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When Unemployment Runs Out: Meet the 99ers
Henry Louis Gates' "The Root" ^ | 13 April | Gordy

Posted on 04/18/2011 6:34:11 AM PDT by flowerplough

On Unemployed Friends 2.0, a message board for people who have been out of work long enough to exhaust all emergency unemployment insurance -- "99ers," as some have taken to calling themselves -- users let off steam in the Venting Forum.

I am sooo tired of calling temp agencies week after week with no callbacks or results ... I'm burned out from over 2 years of this routine. --503Depressed

This feels like a permanent state. Even though I send out resumes, I don't really think anyone is going to call or that I will ever work again. --nfpexec

Been unemployed over 2 years, sent out resume to hundreds of jobs, 4 interviews and nothing. Nothing, nothing, nothing. --js123

Please don't give up, be good to yourself today, and try to stay positive. We are all in this together. You are not alone. --DesperateInRI

Given the focus on spending cuts in Washington, one might think that America's unemployment problem was under control. But our jobs quandary is far from over, surpassing even the Great Depression in one respect: The gap between the number of people out of work (13.9 million) and the number of job openings (2.8 million) has never been so wide. Congress responded to these historically grim conditions in 2009 by extending unemployment benefits to an unprecedented 99 weeks. For many Americans, however, time is up, with no job in sight.

(Excerpt) Read more at theroot.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy
KEYWORDS: employment; jobs; mrskippy; unemployment
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1 posted on 04/18/2011 6:34:14 AM PDT by flowerplough
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To: flowerplough
When you cannot get work in your chosen profession, it is time to change professions!

Remember Einstein's definition of insanity.

2 posted on 04/18/2011 6:43:53 AM PDT by Redleg Duke ("Madison, Wisconsin is 30 square miles surrounded by reality.", L. S. Dryfus)
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To: flowerplough

If they are truly looking, it would be depressing. I do know however some don’t really try that hard. And my nephew lost his job and says most of the jobs he’s been able to apply for, he’d either be making less or about the same as his unemployment.


3 posted on 04/18/2011 6:45:14 AM PDT by MsLady (Be the kind of woman that when you get up in the morning, the devil says, "Oh crap, she's UP !!")
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To: flowerplough

I don’t know how mainstream or how many Dems are reading that site but the article exposed Obama touting the unemployment rate dropping when it really isn’t...and cited that the employment situation is worse than the great depression.

Hopefully the ‘news’ is turning to expose the rigged numbers.


4 posted on 04/18/2011 6:56:11 AM PDT by libertarian27 (Ingsoc: Department of Life, Department of Liberty, Department of Happiness)
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To: Redleg Duke

Same story for me. After about 200 attempts to get a job, the “Conventional way”, I stopped trying. Went outside the box, and now I’m working !


5 posted on 04/18/2011 6:56:43 AM PDT by Celerity
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To: MsLady
The 4th of June ,I'll be out of work for 1 year. I'm 63, and feel that age discrimination is at play.
I have attempted to start my own business (Computer Repair) but that's very slow.
I would gladly take work below my past pay-scale, but I have grown use to eating 3 meals a day and living indoors
6 posted on 04/18/2011 6:59:08 AM PDT by Robe (Rome did not create a great empire by talking, they did it by killing all those who opposed them)
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To: MsLady

IMHO, that’s not a reason to stay on unemployment.


7 posted on 04/18/2011 6:59:12 AM PDT by thefactor (yes, as a matter of fact, i DID only read the excerpt)
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To: MsLady

Yes, I had the same problem. I got lucky and was only out of work for 5 months and never missed a mortgage payment. I had to get out of my “chosen” field. Don’t like what I am doing as much, but at least I am a productive citizen.


8 posted on 04/18/2011 7:08:17 AM PDT by wolfman23601
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To: flowerplough
The number of unemployed, 13.9 million. The number of job openings, 2.8 million. Simple math let's you know all people have to do is get off their lazy @ss and go get a job. (sarcasm off)
9 posted on 04/18/2011 7:09:06 AM PDT by LuvFreeRepublic (Support our military or leave. I will help you pack BO!)
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To: MsLady
And my nephew lost his job and says most of the jobs he’s been able to apply for, he’d either be making less or about the same as his unemployment.

However many employers look dimly on people who have been unemployed for a long time. It might be easier to get a better job if you are working at one rather than staying on unemployment. If I were hiring someone I wouldn't mind someone who had been on unemployment for a month and a half. However, if someone had been collecting for a year and a half I would probably keep on looking.

10 posted on 04/18/2011 7:11:22 AM PDT by KarlInOhio (Extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice! Tea Party extremism is a badge of honor.)
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To: Celerity

Same here, went from Commercial construction Project manager to Commercial Truck driver lol.

I am fortunate enough to work for a large national/international company and yet I’m home every day. Pay is pretty good too with none of the headaches associated with deadlines to meet or budgets to beat.


11 posted on 04/18/2011 7:11:22 AM PDT by thatjoeguy (Wind is just air, but pushier.)
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To: MsLady

Another issue that these folks are dealing with is the fact that many employers stop looking at the person after they have been on unemployment for a year or more.


12 posted on 04/18/2011 7:11:29 AM PDT by kempster
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To: LuvFreeRepublic

I got called back to my job after being off a year...took a pay and benefit cut, but am working....there is nothing out there, regardless of what people are saying..we have hired a bunch of people, but they are going to be gone by july ( temporary work and they do know it)...


13 posted on 04/18/2011 7:13:56 AM PDT by joe fonebone (Project Gunwalker, this will make watergate look like the warm up band......)
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To: flowerplough
If you dig deep enough into the online unemployment statistical reports, you will find that 30 to 40% of Federal benefit exhaustees DON'T apply for Extended Benefits (the final benefit extension) because of the more strict work search requirements.

Yes, there are some real victims, but there are also a lot of freeloaders.

14 posted on 04/18/2011 7:17:01 AM PDT by aimhigh (True bitter clingers cling to their guns AND their bibles.)
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To: joe fonebone

Good for you on the call back and I am sure those who have the temp work are grateful. Batten down the hatches, it’s gonna get worse. God bless the Americans who did the right thing, and who are hurting now.


15 posted on 04/18/2011 7:19:22 AM PDT by LuvFreeRepublic (Support our military or leave. I will help you pack BO!)
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To: Redleg Duke

Yes you have to be willing to change professions...or move to an area where there are at least some jobs. My step-son worked marginal jobs in an area where the economy is soft for the last two years, then recently he totally left the area and found a great job within days. Now his wife does not want to move to the new location, but that is a different story. It amazes me how many people are unwilling to move.


16 posted on 04/18/2011 7:20:17 AM PDT by Tammy8 (~Secure the border and deport all illegals- do it now! ~ Support our Troops!~)
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To: flowerplough

I believe the Silhouettes summed it up best:

Sha na na na, sha na na na na,
Sha na na na, sha na na na na,
Sha na na na, sha na na na na,
Sha na na na, sha na na na na,
Yip yip yip yip yip yip yip yip
Mum mum mum mum mum mum
Get a job
Sha na na na, sha na na na na


17 posted on 04/18/2011 7:22:24 AM PDT by babble-on
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To: Redleg Duke
When you cannot get work in your chosen profession, it is time to change professions!


18 posted on 04/18/2011 7:24:37 AM PDT by dfwgator
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To: Tammy8

I think what makes this recession more painful than most is the housing market. If you are tied to a mortgage and can’t sell your house, you can’t move. I would have been more than happy to move to a different region to work, but it wasn’t an option. It would have to get to the point of losing your house and having ruined credit before a move could be made. I’m glad I got lucky and found a job after just 5 months.


19 posted on 04/18/2011 7:30:59 AM PDT by wolfman23601
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To: joe fonebone
I was laid off from a company two months shy of 28 years of service. I decided then and there that I needed to realize that I wasn't going to get the same pay and benefits that I was enjoying, so I figured out how much I needed to make. That really expanded my options.

Being 62, I was able to take retirement from my old company, and I was flexible enough that when an opportunity occurred, three weeks after lay-off, I was able to jump on it.

A positive attitude is critical as well. You have to look at the layoff as God's kick in the pants to move you in a different, better direction.

Getting laid off was the best thing that could have happened to me!

20 posted on 04/18/2011 7:32:45 AM PDT by Redleg Duke ("Madison, Wisconsin is 30 square miles surrounded by reality.", L. S. Dryfus)
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