Uncle Sam wants you, Wall Street

Washington has drawn a lot of attention since the financial industry continues to shrink. About 400 unemployed finance professionals have signed up to attend a New York job fair this month that features nine federal agencies, including the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., the FBI and the Securities and Exchange Commission.  The job-seekers are among 23,300 people who lost industry work in New York in the year through February as banks worldwide announced almost $870 billion in losses and write-downs. The credit crisis that claimed Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., Merrill Lynch & Co. and Bear Stearns Cos. may cost another 23,000 jobs over the next year, according to New York City estimates.  One attendee to the April 24 event is Virginia Donner, 43, who called a friend at the Federal Reserve after losing her job at a hedge fund in Greenwich, Connecticut. ÔÇ£When youÔÇÖre looking for work and your industry has kind of imploded, you have to look at what your skills are and then figure out whoÔÇÖs hiring,ÔÇØ she said.  ÔÇ£We have a phenomenal opportunity right now to bring in much more current and useful skill sets, with people who have lost jobs on Wall Street and are anxious to do something, and do something very constructive,ÔÇØ SEC chairman Mary Schapiro told Congress during a March 11 hearing. Although the government pays less than the banking industry, where associates with three years experience can earn up to $120,000 a year, unemployed Wall Streeters ÔÇ£are sick of the insecurity,ÔÇØ said William Drawbridge, director of marketing and development at the New York Society of Security Analysts. ÔÇ£Government jobs are stable jobs. This is a good out for them.ÔÇØ ÔÇ£Nothing pays as well as Wall Street,ÔÇØ said Laura Richardson, 45, who lost her job as an analyst at BB&T Capital Markets in McLean, Virginia, two months ago. However, ÔÇ£there are no long-term guarantees on Wall Street.ÔÇØ  A government employee in New York can earn between $76,000 and $153,000, according to the U.S. Office of Personnel ManagementÔÇÖs Web site. In Washington, government salaries range from $59,000 to $127,000.  ÔÇ£The government does provide some good benefits, a good health program,ÔÇØ said John Palguta, vice president for policy at the Partnership for Public Service. ÔÇ£If anybody is worried that the government may simply not be able to afford them, either they were making well over $200,000 a year or theyÔÇÖre wrong.ÔÇØ Richardson said sheÔÇÖs considering traveling to New York for the job fair to hunt for a government role, seeking a job ÔÇ£to help fix the problem.ÔÇØ She added that sheÔÇÖs ready to do ÔÇ£whatever I can do to help prevent this from happening again.ÔÇØ