15.8 million out-of-work Americans

[rika60607 215]

..and once again I am dying to know how much money you made when you were working in the sandwich shop.

You see, my feeling is that you are what I would consider a fat cat. You made a decent American wage and bought cheap property, because it was available where you are. Conditions are very different in different states/cities and not everyone has the opportunities that you had.

The minor few you speak of is the most severe slackers but anyone who refuses to work because it isnt in their field or doesnt pay enough is falling into that trap.

[Peikko 1,575]

Clearly the unemployed could choose to become prostitutes if they can not get a job in Wallmart, they are choosing to be lazy instead.

[DEDixon 39]

Clearly the unemployed could choose to become prostitutes if they can not get a job in Wallmart, they are choosing to be lazy instead.

[Mr. Big Dog 10,747]

You miss the point.

All I read about is bla blah blah the discouraged can not get a job.

I ask why not?

Tell me. Please.

When you have 5 applicants for every available job, 4 of those applicants will necessarily not be able to get it. There are five times as many people looking for work than there are jobs available. That's why so many can't get a job. It's not hard to grasp.

[Gemmie 142]

To the poster talking about laziness: You really need to quit calling the majority of the unemployed slackers. Your points are all very idealistic but not realistic. As people have stated, there are 5 people to every job, and as far as I can tell, that includes entry-level jobs, which means that there are 4 people still unemployed even after applying for the lower-paid jobs. You seem to be under the impression that these people are applying for jobs that pay 60K a year.

It's OK to say that you should work 2 or 3 jobs just to keep yourself working, occupied, and get creative. But where do you propose people find these jobs?

I admit, I was one of those fresh out of college and applied for everything in my field for a long time, because I WAS getting responses and interviews. One time I was even offered a good job but then after a few weeks it was turned down because the guy couldn't get funding from the government. I was encouraged by people in the field to keep looking because my skills matched the requirements and something would come up, and I really believed that. Then I just got so desperate to work and move out of my in-laws that I started applying to all kinds, data entry, admin, customer service, retail, even pet grooming. I haven't gotten a damn thing. Heck, I was rejected by MACY'S the other day, whilst my MIL got the job offer and she has no sales experience. At this point I don't know what to try anymore, and obviously I don't qualify for Unemployment Benefits. Both of my in-laws are also unemployed (MIL was unable to take the job because she cares for her sick father during the hours they needed her) and might be losing the house (which we're staying in). Don't get the wrong idea, we're looking for work and we're not just looking for positions that we feel aren't below us. Even my husband who works full-time is looking for something else because his company made more cuts this week and reduced hours, etc. Believe me, we are desperate to move out of his parents and have working lives. I just don't know why we can't find anything. We've had people look at our resumes to critique, searched the papers, look online daily. I find it laughable that to qualify for Unemployment you have to provide proof of 3 job applications a week. I apply for about 8 per day! One day I sent out 33 emails and only got 11 responses saying there were no openings.

The person you're talking about is my FIL. He was laid off in February and he still isn't looking for a job because he's hoping to open his own business with his friend. He's not even working in retail until that happens, and I have no idea why, other than hearing he "hated retail". And he was one of those people that lectured others on working all kinds of jobs - when his job was safe.

[Pinocchio Liberal 268]

I could get a second job right now if I wanted to.

[Gemmie 142]

Good for you.

[Aubrey 10]

This is NJ's policy, taken from the state UI website:

This means that if a suitable job is offered to you, you must take it. If you refuse the job, you may be denied benefits for the week in which you refuse the job and for the next three (3) weeks.

Because each person is not the same and has different circumstances, the definition of a "Suitable Job" is fitted to each person, depending on where he or she lives, his or her skills, experience and past salary. While you are unemployed, you will look for a job similar to your last job (distance traveled, job duties and salary). As you remain unemployed, you will be expected to revise your minimum job requirements. For example, you may have to travel a greater distance, accept a different type of job or accept a lower starting salary.

Is the policy where you live significantly different? The policy is based on the idea that if one is so unemployable that one can not find work in a similar job after a lengthy period of unemployment, that one must change ones expectations and accept work in a different field. Do you consider this to be unfair or unreasonable?

Actually, yes, it is different here. The denied benefits will be permanent.

My point was that there are not always 3 jobs/week that are even remotely similar to my qualifications or similar to my duties of my last FT employment. I even took multiple temporary contracts during my unemployment just to have income instead of unemployment payments. But finding a FT job in my field right now is next to impossible in this economy.

People should not be forced to apply for or accept work that does not use their skills and education simply because the economy is #######. There are few jobs out there. It takes longer than before to find a job because of the sheer quantity of applicants. Adjusting what you apply for is one thing (taking a cut in pay, doing simpler work), but even with those adjustments, there frequently was not 3 jobs a week in my field to apply for. That is simply due to cutbacks on hiring and less revenue coming in due to less request for services.

9.5% "official" but "real" unemployment by most figures is more like 17% or higher. Competition is worse for lower wage, lower skill positions since high wage earners are taking pay cuts. So yeah, I think what you are saying is unfair and unreasonable, because any further cut to pay or skills required would put me, a person with 2 college degrees and multiple years of work experience, taking a minimum wage job. That is ridiculous. So count me among the unofficially unemployed, knocking on doors with hundreds of others for the same job.

[mawilson 2,133]

Well said Mr. Big Dog. The GOP is right! People should get off their asses and kill the other 4 applicants to get that job!

That is what the GOP is saying right?

Or maybe they should get off their asses, start a small business and hire the other 3 applicants.

[Usui Takumi 1,562]

Or maybe they should get off their asses, start a small business and hire the other 3 applicants.

Is that a shot at me? Like I said I will probably do that if I am laid off, but at the moment the security of my current paycheck out ways the risks of managing a studio with tentative clients lined up.

[Terry Martin 1]

The Eb5 investor visa, in my opinion, is a good way to help solve the jobs problem. Each eb5 that is granted creates American jobs. And the country needs to be doing everything it can at this point to create jobs.

[Ihavequestions 419]

I've never been unemployed, either. Actually, I've never had a better time when it comes to employement and regularly turn down job offers.

[Captain Oates 910]

I have seen recessions come and go and recoveries are always jobless until its well under way then it takes off and so do house prices etc

Stick to your trade as far as getting back in.

Go temp if you can

If you are older, go government jobs

Don't go too low in status. I was offered a temp job working in a windowless cellar fixing crooked tax returns for some Pakistanis. I said no and the agency played hell with me. I stuck to my guns and refused.

I got the chop in 1995 which was a bad recession. I was home for a year and wrote 750 applications.

I lived on chips for a year and shut off the heating and watched telly in a big coat

My g/f dropped me as I refused to buy her double Gin and tonics while I was living on my savings. From today's perspective I am glad she did. She went off with a manager with a nice company car. The week I got back into work - he was fired. Now I had money again, the totty all came calling and the show was on the road again.

I remember being in a pub and a woman came up to me and started chatting. She asked me what I did and I said I was unemployed. She said "oh excuse me I just have to go talk to my friends"

Next week when they asked me I said I was a "private investor" and that week's bimbo said "Oh a detective !"

I got in via govt temp work then private temp work then a permanent job as it picked up.

Within 3 years I was Business Planner for a hotel group doing very nicely.

This thing will turn - they all do. Make sure your resume doesn't have too much junk on it when things improve..

Edited July 23, 2010 by saywhat

[slim 1,514]

What's crazy with those facts and figures is someone like me - who does not have a job - is not unemployed because I don't get unemployment compensation. It's like I still have a job!

[Usui Takumi 1,562]

What's crazy with those facts and figures is someone like me - who does not have a job - is not unemployed because I don't get unemployment compensation. It's like I still have a job!

Were you caught between jobs?