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    seeyaHamilton Nolan
    5/06/13 12:24pm

    What's really fucked about all this, and I'm curious if I am alone, was I was unemployed for 14 months. That was 2010-2011. Since then, I have had two well paying but dreadfully dull and lifeless jobs. But that initial period of unemployment has left me in shambles. I want from being a bright and creative worker to... well basically a suicidal depressive. Even with the new jobs. I can't shake it. It's not PTSD, and I would never overreact like that. It's more along the lines of I wish I could just fade away, disappear forever, or die in my sleep.

    Couple this with never ending paranoia about again being unemployed, financial problems due to taxes with my unemployment insurance (I'm one of the stupid people who was baffled that you have to pay taxes on unemployment benefits), and I've lost all motivation. I even called a suicide hotline and the kind lady I talked to was, like, "wow I'm not sure there's anything I can say to you." I've since reconnoitered my thoughts on suicide, so this isn't a cry for help.

    But I am curious if others have experienced the same feelings, even after finding work. It's like my period of unemployment (and the subsequent rejection after rejection) has left me permanently scarred.

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      Hamilton Nolanseeya
      5/06/13 12:32pm

      That persistent, PTSD-like feeling of anxiety/ depression from people who've experienced unemployment (even after the unemployment has ended) has definitely been a running theme in these stories. I'd be interested to know if this is a phenomenon that's been researched.

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      seeyaHamilton Nolan
      5/06/13 12:35pm

      What's even more strange, is this isn't my first time dealing with these circumstances. Maybe it's a difference in my age now (I'm 41, was laid off at age 38) and then (age 30). But when I was laid off previously, the entire ecomony wasn't in shambles. </talking out of ass>

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    APersonaHamilton Nolan
    5/06/13 1:41pm

    I saw an interview where a recruiter indicates that the term "Long-Term Unemployed" means a person that's been out of work for 3 months +.

    They mentioned that after 3-months, folks looking for work become a lost cause. How sick is that?

    Those resumes that we slave over, the cover letters that were proofread 10,000 times... they go straight into the trash if dates of employment don't align.

    The humor/horror in all of this is the fact that happily-employed people are swamped with job offers. They get annoyed that recruiter after recruiter wants to take them out for lunch... and apparently, those recruiters are incredibly persistent.

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      Cestrumnocturn1APersona
      5/06/13 10:28pm

      Yup, employers are even putting up signs that say, "We don't hire the unemployed" now.

      http://www.huffingtonpost.com/wendy-n-powell…

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      APersonaCestrumnocturn1
      5/06/13 11:07pm

      It's only a matter of time until restaurants post signs that say: "If you're hungry, we won't serve you."

      Next, hospitals will post: "Don't come in if you're sick or injured."

      Hah! I'm joking... or at least, I hope I'm joking.

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    hoinkydoinkHamilton Nolan
    5/06/13 12:48pm

    I have a history degree and a J.D, and am barely employed. I implore anyone still in school to think long and hard about what degree they get. For the love of god, don't believe the people who have told you "you are special," or that you should just follow your passions and it'll all work out.

    Do your research, get a degree in a field that is actually growing, and if you must get that history or sociology degree, at the very least, double major!

    Better yet, join the military and stay in it - I know loads of people that went straight into the military out of high school, they're all pretty happy, actually.

    Just do your research, and be realistic! Don't be like me, i'd be better off if I'd stuck with my decent paying blue collar job and hadn't gone to college

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      ARP2hoinkydoink
      5/06/13 1:08pm

      Good advice, but here's the thing- the "growing" field may not be growing by the time you graduate. There are so few good paying jobs, that any particular market gets rapidly saturated. That usually drives down wages or allows it to be off-shored. There's too many people and not enough life rafts. We all swim to one, sink it, and swim to the next.

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    APersonaHamilton Nolan
    5/06/13 12:55pm

    When I read these stories I get the feeling that the world is eating itself alive.

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      horsetachioAPersona
      5/06/13 2:22pm

      It pretty much is, aided and abetted by the masses who convince themselves it won't happen to them and who cling to the just world fallacy.

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      WakkaWakkaWhamhorsetachio
      5/06/13 3:10pm

      Not to mention that the top 1% of the top 1% are enjoying record profits as their wealth and power continue to expand at the cost of every other living thing on this planet.

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    ThatsMariaToYouHamilton Nolan
    5/06/13 1:28pm

    Glad to see these stories are back - I almost wish these stories would get more attention. The systemic, long-term unemployment is one of the scariest things I can actually think of, and to have a family member going through it right now is terrifying.

    Has anyone read this piece in the NYT regarding the ROI of a bachelor's degree and unemployment? I work for a university so it caught the attention of some of the higher-ups and is being passed around. I find it so incomplete and frustrating! 4 year degrees will help you get under-employed, but hey, it's something! What about those, like my father, who has an MBA and one of those fail-proof STEM degrees and after 4 years of unemployment probably will never work again?

    I just wish there was more championing for the unemployed - and not glib articles that thousands upon thousands of dollars of debt might help you get a leg up.

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      MidtownATLguyHamilton Nolan
      5/06/13 1:31pm

      Of course the "official" unemployment rate is a deliberate understatement on the part of the government, as it doesn't include those who are involuntarily working part-time, those who are of working age but have dropped out of the workforce, those who've given up looking for work, those who are incarcerated (who number some 2.5 million at any one time), etc. So saying that the unemployment rate is 7.5% is wildly minimizing the jobs crisis in the US.

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        ThatsMariaToYouMidtownATLguy
        5/06/13 1:54pm

        YES! This.

        This point should be made OVER AND OVER AND OVER AND OVER again. That number that they shove down our throats every month is actually meaningless.

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      horsetachioHamilton Nolan
      5/06/13 12:40pm

      My neighbour just got fired after 20+ years of working for the same company. He's over 50. They fired the four oldest people and had them removed by security. But I'm sure the employer expects their employees to be loyal to them.

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        TheAncientOnehorsetachio
        5/12/13 11:13pm

        That's an employment lawsuit he might be able to win if he can convince the others to join in or at least testify. But meanwhile, since he'll likely never get a job again, he'd better make some fast lifestyle changes before he loses everything.

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        horsetachioTheAncientOne
        5/13/13 5:18pm

        He seems to have a lot of contacts and seems to be good at networking, so he might be alright. I know he had interviews lined up the very next day. Haven't spoken to him lately to know how they went though. But his wife is still working and their cost of living is cheap here in Pittsburgh, so they should be okay. It's still awful though.

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      Genius Level IdiotsHamilton Nolan
      5/06/13 1:15pm

      I just lost my job today. Now I know what I have to look forward to.

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        IngridableHamilton Nolan
        5/06/13 1:28pm

        Like John in another thread, I wonder how one is suppose to deal with the anxiety after long unemployment. I mean, prisoners have programs to acclimate them to the workforce, are there similar programs for the unemployed? It may not be actual prison, but it feels like it.

        I discussed this with a therapist and she told me that I can't think about not getting a job, that I have to remember the times that I did get a job and landed on my feet. But all those jobs sucked and sucked my soul out. Not to mention that it isn't so unlikely anymore that I won't be able to land on my feet. I think these stories affirm that.

        Something tells me there isn't a field in therapy yet to deal with the chronically unemployed.

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          FlunkyWunkyHamilton Nolan
          5/06/13 1:14pm

          I do appreciate reading these stories. It reminds me how blessed I am to still be employed.

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