Finding jobs in Baltimore over the past few years has been like finding a bushel of crabs in the Chesapeake bay, nearly impossible. Although Crabs seem to be making a comeback, jobs are not.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the unemployment rate is climbing again. It's now sitting just under 8%, at 7.9%, up from this years low of 6.8% in May.

Nearly every day we hear of more layoffs from almost every employment sector. It makes no difference if you work in service, manufacturing or the Government, you are not immune to receiving a pink slip.

Part of the problem is the cutbacks in federal spending. This affects companies like Northrop Grumman who rely on defense contracts from the Government. Their Electronics Systems division, based in Linthicum, had cut a large number of jobs earlier this year and are now looking at eliminating an additional 800.

Affects from the slashing of Government spending are also being seen in the postal service. A recent proposal called for the closure of 41 offices in Maryland, with eight of them being in Baltimore. These possible actions have triggered protests by postal workers locally, as well as nationwide.

Other Government layoffs could even be felt by Baltimore County's workforce. They are working on an early retirement proposal to help save on next year's budget that, even if adopted, could still not be enough to stave off the possibility of layoffs.

The job situation if definitely bleak, to say the least.

So, what is the answer for those who are already jobless, and others who are now on the chopping block? Is A Career Change In Order?

Although a career change may sound like a frightening experience it can be a positive one.

If you look back in time, before the industrial revolution and the modern era, there were few people who worked in the role of employee. Most of the population was either in business for themselves or worked as an apprentice.

Today, with outsourcing and automation reducing the number of employees needed for manufacturing, and with the information age replacing things like physical mail with email, there may be few options left other than starting your own business.

And what better platform to support the idea than the Internet, the very thing that is helping eliminate many of the jobs.

The dream of opening a corner book store, or starting a bookkeeping service in a downtown office building, is no longer the norm. The new method is working from home and setting up your store or bookkeeping office online.

The American Dream of going into business for yourself with the goal of building an income stream for retirement, and a legacy for your children, is still the same. The only thing that changed is the location.

The technological changes we have witnessed over the past decade are here to stay. The result is that Jobs in Baltimore will be just as hard to find tomorrow, next month and quite possibly forever. The new American Dream of working from home, a positive career change, is here to stay.