MetaFilter posts tagged with unemployment

Watch It Spread

hippybear — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 14:07:01 -0800

The Decline: The Geography of a Recession Flash animated map showing county unemployment rates from Jan 2007 until Sept 2009

The new faces of day labor

Joe Beese — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 14:34:52 -0800

It sounds like a George Lopez joke. “Times are so bad that I saw an Anglo day laborer standing outside Home Depot the other day.” Except it’s true.

The jobless rate for people like you

Afroblanco — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 18:33:26 -0800

The jobless rate for people like you.

Recession over in France and Germany

malapropist — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 08:18:13 -0800

The economy is abjectly terrible, right? It's so bad that nowadays, a picture is only worth 200 words. On the other hand, the recession is over in Germany and France, and in the United States, the unemployment rate dropped just a smidgen last month. To be fair, the recession wasn't as severe in France and Germany, and didn't start so early. Still, this seems a far cry from talk of a second depression.

She should sue because 70,000 dollars later, she's still ignorant.

Pragmatica — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 11:25:35 -0800

Jobless College Graduate Sues Because She's Still Jobless A recent college graduate is suing her alma mater for $72,000 -- the full cost of her tuition and then some -- because she cannot find a job.

How green was my valley

KokuRyu — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 20:51:06 -0800

How green was my valley: California's economic meltdown The fields of wheat, cotton and cantaloupe that sustained his family for three generations are gone. The land is a mess of fallow fields, cracked earth and swirling dust. (PDF - By some estimates, 12.8% of the United States' agricultural production (as measured by dollar value) comes from California, and the majority of that is in the Central Valley). However, his particular scene of devastation, Mr. Allen argues, has nothing to do with the credit crisis, the housing crash or the downturn that has California in a vice grip. It has to do with a seven-centimetre-long, semi-translucent, steel blue fish known as the Delta smelt. This is not a story about fish. Rather, it is a story about how efforts to save the fish through a court-ordered water shortage have pushed a region already brought to the brink by recession over the edge... "In the Central Valley regional area, we've got 40,000 unemployed people. General Motors had 30,000 and got a government bailout. We're getting nothing." See also: California v Texas

Many Left Uncounted in Nation's Official Jobless Rate

gman — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 19:03:35 -0800

Paul Solman examines how the number of jobless people who fall outside of official unemployment counts (video) offer a different picture of the nation's economic recovery. Transcript here. "Who here thinks it's higher than 12 percent, 15 percent, 20 percent? How many people think it's 20 percent? And 20 percent may not be far-fetched, it turns out, because of two other groups never counted as unemployed. One is those on government disability: 7.5 million Americans, like 57-year-old Bob Zawacki, a Chicago carpenter."

Going Dutch

goodnewsfortheinsane — Mon, 04 May 2009 07:20:34 -0800

[E]ven if you are unemployed you still receive a base amount of [vacation money] from the government, the reasoning being that if you can’t go on vacation, you’ll get depressed and despondent and you’ll never get a job.
[...]
But does the cartoon image of [the Dutch system] — encapsulated in the dread slur "socialism," which is being lobbed in American political circles like a bomb — match reality? Is there, maybe, a significant upside that is worth exploring? [...] I think it’s worth pondering how the best bits might fit.

After a year and a half of living in the Netherlands, American writer Russell Shorto compares the Dutch "welfare state" to the tax, health care and social security systems of the United States.

No Working No Die

dersins — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 11:13:57 -0800

Unemployment: good for the heart and the soul. "In studies over the past 10 years, Ruhm has consistently found death rates decline during recessions and rise when the economy expands. If unemployment rises 1 percent, he estimates the death rate will fall by about half a percent."

Walden Pond / A Frog Jumps In / Plop!

barrett caulk — Wed, 15 Apr 2009 12:16:08 -0800

Given recent economic woes, in conjunction with ecological, national security, and community issues regarding food production, does Japan have an interesting idea? Of course, certain contingents likely will be suspicious of such a plan in the States . . . . Bonus, almost completely unrelated, link to thirty translations of the Basho haiku that I copped my title from.

Unemployment is of vital importance, particularly to the unemployed

KokuRyu — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 11:44:11 -0800

The world's economic crisis has cost more men their jobs than women in Western countries. But in Asia and most of the developing world, the economic meltdown has a woman's face. The Toronto Star: Today, International Women's Day, women celebrate the gains made in achieving equal rights and highlight the widespread wrongs that damage the lives of the 3.3 billion females around the world. But the issue foremost in women's minds is the global recession, which has hit the most vulnerable half of humanity with exceptional force. The Bangkok Post: The latest International Labour Organization (ILO) report revealed that the global unemployment rate could rise as high as 7.1% in 2009, compared to 6% in 2008. What is worrying is that the consequences of the global crisis could come knocking on your door. What was the global economic crisis last year could easily become a global social crisis this year. Link: ILO Global Employment Trends for Women report, 2009 (pdf) Jobs: A 'much worse disaster' in US: Mississippi's maximum benefit is $230 a week, a few dollars above the U.S. poverty line, and half of what the unemployed get in many other states. Fewer than a quarter of the state's unemployed get any benefits at all, ranking it 46th out of 50 states. CNN: Life on unemployment - making ends meet on $300 a week.

We Never See A Headline / 'Bout A Breadline / Today

Asparagirl — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 15:46:37 -0800

LayoffDaily.com -- thoroughly cataloging each day's depressing layoff news, from the very small companies to the very large, and updated several times a day. (But there's also a small section of the site devoted to news of companies and government org's that are hiring.)

Getting to Work

etaoin — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 12:48:26 -0800

You might get lucky and find work from home but it won't be easy. You could try wading through the many sites offering advice and opinion on the dire job situation. The Wall Street Journal looks at short employment stints, employment test cheating and who's especially vulnerable to layoffs; Lindsey Pollak offers tips to students and others on tips landing a first job. There are lawyers to help older workers avert discriminatory layoffs and a job bank for people over 50. There are, of course, many job search sites, some better than others. Some are avoiding search engines and going directly to Facebook or Linked In to make connections with potential recruiters. In addition to Monster, there's Craigslist and Indeed.com, as well as CareerBuilder. Then there's The Ladders, although some people rip the last site as a scam. And there's this article on the top job search engines. Your best bet might be self employment. Meanwhile, Dean Baker argues for a larger stimulus package to preserve jobs, while Henry Blodget says there's no quick fix and quotes another expert saying that the jobs situation is worse than you think. If all else fails, perhaps you should think about jobs in Canada. But you may find yourself not welcome in Mexico.

Are US Inflation and Employment Underestimated?

salvia — Mon, 05 May 2008 07:55:16 -0800

"Hard Numbers: The Economy is Worse than You Know" [full article for Harper's subscribers, a different abridged version] discusses how the Consumer Price Index and other US economic statistics have been manipulated over time. Among other things, the article claims, these changes make Social Security checks 70% lower than they would otherwise be. According to Barry Ritholtz of the Big Picture blog, "the longstanding official myth that [US] inflation is modest and contained is starting to be recognized for the fraud that it is." He believes that these bad statistics give false answers to even bigger questions, like "are we in a recession?" A New York Times graphic shows what's in this basket of consumer prices, which prices are going up, and which are not. To learn more about what's not counted, visit Shadow Government Statistics, which tracks (for subscribers) what inflation would be under earlier formulas. (Previously.)

Must I Bank?

Mutant — Thu, 01 May 2008 11:14:44 -0800

The Financial Services industry has seen it before; massive job cuts after the dot com collapse of 2001 forced many out of the business, some permanently. While the "hire and fire" culture of banking is well documented, The Credit Crunch of 2007 is claiming its share of jobs as well, with many observers predicting future, deeper rounds of redundancies. But the Investment Banking industry is not at all monolithic; while some areas cut back others thrive. And skills gained to enter banking are broadly applicable elsewhere; general management, University lecturing, and Sales to name but a few fields ex-bankers have happily decamped to. Regardless of their plans for new found free time, before touching up that CV many enduring cuts this time around should first ask themselves the question "Must I Bank?".

Doing More With Less: In Defense of Creative Loafing

jason's_planet — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 11:36:08 -0800

Doing More With Less: In Defense of Creative Loafing I’ve been on unemployment three times in the past six years. Each time was better than the last, and each time I stayed on until the last cent was exhausted. I didn’t even try to get a job; it was a paid vacation. This is somewhat unusual from what I can tell. There’s a deep vein of antipathy in this country toward collecting checks from the government, especially in precincts that tend to skew rightward. Politicians imply that it’s un-American for an individual to milk the government, all while jacking up corporate welfare for their campaign contributors. And your uncle who cheered at the end of Easy Rider? He insists that if he had to obliterate 40 years of his life punching a clock, why should you goddamn hippies have it any better?

US Census Bureau's DataWeb

Gyan — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 07:03:28 -0800

TheDataWeb - a network of online data libraries on topics including census data, economic data, health data, income and unemployment data, population data, labor data, cancer data, crime and transportation data, family dynamics, vital statistics data

Never work.

jason's_planet — Sun, 25 Jun 2006 21:08:06 -0800

Never wanna work/Always wanna play/Pleasure, pleasure every day. What happens when the jobs go away and don't return? Should we take the surpluses generated and pay people not to work? What happens to the assumption of scarcity when nanotechology allows us to generate potentially anything we want from grass clippings? Maybe Marx had it wrong all along. Maybe, instead of fetishizing work and the authoritarian mindset that it generates, we should have been reading Paul Lafargue instead. Just as a thought experiment, what would you do if your job category disappeared? How would you spend your time? Would you invest more time and energy in friendships and other relationships? Hobbies? If you were your employer, what technologies would you use to get rid of your position and save money?

I'll take six million jobs and a slice of pepperoni, please.

insomnia_lj — Thu, 23 Feb 2006 11:32:14 -0800

Bush's "pepperoni" defence of outsourcing. "India's middle class is buying air-conditioners, kitchen appliances and washing machines, and a lot of them from American companies like GE and Whirlpool and Westinghouse. And that means their job base is growing here in the United States. Younger Indians are acquiring a taste for pizzas from Domino's, Pizza Hut..."

GM fires 9% of their workforce

SharQ — Tue, 22 Nov 2005 07:09:48 -0800

General Motors is cutting 9% of their workforce. Some fear it is too little, too late. Chicago Tribune fear this is only the beginning. Detroit News has an FAQ for those affected. A sad day for the US automotive industry indeed.

Germany 1933

halekon — Wed, 02 Feb 2005 12:48:50 -0800

Ahhhh Germany 1933 German unemployment surged to 5.04 million, the highest since the 1993 and the dark days surrounding the rise of Adolf Hitler, according to data released on Wednesday by the Federal Labour Office. Ominous sign of things to come?

Unemployment Benefits & Brothels

Steve_at_Linnwood — Sun, 30 Jan 2005 16:13:04 -0800

“If you don't take a job as a prostitute, we can stop your benefits”

Prostitution was legalized in Germany just over two years ago, and brothel owners, who must pay tax and employee health insurance, have been granted access to official government databases of jobseekers and have equal status with any other employer. As a result, job centres must treat employers looking for a prostitute in the same way as those looking for a dental nurse. Under Germany's welfare reforms, any woman under 55 who has been out of work for more than a year can be forced to take an available job or lose her unemployment benefit.

“There is now nothing in the law to stop women from being sent into the sex industry. The new regulations say that working in the sex industry is not immoral any more, and so jobs cannot be turned down without a risk to benefits.”

bakesales! lemonade stands!

luser — Fri, 10 Sep 2004 09:21:46 -0800

Dick Cheney claims that disappointing jobs numbers are undercounting ebay power sellers. The man is on a tear!

Saudia Affirmative Action

rks404 — Mon, 19 Apr 2004 12:24:06 -0800

Saudization is the process of hiring Saudi Arabian nationals to join the Saudi workforce and is an interesting counterpoint to the US phenomena of outsourcing. The goal of Saudization is to discourage reliance on foreign workers as well as to combat domestic unemployment, which is worsened by the rapidly swelling ranks of restive, undereducated youth. Unfortunately it's not as easy to put into practice as it sounds.

Depressing Times we live in.

psychotic_venom — Tue, 16 Mar 2004 12:01:14 -0800

This is a very depressing time to exist, it seems. Watching the country you love (or hate) slowly disintegrate makes me wonder about how it all felt before.