Tough times call for creative solutions.
This method works best if you are looking for job openings within your field. If those prospects are dim, or if you would like to try something new, there are other options for Ph.D. physicists, including medical physics, environmental science and financial modeling, to name a few. Recently, a nuclear physics graduate student asked whether she would be labeled as a medium energy heavy ion physicist for the rest of her career. In a word, no. Following the end of my graduate career doing medium energy pion physics, I switched to atomic physics.