Unemployment - the new normal ?

reply to post by xstealth


"The government" is an illusion. It is only as good (or bad) as the people in it. Democracy is an illusion. It almost always comes down to a fraction of the votes turning the election. 90% the incumbents win. When they don't, the guy with the best line of BS and haircut wins. When nobody has a good line, and everyone is frayed around the edges, people "vote" for the guy at the top of the page.

There is a power behind the throne. There always has been a power behind the throne. It's slithers, but it's not really a snake. It hides behind words like "family," "country," "neighbor" and "friend." The words are old -- stolen from US and used to keep us in line to an force a radical idea: The jocks don't get to F the prom queen, the money does." It's the subtext of every movie, book, story or song.

It has worked for hundreds of years and has turned our best men into spokes-models, and our worst into cannibals.

[quote and dss to me don,t seem to want to help....infact at times its like they want to keep me as unemployed.



I agree I think they are full of demotivated, brain dead zombies .. the thing is sparky, not having a job I believe has nothing to do with you and everything to do with the environment we live in. There are just not the jobs.

Where I live is a cashier job in Tesco comes up 1000 people apply - they try to blame you / me / us but actually 95% of the problem is the lack of employers.

In Scotland they used to build ships, have engineering firms etc etc they all provided good employment, those jobs no longer exist.

We need to set up co operatives for ourselves, share the profits between employees and rethink the way things are.

I know what you mean about sickness - i was sick with depression a few years ago and I have to declare this to my new employer, go for a medical etc etc and they can say, no way jose we dont want me afterwards, which is discrimination actually. Even though when I was depressed it only lasted 6 weeks and I had no medicine then or now. And lets face it depression is normal IMO I wonder why more people are not depressed,,,

reply to post by HelenConway


Sorry to hear about your bad luck Helen. Its only going to get worse in my opinion. Our muppets in govt havent got a clue. Any way they are just puppets and dont work for us the people, who have elected them into power.
Its no use voting for any party as they are all in the same gang, Labour liberal tory or what ever else they call them selves, they do not work for us. The only way we are going to sort this mess out is, if we all head for London and drag these lying two faced a$$ wipes out of office an string em up.

Originally posted by illuminnaughty
reply to post by HelenConway

 

Sorry to hear about your bad luck Helen. Its only going to get worse in my opinion. Our muppets in govt havent got a clue. Any way they are just puppets and dont work for us the people, who have elected them into power.
Its no use voting for any party as they are all in the same gang, Labour liberal tory or what ever else they call them selves, they do not work for us. The only way we are going to sort this mess out is, if we all head for London and drag these lying two faced a$$ wipes out of office an string em up.

Thank you for your support.

that is what I think - they remind me of Marie Anntoinette - you know when she was told her people wer starving because they could not afford to buy bread and she said ' well let them eat cake'

Yea we all know what happened to dear Marie Anntoinette - her death mask sits in Madam Tussauds !!!

Great Post - S&F

I too am in my 40's, and I can remember back when if you were unemployed, it was because you were Lazy - There was Jobs, Jobs, Jobs Everywhere.

I started working out of school hours on construction sites when I was a 12yo (Impossible now due to OHS) and was makng a whopping $500 a week (1982 - 1983).

In my last job I was making $650 a week, almost 30 years later

The cost of living skyrocketed, but my wages rose by only $150.

I don't want this to sound like a racial issue, but immigrants/refugees from war torn countries flooded Australia.

They were willing to work for a fraction of what us Aussies were used to being paid.

This lowered our paychecks and many of us were replaced with cheaper workers.

I believe this is a major issue - But I always get calls of "Racist" thrown in my face.

Originally posted by HelenConway
[quote and dss to me don,t seem to want to help....infact at times its like they want to keep me as unemployed.

I agree I think they are full of demotivated, brain dead zombies .. the thing is sparky, not having a job I believe has nothing to do with you and everything to do with the environment we live in. There are just not the jobs.

Where I live is a cashier job in Tesco comes up 1000 people apply - they try to blame you / me / us but actually 95% of the problem is the lack of employers.

In Scotland they used to build ships, have engineering firms etc etc they all provided good employment, those jobs no longer exist.

We need to set up co operatives for ourselves, share the profits between employees and rethink the way things are.

I know what you mean about sickness - i was sick with depression a few years ago and I have to declare this to my new employer, go for a medical etc etc and they can say, no way jose we dont want me afterwards, which is discrimination actually. Even though when I was depressed it only lasted 6 weeks and I had no medicine then or now. And lets face it depression is normal IMO I wonder why more people are not depressed,,, yeah thats the point as u say..... i stay in a small town where we had a woolworths etc which provided most jobs but now they don,t exist so the towns basicly becoming a ghost town,even shops etc that are opening are lasting no time.

as for discrimination,its true but can never prove it as far as i,m concerned.... so this whole thing about not being discriminated against is bulls**t

To all of my fellow unemployed friends here, I say hang in there I have been unemployed for quite sometime myself it used to bother me but now not so much I know for sure now that I'm not paying for the person in front of me in the market buying 450 dollars worth of steak with food stamps while there husband or wife is behind them buying a buggy full of booze with cash (that is so frustrating)

I have also been using the time I have to catch up with family , that being said I don't have much but have realized that I don't need all that much most of the work I do currently is in playing music either live acoustic stuff or DJing
I know some people would think cool but its not something I ever saw myself doing I love music but its a personal thing.

So I wish you all luck in your searches and I hope the best for all of you it isn't easy out there right now it is definitely a time to be resourceful in your bartering ability and in what you have to offer others for goods and services what can you do to make a little cash or a good trade those little 25 dollar jobs for a couple hours work add up at the end of the week

Cheers and you aren't alone

Originally posted by Pedro4077
Great Post - S&F

I too am in my 40's, and I can remember back when if you were unemployed, it was because you were Lazy - There was Jobs, Jobs, Jobs Everywhere.

I started working out of school hours on construction sites when I was a 12yo (Impossible now due to OHS) and was makng a whopping $500 a week (1982 - 1983).

In my last job I was making $650 a week, almost 30 years later

The cost of living skyrocketed, but my wages rose by only $150.

I don't want this to sound like a racial issue, but immigrants/refugees from war torn countries flooded Australia.

They were willing to work for a fraction of what us Aussies were used to being paid.

This lowered our paychecks and many of us were replaced with cheaper workers.

I believe this is a major issue - But I always get calls of "Racist" thrown in my face.

edit on 9-1-2013 by Pedro4077 because: (no reason given)

Hi Pedro - I worked in Australia from 1987 - 2000, I was one of those foreigners too [ eeks] a pommy one but still - but some of my cockney ancestors were shipped to Australia in the 1800s does that count me as a local ?

I agree jobs in Australia and England were easy to get in those days - it changed in England after 2008 I think.

I agree about the import of cheap labour - you aint seen nothing in Aus compared to what they have done to poor England we have been flooded, [10 million plus in 10 years] with cheap labour. So that is why so many English have fled to Australia...

I thought Australia was bucking the trend - I thought you were booming whilst the rest of sank? Now I am even more depressed to think that my beloved Aus is sinking in depression - tell me that is not so



I

Originally posted by geocom
So I wish you all luck in your searches and I hope the best for all of you it isn't easy out there right now it is definitely a time to be resourceful in your bartering ability and in what you have to offer others for goods and services what can you do to make a little cash or a good trade those little 25 dollar jobs for a couple hours work add up at the end of the week

Cheers and you aren't alone

edit on 1/9/2013 by geocom because: (no reason given)

Brilliant post - I will try to be creative that is good advice, I will try to use the time constructively, that is also good advice... I need to get my sleeping habits back to norm - they are all over the place right now, which is why I am awake in the early hours of the morning.

I would also love to live in Alaska

reply to post by HelenConway

Hi Pedro - I worked in Australia from 1987 - 2000, I was one of those foreigners too [ eeks] a pommy one but still

I will search deep inside my heart to find forgiveness for you

No it's not our pommy brothers and sisters that destroyed our labouring wages.

It's the greedy CEO's that exploit new, desperate arrivals - they come in and live 15-20 people per house and work dirt cheap.

Gina Rinehart is a perfect example of this exploitation.

World's richest woman calls for Australian workers to be paid $2 a day to compete with Africans

reply to post by Pedro4077


they are scumbags aren't they .. that is why they are rich, although didn't she become rich because she inherited it from Daddy..

We the people need to stop 'em getting away with it ...

Long term unemployed here.
Been unemployed for a year and a half now.
My home town is grim, simply nowhere near enough jobs around.
I rang up a woman from the council about a job yesterday which was an apprenticeship for an IT technician at a local school.
I told her about my degree which is related to computers, and told them about voluntary work I did which involved building websites, she sounded very impressed.
The apprenticeship would be unpaid for the first 8 weeks, then I would get £125 a week.
I thought "great! this could be the start of a good career"
She the rang me up about 15 minutes later saying that she isn't allowed to give me the apprenticeship because I am overqualified. I told her that I just cannot get a job, I am either overqualified or inexperienced.
The economic situation isn't going to get any better anytime soon, and I think the real crash is yet to come.
So yes, I think unemployment will be considered fairly normal.

Originally posted by SpaceMonkeys
Long term unemployed here.
Been unemployed for a year and a half now.
My home town is grim, simply nowhere near enough jobs around.
I rang up a woman from the council about a job yesterday which was an apprenticeship for an IT technician at a local school.
I told her about my degree which is related to computers, and told them about voluntary work I did which involved building websites, she sounded very impressed.
The apprenticeship would be unpaid for the first 8 weeks, then I would get £125 a week.
I thought "great! this could be the start of a good career"
She the rang me up about 15 minutes later saying that she isn't allowed to give me the apprenticeship because I am overqualified. I told her that I just cannot get a job, I am either overqualified or inexperienced.
The economic situation isn't going to get any better anytime soon, and I think the real crash is yet to come.
So yes, I think unemployment will be considered fairly normal.

edit on 11-1-2013 by SpaceMonkeys because: (no reason given)

that is awful - how do you survive ? It has been 4 montsh for me and I already have isolated from my friends and my family have fallen out with me, due to a combination of me being down and ' not like me' and just so bleeding poor iI cant afford anything. My self esteem is in my boots.

But I know it is not me - not really - I know this because I have alsways changed jobs every few years, all my working life and I hve had loads and loads of jobs. It is just not like taht anymore.

The job centre is a joke, nice as they are, they are hopeless really - the jobs on their websites get 1000s of applicants - so why would I send my CV - no way will I get picked from 1000!!!! I said to them that that is no way to look for jobs because it is so depressing fro the applicant - their CVs never get looked at.

Do you do cash in hand work [ you dont have to answer that - bet the Job centre lurk on here], I reckon the only way to survive is cash in hand work and then looking for self employment opportunities - or moving to a new place , here or abroad.

Provincial Britain is dying .. and i agree ' we 'aint seen nothing yet'

Thank you for sharing

reply to post by HelenConway


I'm 27 and live with my parents, I dont mind living with them because they give me my own space and I get on with them and enjoy helping out, but I would like to move out because being 27 and still living with my parents is not acceptable in my eyes, but I can't help it so thats just how it is.
My life involves working on my portfolio as a 3d artist in the hope that someone will hire me and I am quite into eastern philosophy which helps me with my state of mind and staying positive.
It's hard, but I won't lay down and die, next week I'm of to my nearest city, (manchester) to walk into businesses and try and talk my way into a job.
I refuse to let this situation get to me, I will do whatever it takes to lead a fulfilling life. I've spent a long time losing sleep and getting depressed about my situation but at the end of the day you have to let go and try to live life to the fullest.
Make the most of your time on this earth, stay positive, find every opportunity to laugh and have fun and don't let things get to you.

Originally posted by SpaceMonkeys
reply to post by HelenConway

 

I'm 27 and live with my parents, I dont mind living with them because they give me my own space and I get on with them and enjoy helping out, but I would like to move out because being 27 and still living with my parents is not acceptable in my eyes, but I can't help it so thats just how it is.
My life involves working on my portfolio as a 3d artist in the hope that someone will hire me and I am quite into eastern philosophy which helps me with my state of mind and staying positive.
It's hard, but I won't lay down and die, next week I'm of to my nearest city, (manchester) to walk into businesses and try and talk my way into a job.
I refuse to let this situation get to me, I will do whatever it takes to lead a fulfilling life. I've spent a long time losing sleep and getting depressed about my situation but at the end of the day you have to let go and try to live life to the fullest.
Make the most of your time on this earth, stay positive, find every opportunity to laugh and have fun and don't let things get to you.

I feek really sorry for your generation - we [ most my age] left home at 18. You know you are still young enough to get a years working holiday visa to Australia .. anyway good luck with your search - I am amazed that things are so bad in Manchester. You are right it is NOT you - it is the environment, the way things are right now and it sucks

A lot of this sounds very familiar to what has occurred in my own life. I graduated with an engineering degree several years ago, but have not been able to find work in that field with it. Eventually, after being unemployed for far longer than I will admit, I found a job working at an electronic parts store, where I am now. It's an alright job, but I'm way overqualified for it and I don't make enough to leave my parent's home, and I'm 30 years old. Like the last guy said, I like my parents, but I'd like to be able to afford to go out on my own.

The city I live in has one of the lowest unemployment rates anywhere, and it looks really good on paper. Frankly, it probably is better than most places, so I'm lucky in that regard. However, most of the jobs we have around here are very menial. The competition for skilled jobs is extremely high here, but the competition for unskilled jobs is quite low. Even the job I got now, which is somewhere in between, I got in part because I went to school with one of the employees, and he put in a good word for me. (and he's in a similar situation, having graduated from the same program, he's underemployed as well)

reply to post by DragonsDemesne


Hi DragonsDemense - I thought Canada was not afflicted with this problem. How wrong I was - it appears to be happening everywhere. I agree that the 'numbers' unemployed do not reflect the other real problem and that is when decent jobs are replaced with minimal wage type jobs.

It is difficult isn't it - I mean what are your [ anyone's] options when the work situation is underemployment ?
move? own business? more study ?

The system that we all work for is becoming more selfish and more blatant in its intent to reward the elite by impoverishing the 99 % IMO. It appears to be happening in many places in the Western world.

I put a lot of the blame on NAFTA.
Without tariffs on goods from China for instance, we have to compete directly with a country with no environmental policies (as of yet), no real workers rights (yet), poverty poor wages, brutal hours, no wages, meth in the water coolers, etc.

How can we compete against that?

So, if we charged an import tax to make up the difference in wages and benefits etc. Would the jobs come back?
I know one thing, when NAFTA was enacted the jobs started disappearing, and the CEO's got filthy pig rich.

The rich men knew NAFTA was good, for them.

reply to post by Toadmund


Hi Toadmund - yes I agree, I think business is run for the benefit of the CEOs reward package no longer for the customer and definitely not for the employees who make the business what it is today.

It makes me really sad when I see the Western world crumbling into poverty because greedy employers want to increase their profit base,

It reminds me of the mill owners in Victorian England who grew rich on the back of 5 year old children, working in the slave mills. When the Factory Laws in the 1800s put a stop to that, they had to look else where for their cheap labour to ensure their profit margin increased.

reply to post by HelenConway


Helen, thank you so much for this thread and I hope life gets better for you quickly...and everyone else who has posted here. I'm not much of a thread starter but was going to start one on this very subject, but I'm more than happy to contribute to yours.

Your situation could be mine, almost exactly. I've been working in some form since I was 15, (I'm 47 now) and working full time since I was 18 apart from the time I spent at uni, studying architecture, although I didn't finish my degree. I have a long history with many large companies as a senior retail manager, in some cases running very high turnover, high security stores. I was ill last year, mainly due to the workload, which just about wore me out, and decided to take a step down, work for someone else, right on my doorstep, part time, just enough money coming in to pay the bills. WAY below my experience and capabilities, but it allowed me time to heal. Well two weeks ago, I was dismissed by my former employer illegally, because I asked for a 5 minute break. I know it sounds Dickensian, but I swear to all the gods it's true. I wanted 5 minutes to nip next door to where I live to make sure my mum (in her 70's, quite ill at the time, staying with me for a few days) was ok. Former boss went nuts, and yelled at me that I knew where the door was and just get out! So I did. Mum is more important than potty employer, so I reckoned.

So....for the first time, like you, I'm unemployed. I live way out in the sticks, so there are seriously limited job opportunites out here, and if you could see where I live, you would understand why I would be totally reluctant to move back to the city. It's also much cheaper for housing where I am, on a totally practical level.

Yesterday was a day of decisions for me. I absolutely don't want to go back to the corporate grind and slavish mind control that made me ill in the first place. I could very easily with my experience and get a pretty decent salary in the process, but I would have NO life...none...and I would be miserable, ill, almost certainly. The pressure in environments like I worked in is so massive now, it's impossible not to work a 50 or 60 hour week for nothing extra, and competition for jobs is so great that you either put up with it to keep your job and learn to think it's ok to be treated like some grunt with no brain or right to opinions, or ship out and get a life, albeit a frugal one. (We need a thread on how to survive on £71 a week!)

My first decision is that I will stick out for a job as close to home as possible. I don't want to be travelling 3 hours a day and spending £250 a month on diesel for minimum wage. Economically it's pointless anyway...I simply wouldn't have enough left to live on. While the job takes it's sweet time to turn up, as I suspect it will sadly, I'm going to enroll on as many courses as I can, some of which will be free, and there are loads of free resources online. I'm going to take the route of skill building as much as I can, although I have so much management experience, and do things like ECDL, (an absolutely basic requirement now) and as many language courses as I can fit in. Multilingualism is a very sellable skill, and still something we're very lazy about in this country. If you have any talent for language at all, I would recommend finding an online course for free and studying like your life depended on it. I'm starting today, with a French course to brush up already reasonable skills, then the same with German, then something completely new, maybe Japanese.

If anyone has any other resources they would like to share, I would love to see them posted here. I will post links to language courses when I've rummaged through them some more and found the best.

Above all....keep your chin up...yeah, we're skint, but it's an opportunity to do something productive.