I love living in this great country. I realize how much our country offers us with regards to fresh food and drinking water, superior medical care, and guilty pleasures – like The Voice and Bethenny Ever After. To me, everyday is Independence Day! {Thank you, Toby Keith, for that great line!}
People like Toby Keith and Bethenny Frankel, aren’t likely to experience the stress and struggles that go along with long-term, chronic unemployment like Kimberly wrote about on her blog Saving More Than Me. Kimberly’s husband has been out of work for two years, and that’s not because he hasn’t been trying to find work.
It is difficult to be part of a layoff, I have been laid off and I have been the employee who watched others pack their desks. My husband, too. He’s experienced layoffs on both sides. It is difficult to be without a job. Not only because of the financial toll it takes on you and your loved ones, but the damage it does to a person physically and emotionally. It is depressing to be out of work when it isn’t your choice.
The number of long-term unemployed (those unemployed for more than 27 weeks) was 5.4 million in February, and accounts for 42.6% of the unemployed. Those figures are slightly improved over prior months. The numbers for March are expected to be released this Friday. I do not predict a significant improvement.
Have you or a loved one ever been laid off? What was the experience like for you?
i was laid of and had to take unemployment for about 2 months and that’s when i started blogging and loving every minute of it. Sometimes i look at it as a blessing in disguise because i am now happy doing what i love but i know this isn’t what usually happens for everyone.
I’ve been lucky enough to not experience this but watched a large number of my co-workers be laid off in the past 5 years. It was hard and I tried to help as much as I could, even if it meant only offering moral support.
To me, it felt worse to be “left behind” at the job. I hated watching friends packing up their personal belongings, and wondering what the next steps would be for them.
Yep. This past week I got my hours at work cut in half. While most would say I’m lucky I still have a job, the difference in my pay now and unemployment is $13/wk.
Oh well…at least I have a couple days a week to go look for another job.