Interesting article from the NY Times on the growing underclass of the unemployed, but it is one comment which most resonates with me which I posted at the end... politicians should pay attention, this comment is the voice of many. A dissatisfied, educated group of people who are being squeezed into a corner are not going to passively walk off the cliff, like a pack of lemmings.
By CATHERINE RAMPELL
Slowly but surely, longer-term unemployment seems to be becoming the norm.
While layoffs are slowing, the number of job openings relative to the unemployed population were still at a record low in November.
That means that those who have already been laid off must spend longer and longer periods looking for work. Take a look at the make-up of the unemployed last month, compared with a year earlier:
In December 2008, 22.9 percent of the unemployed had been out of work for at least 27 weeks. A year later, that portion rose to 39.8 percent. That translates to having about 4 percent of the total civilian work force categorized as long-term unemployed.
Here’s a look at how many weeks the average jobless person has been jobless for:
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics
The average person who was unemployed in December had been out of
work for 29.1 weeks. By contrast, when the recession began two years
earlier, the average unemployed person had been out of work for 16.5
weeks.
I would guess that these numbers might even understate the portion of Americans who lost their jobs long ago and have not been able to find work, as many of the laid-off have most likely dropped out of the labor force altogether after months of discouraging job searches.
These are bad trends.
Initially the labor market imperative facing Washington was cushioning the blow of layoffs with safety-net programs like unemployment benefits, so that the newly jobless could still put food on the table and make their car payments. Now the problem is figuring out what to do with this growing army of idle workers.
After all, all things being equal, the longer unemployed workers stay out of work, the less likely they may be to subsequently find work, for two reasons.
First, their skills may deteriorate or become obsolete — especially if they are in a dynamically changing industry like high technology.
Second, the stigma — both internal and external — of their unemployment grows. Studies have linked job loss to declines in self-worth and self-esteem, meaning these people will probably make less compelling job candidates.
Besides that, long-term unemployed workers will have a marketing problem: Even if their skills have not deteriorated, employers are going to worry about that big, gaping hole on their résumés anyhow.
If given the choice between a job candidate who’s been unemployed for a month and a candidate who somehow hasn’t been able to get hired for a year, wouldn’t you choose the former?
In other words, unemployment insurance benefits may tide these workers over for a few months. But eventually we will have to figure out a way to transition the long-term jobless back into the work force, whether through training or therapy or tax incentives or public service announcements or something more drastic. And for the two reasons above, the longer Washington waits, the tougher the transition for this growing underclass will probably become.
Comment by mikeswinney
While layoffs are slowing, the number of job openings relative to the unemployed population were still at a record low in November.
That means that those who have already been laid off must spend longer and longer periods looking for work. Take a look at the make-up of the unemployed last month, compared with a year earlier:
In December 2008, 22.9 percent of the unemployed had been out of work for at least 27 weeks. A year later, that portion rose to 39.8 percent. That translates to having about 4 percent of the total civilian work force categorized as long-term unemployed.
Here’s a look at how many weeks the average jobless person has been jobless for:
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics I would guess that these numbers might even understate the portion of Americans who lost their jobs long ago and have not been able to find work, as many of the laid-off have most likely dropped out of the labor force altogether after months of discouraging job searches.
These are bad trends.
Initially the labor market imperative facing Washington was cushioning the blow of layoffs with safety-net programs like unemployment benefits, so that the newly jobless could still put food on the table and make their car payments. Now the problem is figuring out what to do with this growing army of idle workers.
After all, all things being equal, the longer unemployed workers stay out of work, the less likely they may be to subsequently find work, for two reasons.
First, their skills may deteriorate or become obsolete — especially if they are in a dynamically changing industry like high technology.
Second, the stigma — both internal and external — of their unemployment grows. Studies have linked job loss to declines in self-worth and self-esteem, meaning these people will probably make less compelling job candidates.
Besides that, long-term unemployed workers will have a marketing problem: Even if their skills have not deteriorated, employers are going to worry about that big, gaping hole on their résumés anyhow.
If given the choice between a job candidate who’s been unemployed for a month and a candidate who somehow hasn’t been able to get hired for a year, wouldn’t you choose the former?
In other words, unemployment insurance benefits may tide these workers over for a few months. But eventually we will have to figure out a way to transition the long-term jobless back into the work force, whether through training or therapy or tax incentives or public service announcements or something more drastic. And for the two reasons above, the longer Washington waits, the tougher the transition for this growing underclass will probably become.
Comment by mikeswinney
texas
January 15th, 2010
10:59 am
I was recently laid off from a large IT consulting firm. I was
initially put 'on the bench' (i.e. unassigned and unbillable) and it
was suggested (under the table of course) that I start looking for
another job. So, I began a new job search that evening. I was told the
next morning that I would not be given another assignment because I was
looking for another job. Four weeks later I was called into HR and told
I would be laid off four weeks later if I didn't resign or find another
job. Since I was given nothing to do I spent my time teaching myself
something new while searching for another position. My
managers/supervisors knew what was going on and eventually forgot about
it. When my last day came management was totally unaware of it. I a few
co-workers goodbye and drove the 110 mile commute back home. The
company agreed to pay unemployment which is almost half of what I was
bringing home before. Health insurance is gone of course. I've been
looking diligently in my field and using the State of Texas job boards
to find work - any work. Since it's a buyers market the few available
positions will stay open until someone with the exact skill-set is
found who will work for 2/3 of the previous salary and do the jobs of
two people. I get tired of hearing the imperious comments from
employers who feel they have some pre-ordained right to determine who
works and who doesn't, who has insurance and who doesn't and who should
be grateful in an economy like this. I went through the same thing
after 9/11 in NYC. All being out of work for extended periods of time
is make one bitter towards employers, not grateful and it does nothing
to increase 'employee loyalty'. I'm 56 yrs. old and I'm not optimistic
right now. As a software engineer I've seen my profession decimated by
outsourcing, off-shoring blah blah blah. When accountants and attorneys
and bankers begin seeing their positions sent overseas there will be a
great uprising. Until then the middle-class will continue to be sucked
downwards into oblivion. Americans have no one to blame but themselves
for allowing this to happen. The hardest thing to teach a man is
something his job depends on him not knowing.....
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