Where Are You in Your Job Hunt?

Success in finding openings these days is almost like shopping for real estate. All you have to remember is three things: location, location, location. Consider the different outlooks issued last week for Sacramento versus the Bay Area. Despite the chill of a massive state deficit, hiring in Sacramento should surge by summer, according to local university forecasters. Things are less rosy in the San Francisco region. According to the Association of Bay Area Governments, those expecting to see the economy accelerate will instead see only a slight uptick in hiring.

On the Job Front

NATIONWIDE - Both jobseekers and employers are pessimistic about the economy. A survey by True Careers, an online career center run by student-loan provider Sallie Mae, found that 69 percent of those surveyed don't think job prospects will improve this year. More than a quarter think the job market will actually worsen . . . A new study finds that unmarried jobseekers are being hit hardest by the current employment slump. According to outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas, 62 percent of the 1.8 million Americans unemployed for 27 weeks or longer are unmarried. The firm attributes the figure to the high number of jobs lost in the high-tech sector as well as discrimination against gays, widows and widowers. Others most likely to be jobless are the young and inexperienced, single mothers, and small-town workers with fewer local options . . . The Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp, the entity charged with insuring private pension plans for 44 million Americans, has reported a $3.6 billion deficit. The shortfall reflects the growing weakness of many pension plans. It is estimated that companies owe $300 billion more than they can pay to current and future retirees.

THE WEST - The states of California, Oregon, Washington, Alaska and Hawaii continue to be the hardest-hit in the nation economically. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, there were 1.55 million unemployed in the region in December, up from 1.48 million a year earlier. California had the bulk of the unemployed, with 1.16 million. A few years ago, during the boom times, the same region was outperforming the rest of the nation.

RICHMOND - Onyx Pharmaceuticals is cutting 25 percent of its 95-person staff after deciding to halt clinical studies of an anticancer therapeutic virus.

ROSEVILLE - Hewlett-Packard will move 500 jobs to Houston as it pulls the plug on a server and storage hardware manufacturing unit. Affected employees can relocate or apply for different jobs in the company.

SACRAMENTO - Flowmaster, maker of high performance mufflers in West Sacramento, is adding 60 workers to its payroll . . . Internet service provider EarthLink plans to close its call center operations here - as well as in Dallas and Seattle. The company will transfer 175 of 240 workers to the Roseville facility.

SANTA CLARA - Turnstone Systems is showing several staffers the turnstile. The software and services company is cutting 40 percent of its staff as it concentrates on research and the development of automation advances.

SILICON VALLEY - Like the industry it serves, Dice.com is falling on hard financial times. The career board for the tech sector has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy as it strives to become privately held once again. Company officials expect to emerge from bankruptcy in six months.