Hundreds of thousands of previously full time workers who have been laid off have sought part-time work to pay the bills. In fact, according the Bureau of Labor Statistics, there are almost two million more part time workers in the United States now than there were a year ago. Many of these people have been forced to trade the security of a hefty benefits package for a spatula and a hair net. However, if you know where to look, you may not have to trade those benefits.

“If you’re going to work part time, it’s best to work at places that consider part-time workers as integral to their success. For example, at Starbucks part-time workers hit the core of their organization, and because of that they’re going to be taken care of.” says Bob Nelson, president of Nelson Motivation, a benefits consulting firm.

Grocery stores tend to provide decent benefits packages. Some offer medical benefits, a 401(k) matching, profit-sharing and paid time off even to part time workers. These stores are also relatively recession proof so many are hiring and in some cases even expanding. If you are not into the food business, there are so many other places to go like:

1. Barnes & Noble: Part-time workers not only get a discount on purchases, but they also get transportation benefits to help them pay for getting to and from work. You only need at least 20 hours a week to qualify after only one year of employment. Benefits include: medical, dental, flexible spending, 401k matching (after 1,000 hours worked), transit benefits, paid sick days and a 30% employee discount on purchases.

2. IKEA: They are expanding their presence in America and bringing the European employee pride along for the ride. Once you get a job working 20 hours a week at IKEA, you automatically qualify for benefits without any waited time (except for the 401k). Benefits include: medical, dental, vision; 401k after six months of work. Depending on the hours worked, you may receive paid vacations.

3. Lowe’s: It looks like they want you to apply for a job there so you can “build something together.” They have flexible scheduling and there are no minimum hours per week or limitations required for collecting benefits. Benefits include: medical, dental, vision; life and short-term disability insurance; 401(k) plan with company match; prorated paid vacation, employee discounts.

4. REI: You can discounts on great gear and other products. Part-time and seasonal employees are eligible for medical coverage after just 30 days of work and they require you work at least 20 hours a week. REI covers 60%. Benefits include: medical, dental, incentive pay, retirement and profit sharing (depending on length of employment), tuition reimbursement, up to 12 weeks unpaid leave, 50% discount on REI products, 30% off miscellaneous alternate vendor products and 30% discount on trips with REI’s travel company.

5. Starbucks: This author has a close friend who almost got a job at Starbucks in the morning before her business started for the day just to receive cheap health insurance, and that was before the recession. Workers receive free beverages while at work, a 30% discount on merchandise and a free pound of coffee or box of tea to take home each week. You need three months of continuous work and at least 20 hours per week to qualify. Benefits include: medical, dental, vision; 401(k) plan with company match; paid vacation (after 12 months of employment), 30% employee discount, gym membership discounts, tuition reimbursement after 12 months of employment and free beverages while working.

6. Trader Joe’s: They won’t disclose much about their qualifications for benefits but will comment that in addition to a 10% employee discount, workers get free signature Trader Joe’s Hawaiian shirts and paid time off. We do not know how long you need to work there to get benefits, but part time workers can get up to 35 hours per week. Benefits include: medical, dental, vision; company paid retirement plan, 10% employee discount and disability insurance.

7. Wegmans: This grocery store chain is expanding throughout the Northeast now. For employees who want to take advantage of the colleges nearby, the company offers scholarships for college or continuing education. You only need 20 to 24 hours per week for one year of continuous employment to qualify for benefits. Benefits include: medical, pharmacy; 401(k) matching, paid vacations (varies by state), an option for profit sharing, employee discounts on purchases, flexible spending, scholarships, smoking cessation programs and discounted gym memberships.

8. Whole Foods: This store that prides itself in health really goes all the way. Whole Foods covers 100% of employees’ health-insurance premiums after they’ve worked 800 total hours. All employees and their spouses or eligible domestic partners also get a 20% discount on groceries. You must work 20 hours each week until you have accumulated 400 hours of tenure to qualify for benefits. Benefits include: medical, dental, vision, flexible spending, life and disability insurance, 401k, prorated paid time off, and a 20% in-store discount for employees and their spouses or eligible domestic partners. Sidenote: If you work at a Whole Foods in Los Angeles County, it is likely you will meet celebrities like Hayden Panettiere, Carrie Underwood, Hilary Duff, and Jamie Pressly. They are photographed coming out of Whole Foods by the paps a few days a week. If you do work at an LA County store, just remember to show up for work early so you can find a spot and get in. The photogs know how to crowd up a parking lot.

As the economy has proven, nothing is fully recession proof. In an emotionally driven society and a fairly unpredictable financial condition, job security has tended to mean nothing and cost cutting has prevailed beyond the course of the job market. However, there are some careers that have still proven to be ‘recession proof’. Some are very lucrative, rewarding careers, and still some do not require four year degrees or time extensive training.

Health care is a very rewarding career, and job security is inevitable, especially with experience and tenure, simply due to the fact that illnesses and death are just parts of life, uninfluenced by economic status or stability. People do not stop getting sick if the economy is down. When you think of health care, you think of doctors and nurses, but unbeknownst to those not privy to the inner workings of the industry, it is a large field with endless opportunities if you have the patience and patients, homonym intended. There are several jobs that one can have in the health care field, some of which do not require a doctorate or bachelor’s degree.

Physician assistants have the same functions as a doctor except for opening up their own practices or medicating patients, in some cases. They do not earn as much as doctors or receive the potential notoriety, but they are well above median salary. Nurse practitioners can earn enviable salaries and even specialize or start up specialty practices. Often times, people visiting their general physician will actually see a nurse practitioner in the office. Diagnostic cardiac sonographers are also popular careers with a high demand rate due to the technological specialization. They collect reflected echoes and Doppler signals from images and tracings of a person’s heart, using ultrasound equipment to assess the condition of the different functions and valves of the human heart, very useful due to the high rate of cardiac illness in a fast food society.

Physician assistants must go through a two-year training program, and at least two years of college and a license exam, and the median salary is $62.000 per year. A nurse practitioner does need a master’s degree in nursing and the median salary is $74,000 per year. A cardiac sonographer only needs a two-year associate’s degree, or in some cases, a 1-year certificate in diagnostic sonography while a laboratory technician needs a bachelor’s degree with coursework in chemistry, biology, and statistics and state certification and licensing upon completion. Both of these supporting careers have a median salary of over $50,000 a year each.

With a specialized technical background and education, a rewarding career can be found in the manufacturing industry. In an earlier article, we discussed how Hewlett-Packard was downgrading production but hiring in development. This is a booming job market if you can be placed in a job that focuses on the promise or specialization of a market that is beginning to cycle forward quicker than usual, in an effort to come out of the recession ahead of a respective field. Some newer jobs with high skill levels are opening up and they are really only requiring some vocational training and/or apprenticeships.

Computer control operators use computer numerically controlled machines (or CNC) to make precision products for a variety of machines and automobiles. CNC programmers develop programs that run the tools the operators use. They review computer aided design blueprints of the products and determine what the machine will have to do, in a sequence of events, to cut, shape, and assemble the part. The number of jobs in these fields is projected to decline slightly over the next seven years, but with this type of training, it is inevitable that a CNC operator or programmer will have endless opportunities in development fields of all sorts, especially in a society that is always technologically developing, also due to the limited number of professionals entering training programs and difficulty companies have in hiring workers with the necessary skills and knowledge. Operators and programmers need either a two-year degree or combination of vocational degree and apprenticeship. An operator can make $33,000 a year and a programmer can make $44,000.

Although the financial services industry has significantly declined over the past year, especially in the recession, actuarial services, an overlooked financial sector, is still booming. Actuaries develop, price, and evaluate financial insurance products such as life, auto, health or homeowners insurance. The demand is already up, and experts agree that this sector of the financial field will grow exponentially before 2016.

Even amid the downfall of the financial industry in the recession, financial analysts and planners are still necessary and popular. Analysts evaluate the economic outlook of sectors and industries for organizations to invest in or assess. Personal financial planners and advisors help individuals with personal investments and finances. Financial analysts can work in a variety of industries, though some might consider going the self-employment route as they can make three to five times what a salaried employee is making, more along a freelance line. An actuary needs a bachelor’s degree in mathematics, statistics, or finance and the related professional certification and makes a median salary of $86,000. A financial analyst normally needs a bachelor’s degree in finance and can make around $48,000. A financial planner needs a bachelor’s degree in finance and to pass the certification examination. He or she can make a median salary of $61,000.

MGM could have to bail on creditors if the economy doesn’t pick up this year.

The casino operations could be broken u p and sold off to pay creditors of MGM’s company. It currently owes $1.5 billion this year in bond payments and interest.

MGM said it was talking to its bank lenders “for a waiver on its loans or to amend the debts’ covenants.” However, lenders haven’t agreed to the terms. If the lenders can’t reach an agreement with MGM, the company may have to default on other loans.

MGM owns the Bellagio as well as the Grand Detroit casinos. The economy has been particularly harsh to Las Vegas, despite casinos once being a “recession-proof” industry. It seems funny that money can sometimes seem like a better bet on the roulette table than in the stock market.

Las Vegas residential real estate has plummeted in value after just a year and a half ago it was touted as one fo the fastest growing areas in the country.