U.S. Unemployment by county through May, 2010

Think your job is secure?

http://cohort11.americanobserver.net/latoyaegwuekwe/multimediafinal.html

Think again.

What Happens When the Newness Wears Off?

The news reports that the recession is over. Maybe it is, my 403b account is up and we are all still employed. The latest figures show that only 11,000 more jobs were lost in November. All good news. My thoughts though are not so rosy. There have been millions of jobs lost during the recession and IMHO, those jobs are not coming back. This means that the people who lost jobs will have a hard time finding new employment and what employment they do find will be at lower wages.

Right now everyone is aware of the need for frugality and that in order to save, one must spend less than one makes. You could even say that frugality is chic these days. But at some point this newness will wear off and the reality of a lower standard of living will set it. It won't be a pleasant realization that you really don't have the money to do the things you once did or have the things you once had, that in all probability you will never have them again and that your children aren't likely to fare any better either.

I think that once the novelty wears off, there will be an awful lot of weeping and wailing going on. There will be a lot of political finger pointing and blaming and not much of it based in reality. The definition of middle class will change and more people will have a lot less. What will make this such a difficult time is that reality will not match expectations for a lot of people. I just hope that we can get through this period with minimum civil, political, and international unrest. These are real possibilities IMHO.

On the work scene

We had a meeting at work yesterday for all pharmacists. The economic slowdown is beginning to show itself at our hospital. We have had a hiring freeze for several months and have lost 2 pharmacists in that time. Our schedules are being changed to try to provide adequate coverage with less staff. I'm not looking forward to a rotating schedule so I will see if I can find someone to trade with so that I can keep working straight evenings. It is unavoidable that I will have to work a rotating weekend schedule. In all honesty though, I don't mind the weekends as it is nice to have some days off during the week. The main thing is that I still have a job. If the economy doesn't pick up by the end of the year, I wouldn't be surprised at all if JMM is laid off; if we can manage to both stay employed until the house is paid off, we can live on one salary for as long as necessary. Interesting times these are.

Thought for the day:

It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters in the end. - Ursula K. LeGuin