to the past and the recession comes to an end,  still the American employers, fearing for the state of the economy, do not decide to permanently increase the number of their employees.

Currently, there are about 15.4 million people without a job in the U.S. For comparison, at the beginning of a recession 7.5 million Americans remained without work, yielding an unemployment rate of just in excess of 4.9 percent. All the governmental actions have a large impact on the American labour market. Analysts predict that soon industries related with the consumer goods will develop. This branch of industry will certainly give work to qualified workers. As the unemployment rate is still high it might be difficult to get back to the pre-recession situation, when unqualified workers could easily find work in jobs not requiring experience and special skills.

Text: Ewelina Anna Noga