By Dave Porter

(AXcess News) Reno - The number of unemployed workers in the U.S. filing for initial jobless claims dropped by 20,000, according to the latest U.S. Department of Labor.  It marked the first time initial unemployment rolls have dropped in weeks.

While the unemployment report was good news, the Department of Labor's rate of initial jobless claims for the week ending October 4, 2008 stood at 478,000.  The decline was attributed to workers going back on the job following hurricanes Gustav and Ike, which the U.S. Department of Labor says affected some 17,000 workers in Louisiana and Texas.

Still, a more closely watched four-week moving average of jobless claims rose by 8,250 and now stands at 482,500, its highest level since October, 2001.

The latest initial jobless claims report is down from a 7-year high, while the number of workers who filed for unemployment benefits thanks to hurricanes Gustav and Ike was far less than the government's previous estimate of 45,000.

According to a report by the Bureau of Labor Statistics released on Tuesday, the number of workers available for every job opening in August rose 24% over January 2007.

The number of job openings in August was well below the number of unemployed workers, which stood at 9.4 million.  There are now over six million more job seekers than job openings - an average of 2.9 unemployed workers per available job.

This is the highest ratio of jobless to job openings since January of 2004, according to Heidi Shierholz, an economist with the Economic Policy Institute. "Millions of American workers are now facing extended spells of unemployment with little hope of finding a job," she said.

While the employment picture looks dismal, for many small business owners it spells opportunity in looking to upgrade to higher skilled or more experienced workers who otherwise would not have been available on the job market.

Nevada, which ranked 50th in economic impact from the downturn in tourism and spending, is seeing its own share of unemployment problems, yet small business owners in Reno are seeing more qualified help become available.  This shift in talent may be a silver lining in disguise for some workers whose skills can help bring sustainability and growth to the small business sector.  But whether or not they remain on the job depends on their earnings capability when the overall job market improves and larger businesses attempt to lure them back.

Some small business owners in the Reno metro area are looking out-of-state for middle management in areas of financial and accounting management.  With the downturn on Wall Street, high-grade talent has landed on the unemployment lines and many may be attracted to the lifestyle change of living in an area like Northern Nevada with its outdoor attractions and diverse locale to places like San Francisco which is just a few hours drive away, or the many ski slopes that line the Sierra Mountain range.  Compared to the cost of living on the East Coast, wages in Nevada can stretch much further and with the rate of deflation in home values, housing becomes a "too good to be true" scenario that could make lower wages seem attractive.

Taking note of Shierholz's observations, those same unemployed skilled workers standing in the unemployment lines of New York, Massachusetts, New Jersey and other eastern seaboard markets are finding themselves competing for fewer job openings with more workers vying for those posts.  The one's who look to lifestyle changes in relocating to other areas of the nation may find better opportunities await and fewer workers competing for those jobs.  Thanks to the Internet, many can look over information on various metro markets and assess their best picks for job search online.  New Web sites dedicated to job placement have sprung up since the last recession and also offer more choices and ease of search.  Many states now make their employment information more accessible through the Web as well - Nevada being one of the more progressive.