Is the economy tanking? Are there a lot of layoffs in you area?

[undeterred]

After 3 months of looking I just found something temporary. Thats the good news. The bad news is I am replacing 5 people who were laid off last week. I am wondering if something is happening all over?

[European Socialist]

1. It has been a depression here in Michigan since Chimp coup in 2000.

[gollygee]

3. Yep, it's been going on here

For a few years. No one is surprised when there are huge layoffs from major employers anymore. No one is surprised when they can't sell their houses either.

[jojo54]

2. Close by, anyway.

In Philly, there's been a lot of downsizing. Take heart, you'll find something soon. Word of advise, all these "temporary" assignments are good resume' fillers. Especially if they're diversified.

(I'd tell ya how long it took my husband to find a "permanent" position, but I think you'd fall off your chair.)

[undeterred]

5. Well, the confusing thing is that there is a lot of stuff advertised

and there is a lot to apply for. I can sit at my computer and keep busy all day. But then some of these places never end up interviewing or hiring anyone.

When I walked into this I was told I was replacing someone going for 6 weeks national guard duty. They didn't mention downsizing the department from 7 to 2.

[madrchsod]

4. i`d say it`s happening all over

it`s certainly happening here in northern illinois. more temp jobs than real jobs ,plant closings,and layoffs...welcome to the great american economy

[Warpy]

6. Evey year since that thing has been in office

I've seen university grads around town begging for jobs renting videos, selling shoes, whatever they can get. I've also noticed that the malls are empty, the stores are empty, and there are only about half as many people in retail outlets than there used to be.

I can't imagine what these kids are going to do with huge student loan payments coming and the shit jobs out there not enough to live on, much less service a huge school debt.

I tell them to learn plumbing. People will always need plumbers, no matter how bad the economy is. Plumbers will always eat, even if they're taking their fees in livestock.

[Donnachaidh]

7. yup. Another competing company has closed ALL 20+ stores

and all their customers are headed to my DH's warehouse. It should be a good deal, but DH's company hasn't hired anyone new on in months. They just expect the employees to pick up the slack.

[Zywiec]

8. May jobs gain stronger than expected

http://money.cnn.com/2007/06/01/news/economy/jobs_may/index.htm?cnn=yes

My area (DC-Metro) always seems to have a lot of jobs available.

[AngryOldDem]

9. Yep -- especially in IT

And it's done quietly. People come in one week, hear rumors of a layoff, and within the next couple of weeks, they're gone. No media coverage, nothing. It used to be layoffs in the tech sector here were front page news and led the evening news shows. No more. People just literally vanish from their desks overnight.

My city is a dying GM town as well, and what's sadder is that announcements of layoffs and possible plant closings get NO attention anymore.

[MUAD_DIB]

11. Of course they don't want to cover layoffs and closings.

There's so much good news to cover from Iraq, and Paris-Lidsay-Britney-Amurkin Idol gossip is so much more refreshing.

The majority MSM have failed in their duty to be seperate from government and in so doing have forfeited their role as journalists.

NewsWhores are a dime a dozen, and they spread the * propaganda all too well.

[Squatch]

10. PWC (Northern VA) unemployment is at 1.28%

which is considered a worker shortage.

[PassingFair]

12. I live in Michigan. Next question? nt

[Zywiec]

13. You could always move to where the jobs are...

If there is nothing in Michigan, why not move to Northern Virginia where there is a shortage of workers?

[coco77]

18. They can also send the Iraq refugees there ..

to fill them too.

[undeterred]

14. Funny thing is, sometimes they announce jobs

and then it takes a whole year to do the hiring.

[greendog]

15. Lowest unemployment rate in the nation.

Pretty close to rock bottom pay though.

One of the plywood manufacturers just announced layoffs due to the falloff in new construction nationally. Still plenty of construction going on locally.

Hopefully the high gas prices won't negativly affect our tourist season.

[pitohui]

16. there is a labor shortage on the gulf coast EOM

m

[Manifestor_of_Light]

17. It happened to me in 1994. Bill Clinton's tenure.

My job dried up in 94 and and was completely dead by 1996. I was burned out anyway.

The same thing happened to my BF. He was canned from his engineering programming job Jan. 2 of 1993. Guess the boss figured the economy was gonna tank because we had a Democratic president coming in.

I have had some temp jobs and crummy jobs occasionally since then, but haven't had anything in several years. I have three college degrees and so does the boyfriend. He had a really crappy job from 2000 to 2006, when he got laid off.

I can't understand why, when you ask the minister at your church to help you find a job, they look at you with a horrified expression, like you're asking for the moon. I guess you're just supposed to magically have a job with no effort. Everybody I asked said they just couldn't do anything for me.

We're retiring to the country and selling the house. There is no way we can get jobs we can stand. We fell out of the middle class in the Nineties.

[coco77]

19. Yesterday. I saw a reporter ...

on the trading floor for the stock market and she said they were laying off lots of workers, and it was happening as she was speaking she said that it was do to global economy and computers doing their jobs..This was on CNN.

[Odin2005]

20. We are heading for another Great Depression, mark my words.

Read up on the 1910s and 1920s, the similarity between those 20 year and the last 20 years is downright freaky.

[blues90]

21. It seems to be getting worse

7 months ago I could go on craigs list or monster or other big job sites and actually get an interview , now there are less than ahlf the amount of jobs and not one interview . The paper is the same way .

I get emails from head hunters who saw my resume but they are insurance training jobs at $7.50 per hour and miles away .

I went to vocational rehab as per the request of my shrink to continue on SDI for my depression and anxiety and even they tell me the job market is really bad , who knows what will come of this if anything . I will have to stick with what I know because most training and classes are 1 year and I don;t have a year left .

I get the strong impression there are many more job seekers than jobs so you are fighting alot of competition , many I call back say they have had 50 or more apps for the one position .

I fear there will be a depression soon , it is just not something you will see in the news most likely to avoid panic . I heard this month of May there were 310,000 new apps for unemployment .

Many areas claim alot of jobs but the jobs are cheap labor at best and I am in no way moving to florida or the south or back to chicago .

We just don;t have clear info on the job situation anywhere , it's a crap shoot and a sick joke .

I did not help the we allowed the box stores the opportunity to take over the country either just to save a buck we hung ourselves . Who would have imagined this was coming and so fast .

[undeterred]

22. If you look at DICE- the big IT site - there are 97,000 jobs posted

and that is a good number. I believe its been higher, but its still a good number.

During the really crappy year of 2001, I remember when it was 29,000 jobs. Yet some people are saying its bad now, so I'm not sure if the number is inflated somehow or if there is more competition or what is going on.

[blues90]

23. I'm not an IT person

I know at the ford dealerships I worked at in 2000 they began laying off people and pased out the work load to others . There were 8 people in the one office I worked out of as a assistent service manager and it ended up me and the service phone operator , then there was a new general manager brought in and due to the at will clause I was fired so he could bring in his own people . 13 years there shot to hell and I did a good job and had good pay but it's all over now with no real hope in sight .

I have no clue what I am even interested in doing anymore , most jobs are tech jobs or sales or some sort of horrid position . I tried driving for a messenger service where you use your own car and pay for gas , I could see that this would wear out my car real fast and traffic was hell , a week you would make $200 after gas and who knows about wear and tear . Horrible job that was .

[undeterred]

24. I didn't; mean to put my post as a response to yours

but since I did..

I'm on my third career, and IT pays the best, with the least schooling. If I weren't doing this, quite honestly I think I would train to be a plumber or an electrician or some trade that isn't going to go away... even though I'm female and I don't really have an interest in it. I know there will always be a demand for it and the rate is high. Being in IT isn't too bad but it does have a lot of ups and downs with the economy. Still pays well for what you do. I was originally a lab tech and that wasn't so bad but the pay was low.

[blues90]

26. I was a carpenter

My father was one and taught me but this was in the 60's , everything has changed now and at 58 I have tried and no one will hire me . I even posted the question on a wood workers forum asking contractors what my chances were and they said at 58 not very good .

[undeterred]

27. geez, thats depressing

I am 50 and recently went to a re-employment forum. Every single person in the room was over 45, most by 5-10 years. Younger people have less skills and experience but they aren't staying unemployed as long.

Age discrimination is illegal, but its happening to everyone, everywhere, all the time. I look younger than I am and I leave the first 10 years of work off my resume because its irrelevant, and I don't give the year of college graduation... but still if employers want a kid out of college because they will accept an entry level salary, thats what they are going to take.

[tsuki]

28. Are you a trim carpenter? The reason I ask is that good trim

carpenters are in short supply (at least here.) They are staying employed longer than general carpenters.

[blues90]

30. Yes , I did it all

My father was a one man contractor and I was his helper , I built 10 homes with him from the foundation up including the cabinets and all trim and doors , all the wood work .

Now they require you have air nailers to save time and a resume , well my resume for this work is pretty old . I would also need to spend money to get updated on tools , they don;t use hammers and nail sets anymore .

I have looked here but with no luck mostly because of my age , I do not look 58 or am i out of shape , most of the workers are latino in L.A. now days . This is anyother issue .

[tsuki]

31. I asked, not to be nosy, but carpenters of your generation do not

understand your worth in the custom home market. Down here the market is McMansions. The rich still have money, and they want to flout it.

A recent job that I provided for had a mahogany vaulted ceiling with each piece measured twice and cut once to be fitted exactly. No moulding to cover any errors, no paint, no putty, natural. Hidden doors are also a must feature. The trim carpenter is expected to cover all the warts from the stack-out and make it a million+ home.

Cabinets, bookcases, hidden doors and staircases, 5" step-moulding, this market is wood driven.

At 58, your age is considered a plus. It means you are old-school, a craftsman. They don't want the ka-boom, ka-boom, ka-boom. They want the hammer and nail set and mitre box.

Try reworking your resume, and hunting down the big house jobs. Yes, they will have cheap general carpenters, painters and such, but I promise, they are always looking for a master craftsman, a wood worker.

I know one who left his contractor, and struck out on his own. He is turning away work at $100. base price an hour.

It's worth a shot.

[Gopens]

25. Yes, the economy stinks everywhere

I've got a college degree, been in the professional workforce for about 19 years and barely make half my age. I was downsized about five years ago and never found anything with a comparable salary. Can't move either, because my girlfriend's job -- which pays well, thankfully (it's how we pay the mortgage) -- is here and pretty permanent. I just wish I could handle more of our financial load. Haven't got a nibble on a job interview in more than a year.

[hack89]

29. No

Employment in RI is steady. My company has been hiring at a steady rate for the past year or so. All of my friends and neighbors are doing well with no layoffs and steady pay raises.

[AlCzervik]

32. there have been layoffs in my area, Intel and some other high tech but the other

secot is housing, builders are laying off workers due to the dip in homebuying.