[annyokie]

No sh*t, I got laid off in January and there is nothing out there.

[vannrox]

The job market for technical professionals is very bad. Anyone who has a job should count their blessings.

[B-Chan]

"Gave up on finding work"? What the heck does that mean? I dunno about New York or other high-welfare states, but here in Texas the idea of giving up on finding work means living in your mom's basement, on your friend's couch, or beneath the overpass.

I can understand a teenager giving up on finding work, but an adult? In my world, if you give up on finding work, they come and take your car, your stuff, and eventually throw you out in the street.

I am a professional artist. During the last recession, however, I ended up driving a truck for minimum wage. Why? Because I had no choice, that's why!

How in the world can a grown man with bills to pay just "give up" on finding work?

[jrushing]

The number of working-age Americans who dropped out of the labor force — meaning they aren't working and gave up on finding work — rose for the sixth straight month in March.
How do you drop out of the labor force? I have worked over 30 years & never could "drop out".

Frustrated workers are calling it quits. People 16 and older who are looking for work — is at its lowest in nearly a decade, the Labor Department said Friday. A fifth of the 8.4 million people who are unemployed have been out of work 27 weeks or longer.

This could mean that they aren't seeking work or they choose welfare. Many people 16 & older do not want to work. I can't "call it quits". I have a house note to pay!

[matthew_the_brain]

The world owes no one a living...if the industry of field you specialize in is depressed, move on to a greener pasture......this is nothing but whiners whining to whiners.

[spodefly]

If they can 'just quit looking', they must not have needed a job in the first place. If I didn't have a job (and subsequently quit looking for one) after about 4 months I would be living in a box under a bridge.

[TLBSHOW]

Survey: Consumer Confidence Up in April
Tue Apr 8,10:39 AM ET

NEW YORK (Reuters) - U.S. consumer confidence (news - web sites) rebounded in April even more sharply than after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, the first published consumer sentiment survey based entirely on interviews taken after the start of the war in Iraq (news - web sites) showed on Tuesday.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&cid=568&ncid=749&e=9&u=/nm/20030408/bs_nm/economy_consumer_ibd_dc

[Edit35]

Must be an age thing.

My son just graduated from Penn State with a 4-year degree in mechanical engineering and he already snagged a $50,000 a year job (plus bennies) at a Fortune 500 company, and he was just called by three other companies to interview.

Myself, I work in a field that, if I was laid off, I could probably find another similar job although I would have to travel maybe 50 miles to get there.

Come to think of it, it might be nice to change to a different career. Sometimes it gets boring doing the same thing all your life.

DS
Levittown, Pa.

[jonsie]

Back in the early 80's my husband lost his job as a morning anchor on TV and couldn't find a job. We had three small children that needed to eat. I had three part time jobs and he took a job stocking at night at a local supermarket to feed our children. You take what you can and hold your head up high until something comes along. We had to start from scratch but we made it.

[ApesForEvolution]

Well, well, well. Here we go again Willie. Another pity-party thread. Sheesh. Adapt folks. You know what a rut is? A grave with both ends kicked out. If you can't find a job, make one. Matthew Lesko said the government is giving away billions on top of billions to help you. So, you can either adapt, go on the dole or lean on your neighbors (via Uncle Sam) to get a new start.

[Andrewksu]

I graduated from school last May with a five year professional architecture degree and just found a job a month ago. I looked for 4-5 months for architecture related jobs, but the few firms that were hiring were looking for 5+ years of experience and had 100+ applicants within days of posting. I gave up, a couple times, but realized that wasn't getting me anywhere, so I decided not to limit my job search to just architecture firm, I looked for any job that could use critical thinking or just a plain ol' educated kid. Didn't have much luck, so I expanded the search to decent paying labor type jobs. I was either over qualified or did not have the experience, even though I have worked construction through college and could drive a forklift. They saw the college education and looked the other way. They were sure that I would leave first opportunity, and were probably right. THat was frustrating, being rejected from UPS, SYSCO, and 20+ other grunt $8/hr jobs because I was over/under qualified. To get by, I did some freelance work and had some help from my parents (thank God, and them!), but that didn't pay all of the bills and left me feeling lost, having to rely on others.

I was about to give up for the third time and try and start my own business, but found a job that is actually better than most arch firm jobs. It pays well and offers opportunity to move up, and the boss might support me in my furniture design ventures.

The moral is that you can't give up and you just might end up in a better situation, you just have to be willing to do anything and try to keep from slipping into a funk.

Best of luck to the hunters, and remember that prosperity is driven by hope and hard work.

[ezo4]

I got laid off about 7 months ago and I did ok on contract work for awhile....now Im getting a bit concerned. I hope I can find something soon other wise Ill be tapping my savings. This is not a good thing these days.

[mabelkitty]

Cool. More moms staying home with the kids?

[RightWhale]

If people stop looking for work what happens? Do they starve to death or turn to robbing banks and trains, sell dope, join the Irish Travellers?

[joef]

I figured I'd toss these 2 questions in here.

Please note, this isn't baiting or anything like that. It's a request for actual discussion on a couple issues that came up in here.

First, on the concept of "orgainsing" to prevent immigrants on H1Bs from taking your job. Do you see that as somehow different than unionising? Were you against unions to begin with? I'll agree that there are bad unions, but I don't think the concept itself is flawed. I'm curious as to what the people considering this plan of action feel.

Second, NAFTA and GATT were very bad pieces of legislation. But they weren't part of any liberal agenda. If you're against them, the only guy in the Presidential race actually talking about it as an issue (including Bush) is Dennis Kucinich (http://www.kucinich.net/index.htm and if you're wondering, it's pronounced coo-sin-ich). He's a progressive, which is sort of like a liberal. Some of you would call him a communist, but that's a tad strong. He's quite against those sort of free trade agreements, pointing out (correctly) that they helps multinational corporations at the expense of American workers, and (in the case of NAFTA, at least..I'm not sure about GATT) also work against democratic principles, since the corps can sue nations for enacting any law that may cut the profits of a corp compared to the laws of one of the other nations involved.

Also, please note that the "trade promotion authority" aka Fast Track authority that has been granted to George W. Bush will more likely bring about more deals like this, as opposed to ones that protected American jobs. Clinton was denied this authority by the Republican Congress. Personally, I think Fast Track is an awful idea, since it takes the Congress out of any trade debates, when the Congress is generally a better representative of the will of the people than the President.

Anyawy, that's my 2 cents. Flames will be ignored, actual debate will be responded to. I'm not going to call names, lay blame without evidence, or argue unfounded points. All I ask is the same in return.

[nutmeg]

read later

[FoxPro]

I was hi tech, 20 years with a stellar resume. I broke into the largest jobs web site and sniffed out 6000 email addresses, and sent them all my resume. Nothing. The only thing I can get is insurance sales, which is a MLM marketing scam. The only thing that is saving me is my home equity loan, and that is now tapped out. A shoe store manager told me he would never hire me because I am high tech, and will leave when the economy straightens out. From 6 figure income to nearly out in the street. If you don’t have a security clearance, you will not get a job in DC. I will survive.

[waterstraat]

NATIONAL REPUBLICAN PLATFORM, ADOPTED AT MINNEAPOLIS, MINN., JUNE 9, 1892 We reaffirm the American doctrine of protection. We maintain that the prosperous condition of our country is largely due to the wise revenue legislation of the Republican Congress. We believe that all articles which cannot be produced in the United States, except for luxuries, should be admitted free of duty, and that upon all imports coming into the United States coming into competition with the products of American labor there should be levied duties equal to the difference between wages abroad and at home.