Bush ex-officials can’t find jobs

Nearly 70% to 75% of ex-president George W. Bush's officials looking for full-time work have not found new jobs in the US flagging economy.

The Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday that "the jobless rate is hanging high -- for many of the roughly 3,000 political appointees" who served Bush.

A Washington recruiter at Russell Reynolds Associates Inc. Eric Vautour estimated that only 25% to 30% of Bush ex-officials seeking full-time jobs have succeeded.

That "is much, much worse" than when Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton left the White House, he said. At least half those presidents' senior staffers landed employment within a month after the administration ended, Vautour recalled.

"This is not a great time for anyone to be job hunting, including numerous former political appointees," Carlos M. Gutierrez, Bush's commerce secretary, told the paper.

At least 3.6 million jobs have been wiped out throughout the US since the recession began in December 2007. The jobless rate officially reached a 16-year high of 7.6% (11.6 million people) last month.

Some of Bush cabinet officers have accepted academic appointments like former treasury secretary Henry Paulson and former secretary of state Condoleezza Rice, said the Journal.

Senior Bush aides keen to work again "have to look broader than Washington," said Nels B. Olson, a recruiter for Korn/Ferry International.

A number of former officials are now saying, "'I'll look anywhere'" because they realize the Washington job market "is very tough," Vautour said.

Washington think tanks, charities and trade associations long provided fertile ground for ex-political appointees. But many lack interest in hiring high-profile Republicans when Democrats control the White House and Congress. Bush's low approval ratings at the end of his term don't help, said Leonard Pfeiffer IV, a Washington recruiter for nonprofits, according to the Journal.

Meanwhile, former US national security advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski warned of riots in the United States should the economy continue to hurt Americans.

Earlier this week, a new Federal Reserve report said that US unemployment could increase to 8.8%, causing the economy to contract for a full calendar year for the first time since 1991, when a contraction of 0.2% was registered.