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Some have worked for years at a desk job and lost that job, and are no longer physically suited for physical labor. They are far from disabled, but taking a job as a ditch digger is just not possible anymore. Attempting to turn “the Unemployed” into a monolithic group with one motive and one problem is foolish.

A family friend was laid off 3 years ago at age 62, health problems(bad knees). Guy worked hard all his life as a service writer at a large dealership that closed down. No one will hire him.

Can get a p/t job but they all require physical movement such at Lowes or Wal Mart which he cannot do.

It's not just the elderly who are in that situation.

I was laid off this past November (11/11/11) due to a reduction in force at the company I worked at. I was a contracts administrator at an aerospace & defense company.

I've been diligently searching for similar work since. I've had a few interviews, but unfortunately no offers yet.

I also have severe back problems - scoliosis and kyphosis so bad that I can probably be officially classified as “disabled” by the state if I so chose. Because of my back problems, most manual labor jobs are more or less out of the question because I can't stand on my feet for more than twenty to thirty minutes at a time without needing to sit or prop myself up on something.

So really, my only options are to continue collection unemployment, and then go to Extended Benefits, while keeping up my job search, or I can just say forget it and go on Disability.

I do have an exciting interview coming up though - I'm interviewing with the U.S. Coast Guard for a position as a Contract Specialist (GS-1102) on Tuesday.