A Spike in Federal Job Searches

Is the widening economic crisis a boon to federal hiring? Computerworld reports that daily visits to the government's job portal, USAjobs.gov, have increased by 45 percent over the past six months. The Office of Personnel Management won't speculate on the reasons for the spike, but others figure it might have something to do with job losses across the U.S. economy. If there's any kind of silver lining to this crisis in the federal sector it has two facets: As the stock market tanks, those on the verge of retirement may decide to stick around for awhile, and as agencies face the need to replenish the talent pool, they'll apparently have a lot of candidates to choose from.