Employment Research Institute's Chief Executive Officer, A. Harrison Barnes, in a webinar analysed how you can keep yourself employed if you continue giving people what they want.

Most people are blaming the current economy for taking away all their jobs. Harrison cites examples to show that though the number of jobs in several industries has decreased, there are still jobs that can keep you employed, if you choose to provide people with what they want. These jobs may not be paying the same as before, but if you are willing to listen to the demand, you can create a supply, thus ensuring your own employment. Harrison gives the example of a man who lives in an expensive home without ever having been to college. The secret to this person’s success was that he provided services that people wanted. These services included odd jobs such as fixing rain gutters, but he ensured he provided them. Significantly, this was irrespective of what he himself wanted.

Further, there is never a position where there are no jobs. In most areas where people live, there will be a marketplace serving their needs and which employs people. If there are children around, there will be a school; this school will employ teachers and janitors and such staff; there will be a security department staffed by policemen and ambulance drivers etc. and so on. Even in a neighborhood that is in a bad shape, you will find real estate agents and even carpenters at work, if only to board up houses. In reality, jobs never go away. They may not be the kind of jobs you would like to do, but they do exist. If there is a requirement or demand for something, there will be people willing to do it or to supply the needed services. The trick is to give people what they require.