@wellfleet: yep,,I feel your pain bruthaman. Same thing happened to me in automotive engineering. F'em I say.

I hope that all of you get work really soon. BTW, I was laid off in 2003 for six months from the automotive sector. I found work with the federal government. We're losing boomer's at an alarming rate of retirement and we're hiring also. "http://www.cpol.army.mil/" is where you would create a resume for DOD/Army jobs. "USAJobs.com" is similar to Monster.com for job searches, but the site that I like best is "http://www.federaljobsearch.com/". At this site, this is how I found my current position. You can search each state individually for specific jobs. You can also receive job postings for free in e-mails, however, you will have to pay a fee to access the details of the job, contact numbers, etc.

He'll learn, eventually, whether he wants to or not...@wellfleet:

Or:

6. Slipping on a grape in the supermarket and sueing for a gazillion bucks.

We did $5 gifts for everyone last year, except for one person who you could get a "full gift" for, and it worked out very well and since everyone played by the same rules, was a financial/mental relief for all.

@HogwartsAlum: You left out --

5. Get famous commenting on Consumerist.

@frank64:

Here are real figures from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The effective unemployment rate for me (Oregon) is 18.4%. It really sucks for us -- but at least we're doing better than Michigan!

[data.bls.gov]

This was my 27th week :on the bench" -- and the 3rd stretch of unemployment in 3 years. I'm lucky I'm getting another 20 weeks of unemployment via a Federal emergency program.

Things are going great for them, so everyone else must just not be pulling hard enough on their bootstraps.

He seems to be assuming 2 incomes per household.

@reishka: Yeah, mine came on Jan 1, 2009. We knew it was coming so it wasn't like I went hog wild at Christmas time. And as I am still 'between jobs' the holiday season isn't looking to be too good this year either (of course, I have hope & dreams to keep me from thinking too much about the downside).

In RHode Island where we live, there are long waiting lists even for the burger-slinging, grocery cashier, and other minimum wage, low skilled jobs. Home Depot cut back on its sales staff, same with Lowes. Even jobs like bus boy and dishwasher in restaurants are very hard to come by. So, it's not always snobbery that keeps people from working such jobs. My husband (with his PhD and great resume) would gladly have worked at Home Depot, but they weren't even taking apps. Scary.

It's really terrible. I better understand now why my parents were so nitpickingly frugal about everything: they lived through the Great Depression.

Sorry to tell you that it was TWO YEARS for my husband. We were "this close" (holds fingers close together) to losing our house. Good luck to you.... The economy is a devil.

Blah, I screwed up my math. That should be -$2000 vs. -$720. The point still stands though.

Nice thought, but we're talking -$2000 (no job) vs -$1680 (burger flipping), not nothing and $320. It's like saying if you want half a lung or no lung -- either way, you're dead.

$320 is better than nothing once unemployment dries up.

Where does 1/3 come from?

My wife got laid off in January of this year when the flower shop closed it's doors. me I still have my job. Though I have been looking for a part-time job to pick up some extra spending money. Right now I am looking at repairing computers on the side for cash but not sure if even that is going to be paying or not. I know there is a local shop around here that is always busy all the time. I stopped by one day to pick up a fan and they had a 2 week wait from drop off to repair. I think I may attack that one next.

I have seen a few ads around town about places looking for part time computer repair help (small shops) but depending on the travel and time, it might not be worth it, or I would break even with just fuel costs.

John Galt runs Bartertown, in case you didn't already know.

the Birth-Death Model mathematically figures out how many jobs were created that would not otherwise show up any statistics. Many people believe this is very inaccurate.

Do you really want a nation of people going bankrupt?

God as I watch things slow at my workplace of 20 years I feel the need to pay off my house asap. Thank god my wife just got a nice promotion with about a $900 a month raise. I think its going to the mortage. I guess no mater how broke you are a paid for home is the best security.

Now is also a good time to look at other careers. I know a lot of people who compain about not having jobs, but the fact is they dont have and cant find a job they want.

You think you are worth X or are better than slinging burgers...but many people need to get over themselves.

@Audiyoda:
Lets see, I worked a short term gig from june to mid july 2007, then was out of work until november 2008, which only lasted until march 2009, and still unemployed.

Reasons: My field (computers) took a shit here in california. I was told I was over qualified for the jobs I originally did, and unfortunately underqualified for available positions. My school lied to me (a real college not a private school) about jobs being available so I'm S.O.L.

I feel your pain man.

How long does a typical non-graduate stay?

If you're out of work now is the time to START school. The jobs will be there when you're done if they were ever there before.

I have seen companies bring in applicants just to scare their current staff . My wife is a chemical engineer. She was once called to an interview for a chemical plant that was shut down and ordered closed.(she demurred) Lots of HR drones conduct searches just to look busy. Then the same companies can't understand why their retention of employees is a problem.

We are forced to move out of where we are and downsize in rent because of the whole situation and are finding out we are not alone in this venture. We are renters and even a decent rent is out of reach anymore.

I am one of the voices you hear on the phone and talk to when you call customer service, only I am probably the friendliest ones you will find and on your side as a fellow consumerist reader. :) But...with all the outsourcing to third world countries, it is harder to land work in my field.

Off to back up plan of business ownership or school. Neither of which are friendly to unemployment benefits.

Its rough out there. If I were in school, I'd be getting my Masters just to delay entry into the job market.

1. New parent company to change some things for the better.
2. A roaring good book deal.
3. Santa Claus to leave me a bag full of money.
4. Publishers Clearing House.

I got a job offer on September 30th.

I was only unemployed for ~1 month. Jobs are out there.

Okay, that just means you cancelled out one guy who took a year to find a job.

That was me, until I realized I'd never find another job unless I go to grad school.

Or have you not educated yourself into a corner?

I applied to a couple dozen such jobs and never heard back from any of them. I think it's because they're afraid you won't stay long, and they want to keep turnover down. At least, that's the only possible reason I can think of that makes sense.

Except, at most such places, they already aren't keeping people for more than a couple months. It's not like a PhD is going to be any worse about that than a high school kid or an ex con.

Although, I quit my job voluntarily (I HATED the new boss, could not deal with him and his nepotism anymore). I almost considered going back there in a lower position, but I'm still friends with people who work there and I can't make myself do it. I've been applying to places like a madwoman lately. Monday starts the "Ok, any job right now will do. The mall is my friend."

*sigh*

Remember kids: success is where opportunity meets preparation. Bank that in your brain.

The real unemployment rate is closer 17% if you take into account those who gave up or work part time because they couldn't find anything. That kind of tells you the problem. It must mean that 1/3 or more of households are effected. Meaning money not being spent, and businesses not able to hire.

Doesn't mean I don't go into places where they aren't hiring and drop applications. That's mainly what my job consists of every day; dropping off applications where they aren't hiring. If someone is hiring, the only thing I qualify for is some starter position with no previous experience necessary. Just my luck that everyone ELSE also qualifies for that job too. I once went to a job fair, came ten minutes into it after it started and the table that was advertising a starter position didn't have any applications left. They said they came with 200 applications.

Whoohoo 12% Florida unemployment. Yeah, some people are trying to just keep their lives going--I can't even start mine.

But yeah, six months. Sucked, started going insane after about 3, but you just need to work through it, keep sending out those resumes.

I guess what I'm saying is, if you did get laid off don't get too down about it...it's not always that bad. Don't let statistics like these lead beget a defeatist mindset...therein the problem really lies.

Kind of wish I had stayed in my old job so that I wouldn't be graduating into a recession. Even if I do somehow land a job, my starting pay will be far worse, so even after the recession it'll take a long time to catch up to where I should be after graduating.

Yeah, 26. A couple short-term part-time gigs in there, but otherwise 26 f'n months.