The unemployment rate in Sammamish is now four times greater than it was nine years ago, as the continued economic contraction manifests itself in layoffs in regional businesses.

That figure, 7.1 percent as of June, 2009, is closer to the state average than it has been since the city was incorporated – Washington’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate decreased to 9.1 percent in July.

It is also more than twice what is was for the same month last year.

But the workers of Sammamish are not taking things lying down, with at least one local career consultant reporting strong interest in options for reinventing their employment options.

Amanda Johnson runs her own career consultancy business, and teaches resume writing classes at Bellevue College.

Earlier this year she was asked to host a number of workshops at local libraries to help people affected by, or threatened with, layoffs.

She remembers the day that people in Sammamish first felt the onset of the current economic downturn.

“A few years ago, I set out wanting to help Moms who were returning to work,” Johnson said. “I put together a class, and I remember, it was the last day of our very first class, September ’08. We had finished the workshop and clients were preparing to leave, when their cell phones started ringing with the news that things were going bad pretty quickly.”

Johnson said that soon after that, the make-up of her classes started to change, from mostly women in their 30s, to men and women, of a much wider age range.

She is seeing two distinct groups looking for career help. One is the middle aged professional, typically male, who has been employed with a fairly high salary for his whole working life and is now facing the very alien prospective of unemployment because of the performance of his company.

The other is the mom who has raised her kids and is looking at getting back in the workforce.

For both, Johnson said, it requires the ability to reinvent, and to be aware of what the current workplace is demanding.

“People are going through a period of transformation,” she said. “This happens anytime anyone experiences a little hardship, a little pain. And so they are spending more time with their families, finishing projects that they may have been too busy for in the past.”

Although severance packages may be soften the blow for some families and allowing them some breathing room, the urgency is there, particularly among men, to secure their families future.

“Men especially feel they have a responsibility to provide,” Johnson said. “Sometimes they are getting job offers elsewhere, in other states, and so families are having to contemplate being split up for a period of time, move kids out school, that sort of thing.”

Johnson said that it was difficult for some professionals to admit that they needed the help of a career consultant, never having had to deal with unemployment.

“Some people need to get a bit desperate before they take that step,” she said. “But the people that are really smart know when they need help. A lot of these high-performing executives, for example, are used to contracting for services. It’s the same as that – hire someone to help you as a professional.”

In May of this, Johnson ran a series of workshops for job seekers at the libraries in Issaquah and Sammamish – “How to find a job in a tough economy.”

What she saw there made it clear to her that many people around here are either dealing with recent unemployment or bracing themselves for it, trying to be proactive and getting ahead of the game.

“The place was packed,” Johnson said of the first library seminar. “I guess the title really struck a chord with people.”

Bellevue College, which offers continuing education classes and job searching resources, has seen a noticeable increase in enrollment numbers, evidence that right across the Eastside people are looking to repackage themselves as employees, along with a growing interest in starting new small businesses.

“We have a 20 percent increase in overall enrollment for the coming fall,” said the college’s Bart Becker.

Although Becker said that this included all courses, such as undergraduate studies, he was hearing that much of this increase was being driven but demand for continuing education courses such as computer training and other resume boosting skills.

He also said that the college was seeing people who had deferred their tertiary education deciding that now was the time to do it.

Johnson said that she regularly saw clients bucking the trend and finding top-end jobs – but that competition for these jobs very tough. Hence the importance in “muscling up” resumes with skills training and volunteering.

“There are jobs out there, people are getting hired,” she said. “Maybe though. it’s something a little different than what they thought. I think that employers are almost overwhelmed by choices. Based on what my clients are telling me, employers seem to be really taking their time in making hiring decisions. It’s their market right now.”

“It is tough out there for sure, but taking action is important,” Johnson said. “Clients feel more prepared and ultimately more confident when they take action and hire help, or join a support group, or whatever they feel they need to do. People are not alone. Employers are hiring, but it truly is tough out there. It’s important for people to show their strengths and be ready to talk about their unique set of skills, abilities and talents.”