Signs of economy improving
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Sorry, but I must disagree some. Although there are cases where this logic might apply, many of the people here are highly trained technical folks. It would be irresponsible to take a minimum wage job if it jeopardized finding a job that utilized your skills. I have just been hired, after being unemployed for the last four months. However, that doesn't mean I was sitting around on my butt waiting for someone to give me something. I had a full time job in finding the best job available. I tuned my resume daily. I applied for over 100 positions. I actively contacted dozens of recruiters. For the job I eventually accepted, I contacted the HR person several times and got the process moving again when it had stalled on someones desk.
If I had taken some minimum wage clerk's job, I would not have been available to do this important job of finding a position that paid 8 times as much. I probably would have eventually found another engineering position, but I figure it would have been a $50-60k position instead of the six figure position I eventually landed.
I disagree here as well. Unemployment is not a normal tax. It is a tax that employers pay against the salary of the employee for exactly this purpose. Every time an employer has given me a sheet showing all of my benefits, the amount that was paid in unemployment was included. Basically, the unemployment is an insurance policy that the employer takes out. Not taking unemployment benefits is analogous with not submitting medical claims when you have health insurance. You have indirectly paid into the system for just this purpose.
When I was grossly underemployed I split my time between finding a new job (which I agree should occupy a large percentage of one's time) and working about 30 hrs a week to help keep my sanity and pay bills. My choice. I had out-of-the-area offers that were slightly better than what I have now, but with the accompanying costs of relocation. It was my choice to take this current position about 6 years ago at a lower salary and not have to uproot my (then) teenager and older one still in local college living at home. Since then nothing better has opened up in this area (in fact many more jobs have been lost) and I have still not looked outside. Late career complacency I guess. Again, my choice.
How to divide one's time in any case is still a gamble. You can forego all income but the UC and focus on the search, hoping you find something before the benefits run out. Or you can cushion that some and do both (search and work). Individual situation dependent.
In THIS state an employee pays into the UC fund, albeit a lot less than the employer's share. Might be true in other states as well. Regardless, any time an employer pays a tax on behalf of an employee, it's that much less that he could (not saying should or would) be paying that employee. Not participating in the available bounty was my decision for reasons I stated, but that also delayed available funds. I don't chastise anyone who decides differently. But I do have some issue with those who milk the system...
How to divide one's time in any case is still a gamble. You can forego all income but the UC and focus on the search, hoping you find something before the benefits run out. Or you can cushion that some and do both (search and work). Individual situation dependent.
In THIS state an employee pays into the UC fund, albeit a lot less than the employer's share. Might be true in other states as well. Regardless, any time an employer pays a tax on behalf of an employee, it's that much less that he could (not saying should or would) be paying that employee. Not participating in the available bounty was my decision for reasons I stated, but that also delayed available funds. I don't chastise anyone who decides differently. But I do have some issue with those who milk the system...
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While not always the case when a company lays people off they tend to get rid of the pain in the butt employees. That's why I go out of my way to be nice to everyone. I work about 15 hours a day but, I'm still working. Now I doing the work of two employees.
Along the lines of "No good deed goes unpunished." and/or "Do a good job once and it's yours forever!"...!
Your philosophy is well founded. I tell my heirs and assigns "You work for the convenience of your employer." When you're no longer convenient to have around - for any number of reasons - you become disposable. It's incumbent on every employee to continuously provide evidence of value added in excess of his costs if he plans to be around for the long haul. "What have you done for me lately?", whether fair or not, is a valid question in the workplace...
Your philosophy is well founded. I tell my heirs and assigns "You work for the convenience of your employer." When you're no longer convenient to have around - for any number of reasons - you become disposable. It's incumbent on every employee to continuously provide evidence of value added in excess of his costs if he plans to be around for the long haul. "What have you done for me lately?", whether fair or not, is a valid question in the workplace...
Having been unemployed before it became fashionable I looked for a month for work both in my field and related and non related fields and during that time of pounding asphalt 6 days a week and searching online as well as through the department of labor I found two jobs. One was selling life insurance door to door and the other was a bottom of the barrel contract cable install job. I wasn't able to get unemployment and state assistance wouldn't cover more than %55 of my rent and that left utilities plus food plus insurance ect ect ect to be paid. The cable job would have covered rent and one utility and a weeks worth of groceries so I opted to leave town and sold off three cars and gave away a huge amount of personal items that still irks me to this day but I had to do it in order to care for my family.
So its been four years and I've taken on a few jobs that I wouldn't normally take on and now find myself making %140 below the federal poverty level while working full time and going to school full time all while caring for my family and taking care of my father and his house and had it not been for my tax return that I just got back we would be struggling even worse due to some bills and a vehicle issue. If your out of work then you have to look beyond your field as well as your field and be willing to do what ever it takes legally to care for your family regardless of whether the work is demeaning or not.
It looks like I'm fortunate enough to be in an area where the work is still there to be had but its not what it was a year and half ago when I started looking here so hopefully things will stay as stable as they are here but so far we have lost four large factories and Norfolk city council is dragging its heals on approving a wind turbine company to purchase a closed Ford assembly plant so that they can begin building wind turbines for an off shore wind farm.
So its been four years and I've taken on a few jobs that I wouldn't normally take on and now find myself making %140 below the federal poverty level while working full time and going to school full time all while caring for my family and taking care of my father and his house and had it not been for my tax return that I just got back we would be struggling even worse due to some bills and a vehicle issue. If your out of work then you have to look beyond your field as well as your field and be willing to do what ever it takes legally to care for your family regardless of whether the work is demeaning or not.
It looks like I'm fortunate enough to be in an area where the work is still there to be had but its not what it was a year and half ago when I started looking here so hopefully things will stay as stable as they are here but so far we have lost four large factories and Norfolk city council is dragging its heals on approving a wind turbine company to purchase a closed Ford assembly plant so that they can begin building wind turbines for an off shore wind farm.
I honestly laugh at people with their personal pride bs and how they are ashamed to collect unemployment. Lets see... sit at home and make $350 a week or work 40 hours at Walmart and make less. Tough choice LOL. You guys need to use common sense.
If you get laid off or fired and you qualify for unemployment pay you should take it, that's what it's there for.
I'm not saying you should collect unemployment money and sit home waiting for the phone to ring with a job offer or go fishin' or snowmobilin' every day like some people do.
You still need to be looking for a new job every day.
I'm not saying you should collect unemployment money and sit home waiting for the phone to ring with a job offer or go fishin' or snowmobilin' every day like some people do.
You still need to be looking for a new job every day.
Well . I've never collected it but it's not that easy is it? Don't you have to be out looking for work and have companies sign something saying you asked them for a job?
Not in California. You just need to state that you have looked and maybe say where. Nobody needs to sign anything.
Same in Illinois. Just need to save the applications and produce them when asked. They never ask. Also, I am getting more like $580/week as a single father with two minor kids.
At that money, a minimum wage job is out of the question. Fortunately, I found a new job that was only 70 miles away and actually where I wanted to live. I also waited a few weeks for applying (stupid) so I only collected about 8 weeks worth before starting new job.
Well, That I do have a problem with. We were not put on this planet to sit on our butts. I can only imagine the fraud .
I think it is a cost vs benefit thing. If you require certification, you must hire people to certify. Then the same people start complaining about government waste on unnecessary social service jobs. The self certification and record keeping is sufficient evidence to prosecute if fraud is reported.
A friend of mine said it was the same for for him. He had to go to the state unemployment website every monday, answer 6 questions, got direct deposit 2 days later. He did have to go in once and discuss his job search. He brought his updated resume, talked about how he searches for work, what jobs he recently applied for. Only took about a half hour. The way things are now you can't be expected to list 3 jobs opening in your field you applied for each week. You can't even find 3 walmart type job openings to apply for each week.
Tried once to collect after dish canned me but they refused it and the state did and waiting a two months to have an informal court hearing over it was not feasible.
Really the only time where I have been without work more than two days was when I was canned by dish, any other time I have been able to find work within 3 days max.
The more cars on the road might also have been people going to the unemployment office to apply for unemployment pay in person, going to resume writing seminars, interviewing seminars, using the unemployment office computers to do job seaches, or going to the casino.
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