Wall Street's jobless flocking to bartending jobs

NEW YORK - Bryan Gunderson tried to master the intricacies of structured-equity investments until he lost his job at JPMorgan Chase & Co. Now he's learning the subtleties of Purple Hooters.

After collecting his last severance check in August and getting no offers after sending more than 100 resumes, the 25-year-old graduate of Loyola College in Baltimore decided to go to B-school - for bartending.

"It's come to the point where, yes, I need another job," said Gunderson, who has a bachelor's degree in finance and is looking for bartending work.

"I always frequent bars, so why not be on the other side?" he said at New York Bartending School in Manhattan.

At the final exam, students must pass a written test and mix 20 drinks in six minutes. An instructor picks the speed-test cocktails from a list of 200 that includes the Purple Hooter, made with vodka and raspberry liqueur, and the Red Devil, which contains Southern Comfort, sloe gin, amaretto, orange juice, vodka, triple sec, and lime juice.

Gunderson lost his job amid the credit crisis that threatens to leave 165,000 people unemployed in New York City in the next 24 months, including 35,000 in the financial industry, according to the city's comptroller.

A growing number of out-of-work New Yorkers are turning to bartending, according to school directors. Enrollment in the American Bartending School in Manhattan climbed 53 percent from last October to 84, the most for the month in five years, director Joe Bruno said.

The number of people working in food and beverage services in the largest US city climbed 3.6 percent in September from last year to 201,800, according to state Labor Department data. Employment in securities, commodities, and other financial businesses fell 7 percent to 174,700.

The median annual income, including reported tips, for a full-time bartender in New York City was $30,540 as of May, while the median for all jobs was $42,600, the state Labor Department said. Securities, commodities, and financial services sales agents' median income was $111,160.

Tending bar isn't recession-proof, said James Brown, a state Labor Department analyst.

Restaurants are facing the toughest environment since the 2001 terrorist attacks because of the slumping economy, record rents, and an increase in food prices, said Chuck Hunt, executive vice president of the New York State Restaurant Association.

Establishments may be more likely to hire an experienced bartender who is out of work because a restaurant closed than someone fresh out of training, he said.