Why is it so hard to get a job in northern california

I know it's very competitive in the bay area. New grads can't find work, and often experienced nurses cannot find work. They usually have people they are already interested in. I was up there for my RN program, and most of my classmates had many years of LVN experience, some were able to find jobs where they had previously worked, and others are still looking for work and have been since prior to January.

One of the biggest obstacles to finding work in this area is that people who have jobs tend to stay with those jobs forever. Since it is such a desirable place to live and work, turnover is lower than in other places.

1)With the bad economy many nurses had to return to the workforce due to husbands lay offs.

2) Many of the BIG companies like Yahoo, National Semiconductor, HP and MANY more had massive layoffs resulting in loss of health insurance and income for MANY people.

4) Many of these big companies fueled little companies resulting in many small companies closed completely....people lost jobs and health insurance.

3) Nurses are paid EXTREMELY well in the Bay Area and I have heard that California is one of the few states that pays nurses overtime, PLEASE correct me if I am wrong.

Your best bet would be to join a travel agency as if you have that experience you could find an assignment. It is cheaper to hire a traveler than to train a New Grad, sadly.

Many hospitals pay straight time for a 12 hour shift, after the 12 hours it goes to double time.

what are the good hospitals in Bay Area?

VA Palo Alto (I volunteered there!! I think this is the best in my opinion.)
UCSF medical center
Other VA hospitals and clinics
Valley Medical Center in San Jose
Kaiser Permanente branches
Regional in San Jose

and much more.

Yeah I agree, the nurses in the Bay area are paid extremely well, and the working conditions are good. So many people are trying to relocate here.... It's almost a $30 an hour difference between Southern California(ie: In SF I make $60 an hour on night shift, while my sister in SD makes $35)

I think since there's a lot of experienced nurses that had been laid-off and are having problems getting hired, they are willing to receive a pay cut. Now since experienced nurses are now "affordable" or "cheaper", hospitals I think are more willing to hire experience nurses vs. new grads. This way, hospitals are not going to pay for new grad training. That's just my 2 cents . I am a new grad too with almost 10 year experience as an LVN and it's hard for me to find a job. I am Wound Care Certified (WCC) too, i was hoping since they change the regulations on nosocomial pressure ulcers that I have a better chance. But to no avail

These days the answer to this question is "the hospital that hires you".