Unemployed?
 

Seems to me we're mostly educated, not stupid people, and yet so many of us are unemployed right now. This recesion sucks. how many of us are in the same boat? Looking for work?

You forgot UNDER-employed. I have a part time job but desperately need/want more hours and better pay. Living in western Colorado, I run into a constant Catch 22. The towns that have an affordable standard of living have a high rate of unemployment. The town I live in and the next nearest town have pretty low costs of living, but unemployment runs around 13%. The towns with jobs tend to be ski/resort towns and the cost of living is in the stratosphere. Working people live 50 or 60 miles away from the resorts because they can't afford anything closer. Then the cost of gasoline decides to sky rocket. Can't win for losing. :(

Unemployedbutgettingbyafterafashion.

Wouldn't that be employed but need something better?

I would much rather be working right now, but were that the case, I couldn't be as present for crazynurse as I am right now.

So, in the lemons of my shitcanning, I am making extra-sugary lemonade (or perhaps some limoncello) by doing something good for someone who really needs it.

At the commonwealth's expense.

But I would like to do more than just get by.

Hi wolf.

In Washington unemployment benefits are paid for by taxes I paid in the first place, like any other insurance benefits supported by premiums of the subscribers. When I was working, I was paying, but not collecting. Is there a different structure where you live?

I'm 47. I've worked my whole life since leaving school with only a couple of brief periods of unemployment. The last while I was based fairly near where I live but before that I travelled about and could be away from home for days or weeks, mostly in the UK but also elsewhere in Western Europe, Africa and Asia. I (mostly) enjoyed it all.

Then I had a heart attack and suddenly work mattered less, particularly in comparison to the importance of the people I was closest to. Just over a year ago in May last year I made what at the time seemed like a huge and difficult decision but now seems so straightforward and obvious and gave up working entirely to look after, full time, my partner who has a long term, chronically debilitating, health issue.

So am I employed? No. Am I looking for work? No. I have as much of that as I can cope with. Am I happy? No, not really, but things could be worse. I don't know what box to check!

I'm employed. I have very seldom not been employed since I was about 13. Many years I had a second and even a third job.

I am employed. I'm happy, though often frustrated and stressed. But...yeah this job just may give me a heart attack. ;)

psssst: I found out that "following your bliss" is really only for those who can afford it, or who have someone who can fund them. Otherwise I'd be dog poo picking. Not that dog poo is bliss, it just doesn't gripe and crab at you, or threaten to kill you. :)

BigV ... it is really my money, but hey, it sounds more pitiful that way.

Absolutely. You earned your unemployment benefits!

:)

Rhianne - you got your priorities in order.

Filling out this poll - meh.

Our situation hasn't really changed but financially things are pretty tight lately. I am the home maker, so I only work for love, and that's ok, so I guess I'm employed and happy. Dazza is mostly happy in his work too although he gets stressed out from time to time, but much less than he used to when he was working in the mining industry.

Like that.

Haha, you just sound like a lazy scrounger to me Brianna!

well, damn. I've been found-out!

and yaknowwhat? I'm 47, not 48! It's pretty bad when you can't remember how old you are! :)

There's Bri! :)

I know...I can't remember if I'm the age I really am or if I'm the age I say I am because I'm going to be that age that year anyway so I might as well say it. :lol:

Hi Infinite monkey!

I've had a busy few weeks.

7 of the 11 trees on my property have to come out due to that wind storm we had last week, and I need an entire new roof - a complete tear-down and re-do.

I live just behind that apt. building that lost its roof.

And my computer crashed.

A coupla other unsavory things happened, too, but they are best forgotten. I am suspicious of July, always have been, and this July has been a Very Bad Month, Indeed.

I thought you might have had some problems from the storm.

It has been a bad month. I told a friend that I must've gone to sleep earlier in the month and woke to find everyone I know had gone crazy. I've had some very unsavory things happen too...well, actually weird things happening with people I know, and a death or five. Ugh.

Glad you're OK, though. August is just around the corner. :)

Just a sweet young thang. ;)

Yes, I always thought she was much older.

I'm well into my crone-hood.

P-shaw! You have at least 20 years b4 that happens! :)

I am self employed. This is sometimes feast and famine. I have no box to check but I am happy I don't have to get up at 7 to be to work at 9 but sometimes I have to get up at 5 to groom a steer, breed a cow or pull a calf. No days off for me but no boss harassing me.

So yesterday after being 101 degrees the front tire blew on the tractor. This was a used tractor we bought and whomever had it had 3 different lug head sizes on it and they were so rusted on we had to use a torch to get them off. That was so much fun to do in 100 degree humid sweaty heat. We went to get a replacement tire, came back and of course the electric went off GAH! So no air conditioning in our house for 3 hours. Then we had a nice rain storm which blew down trees all over and made it feel like a sauna!!!

I am crazy but I would not trade my life for anything. :)

I've said before I'm envious of your life, Nirvana. Hard work is good for a body, and your life sure beats my cubicle-inhabiting one.

I am not sure that's true IM you must help so many people and sometimes being covered in crap sucks the big one ;)

Every now and again I look at my spam folder, just in case something real tumbles into it by accident ...

I think I would make an excellent punishing agent for Mr. Jabir, but I would want more than $400/week.

Punishing agent...HAHAHAHAA. Sounds like the active ingredient in Scrubbing Bubbles.®

It's probably minimum starting wage. If you get your foot in the door (so to speak) and work really hard you might rise in the ranks.

;)

We learn new lessons every day
 

The squeeze is getting tighter. I was under employed several years ago. There weren't many high paying job openings in my field so I started a small business. I have the ability now to take advantage of all of the business tax deductions and make an unlimited income. It's like the saying goes, "When life gives you lemons, make lemonade". I was fortunate enough at the time to realize my situation and take a step in the right direction. You should look at the options if you find yourself wondering how you're going to make it financially.

yes, that sounds peachy!

Please, stick around, your handle sounds interesting, but it also sounds spam-ish. we've a very very low tolerance for spamananigans, so... forewarned is forearmed.

welcome to the cellar retirein10years.

spam.

Yup, spam, and I'm STILL looking for work - better paying, more hours type work, anyhow. I saw a great job in Telluride, but no one can afford to live there except the rich and the famous. Real people who have jobs there often commute 2 hours or more. (sigh)

I am working, but only part time.
I would happily do the job I am doing full time, but it's not possible.
Even full time Teaching Assistants only work 25 hours a week.

I'm looking for work, looking for vacancies AND putting my CV (resume) out there.
I want more hours, I need more money.
I'll do anything* - waitressing, bar work, shelf stacking, babysitting.
It's just not out there at the mo.
Bless and triple bless my parents. Fot all my whines they are putting me up and putting up with me and I couldn't afford to do this job without them.

* not cleaning. Sorry. I hate it with a passion. I would rather give Diz up for adoption than take on a regular cleaning job. And that's bloody serious (and I don't know if I mean it)

I guess I should change my vote from "unemployed, desperately seeking" to
"unemployed, would like to work" been about 6 weeks without any income.
Kinda sucks.

Where is the, "unemployed and tired of looking", because as I understand it, those people are not counted in the numbers of "unemployed"?

I think the ones who aren't counted are the "unemployed and no longer receiving benefits."

Unemployed and tired of looking and receiving benefits are in the numbers.

That they drop people out of the stats when they stop qualifying for benefits is what makes the numbers as low as they are currently.

for example, my BF has been unemployed for more than three years, he was only counted for the first 26 weeks. Whether you get a job or lose benefits, you're out of the numbers.

What do you think the real unemployment % is?

It's the number of people out of work divided by the number of total people in the possible workforce, typically multiplied by 100. ;):p:

I would guess somewhere between 15 and 20 percent.

Actual pundits agree with me.

bump ...

A good look here at the different descriptions of "unemployment".

The frightening one, which I think is the most genuine is the U-6. 15.1%

Apparently my field totally blows to be unemployed as many companies and agencies are going out of business or just barely hanging on. Others are hiring new graduates at 1/3 the cost of experienced help.

I have passed the 6 month mark and although I've received a few offers, the money just isn't there given the distance I'd have to travel each day. They are also hiring many people as independent contractors (which means the individual pays both sides of the taxes") and not offering much in the way of benefits. Got a couple more interviews coming up and another promising lead that could be fantastic, but I refuse to get my hopes up again.

unemployed, desperately seeking...

but i am currently finishing the paperwork for a gun license so that i can apply for security guard jobs -> one of the most commonly available jobs in Israel (for obvious reasons), which would mean no matter what profession i take, where i live (within the country), or what's my schedule (flexible shifts - perfect for students), i can trust that i will have a source of income (until the singularity).

its not exactly creative or interesting in itself, but it would lend me a lot of time to just think and contemplate while mostly doing absolutely nothing, which can be great time for thinking about articles, especially if i am guarding in a wi-fi enabled area (smartphones).

lately i haven't being mentally available for much creative writing, futile attempts at restoring my marriage and all, but i hope that will change (in both futility and focus). i want a profession i can take with me anywhere i go in the world - an online one - and writing seems to be the best match. if i can't get that going to a full time wage, i might consider studying for a profession i can use online. not sure what.

I am now on full-time (part-time) hours and still looking for extra work.
But the hours I want are those that many stay at home Mums want - evenings and weekends when Dad can look after the kids and she can bring in some much needed wages.

If only Boots had kept me on, that job was perfect.
I did ask but was told no staff were invited to extend Christmas contracts - they have very tight budgets for staff and can fill any extra hours available with current staff numbers. And it's true that nearly everyone I met there was up for overtime.

Who knows. One plum job came along, just have to hope another will soon.

Good luck, classic!


Sent by thought transference

Thanks limey.

I'm over employed

It's a shame you can't sublet your job, bring in someone cheap and young as your "assistant" and make them do tasks for you that you don't feel like doing. That's American business!

My employed friends are all very overworked. One is so stressed out, he told me that I'm 'lucky' I don't have a job.

I wanted to bang my head against the wall, but I had to remind myself how incoherent too much work can make you.

I wonder how much unemployment could be reduced, and how much stress could be eliminated, by more job sharing. Seriously, enforce maximum working hours. Hire more staff, even as casuals. This cuts each persons pre-tax wages, but since unemployment should also fall, there might be room to trim tax. Life would be better.

I have just realized I am a polymath. It's bittersweet. I'm still unemployed but at least there's a name for what I've got...

What is this maximum hours of which you speak?

Economists have been asking the same question for some time now - from a different perspective. American productivity is at an all time high.

How much longer can the few working people be pushed so hard? Unfortunately, we know from history that severe recessions created by fiscal mismanagement cause the longest unemployment after a recession's end.

This type of recession creates most fear among employers. Restoration of confidence takes years. Employers tend to push fewer employees harder. Productivity increases. Nothing new. The worst type of recession (created at the highest levels of mismanagement) creates that much fear. We are just beginning to see confidence (and 'help wanted' signs) return.

Always learn from history. Never forget what happened in 1968/1970. And what happened in mid-2000s. Mismanagement at highest levels caused employee hardship for how long? About a decade. Welcome to trickle down economics and other money games based in economic myths. Ie. war creates an economic 'boom'.

A better description was economic 'bang' - as in destruction

I'm sure there was a typo in that source, tw. It most likely read "American economists are at an all time high."

Seriously, what are they smoking and why isn't it mandatory for all US citizens to be smoking it too?

I seriously doubt that after all the jobs that were sent overseas and to mexico that we are producing more of anything but unemployed people/

Does not matter how many jobs go overseas. What only matters is what existing jobs are doing.

Productivity in American is at an all time high. Obviously. If only ten people are working and 200 million are unemployed, that 200 million does not affect productivity. Because economics only measures what the ten employed people are doing.

Since employers are demanding so much from their fewer employees, American productivity is at an all time high.

Productivity and unemployment have no relationship. However, productivity can be lowered by employing more people to do the same work. Then both unemployment and productivity decrease.

I must be at an all time high. I understood that and agree with it.

We need to. Last month we had a meeting because our per copy income is down. It is my opinion that it is at least partiallly a result of the ridiculous amount of time that elapses between when a customer agrees to buy, and the time they sit down in my office. For many reasons.... Mostly though, that is because they have "come out of the ether."

So, i have been bringing them in as soon as i have reviewed the deal, and do the 15-20 minutes of preparations (loading the info into the computer, calling it in to the bank, preparing the menu of aftersale items, issuing the T Tag and service rewards card, logging same, resolving identity verification red flags, noting missing items like trade titles etc, printing up the documents, et fucking cetera) with them at my desk instead of out in the showroom cooling their heels and wondering what the ever living fuck is taking me so long.

Monday, they decided that finance should issue the inspection stickers for new cars now.:facepalm:

I'd like to rent out about 20 hours of my job every week. Someone want my unpaid hours?

Ditto. That explains a lot.

Continuing with what Griff mentioned, I wonder how much of that production is altered by the increasing hours the remaining workers are doing and additionally how self employed contractors, whose numbers are ever increasing, factor into it.

My son Lee got promoted to finance while still selling cars. I'm amazed at the load of paperwork that comes with each card when you figure in loan, insurance, and extended warranties.

is he covering the day off of the F&I manager or something? That's how I got my foot in the door. The knowledge he gains will help him in selling.... as long as he doesn't give the customer TOO much information and cause analysis paralysis....!

tell him congrats from me... and if he ever gets stuck or needs advice, or how to do NJ tags or leases or whatever... to give me a holla. Where's he working?