Bush appointees face weak job market

WASHINGTON, Nov. 1 (UPI) -- The Bush administration's estimated 3,000 political appointees face a tough market with lower-paying jobs than previously anticipated, corporate recruiters say.

The weak market means there are nearly 25 percent fewer corporate management spots open now than there were eight years ago for Clinton administration appointees seeking post-election employment, The Wall Street Journal reported Saturday.

Most Cabinet members, such as Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, already have jobs lined up, with Rice planning to return to Stanford University, the Journal reported.

Other Bush appointees, however, are finding it difficult to make the transition out of government and may end up in lower-level positions than they expected, said Nels B. Olson, a recruiter for the search firm Korn/Ferry International.

Administration officials who stay until the Jan. 20 inauguration "will be looking for work until the economy recovers," predicted Paul Light, a presidential-transition scholar at New York University.