Archive for the ‘Economy’ Category

The national unemployment picture is worsening with a recent increase in jobless numbers to 8.5%. In March alone, 663,000 jobs were lost. Since the official start of the recession in December 2007, a staggering 5.1 million jobs have vanished, according to the U.S. Labor Department.

We’ve all seen the news reports showing the lines at job fairs approaching those seen at American Idol tryouts. And I’ve been reading a lot lately about some unusual methods job applicants have used to get a foothold with employers. Some people are blogging for career development about their industry and about their unemployment experience. Some are strolling city streets wearing their resume on a sandwich board or dropping off donuts at their prospective employer’s, along with the traditional thank-you-for-the-interview note. And more people are saying they’re willing to relocate for a new job. Read more »

In tough times, it’s not just family that reaches out to help each other. Neighbors help neighbors, and friends help friends. No doubt you know of members of your own community who are going through their own personal tough times during this recession, whether it’s due to a job layoff, unexpected medical bills, an unaffordable mortgage, foreclosure or divorce.

Lending a helping hand to others isn’t always as simple as it seems. Some people, no matter how desperate their straits, are too proud to ask for a handout, or too embarrassed. Read more »

Supermarket shoppers who pride themselves on savvy shopping by using coupons, cyclical sales and other tricks now have a new venue for buying dirt-cheap groceries – their local auction house.

Grocery auctions are now being held in at least nine states. They’ve grown increasingly popular as families seek to save a few bucks by bidding on steeply discounted meats, dairy products, frozen foods, canned goods and other items that might be just a few days past their “sell by” date. Discounts of as much as 50% can be found. Many of the items, which could be somewhat damaged, come from supermarkets, distribution centers and restaurant suppliers. And many formerly brand-loyal shoppers have been persuaded by recessionary times to overlook dinged cans or expired dates to get more for their money. Read more »

Grocery store baggers, gas station attendants, store clerks and latte servers – service jobs like these don’t pay well, but in a stagnant economy, an unexpected contest is now brewing between two generations vying for the few jobs that remain available.

Typically, service sector jobs attract young applicants in their teens and twenties, but after watching their retirement savings dry up, many retirees are headed back to work, competing with Gen-Xers for whatever entry-level jobs they can find. Read more »

Talk to any parent or school administrator, and you’ll realize that most wouldn’t advocate high school graduates deferring college for a year and doing something else. That’s because, once kids start working, it can be hard to give up a regular paycheck to become a poor student again. Plus, long-term goals of a chosen career have a way of fading from view when kids have a chance to put their work and money toward a shiny new car or other more immediate short-term goals.

President Obama has proposed huge changes in federal college aid programs that will increase grants to poor students and provide more fixed rate student loans; if Congress approves them, they’ll take effect ⎯ in July 2010. Read more »

Tent cities are cropping up in southern California, one of the regions hardest hit by the sub-prime mortgage and foreclosure crisis. Various news reports estimate anywhere from 300 to over 1,200 people, many of them whole families, living in tents in Sacramento. With homeless shelters full, many of the homeless are victims of job losses or foreclosures and have nowhere else to go.

The makeshift tent city, which lies within sight of Sacramento’s skyscrapers, has no electricity or plumbing.

Residents include a husband and wife who worked for the same company and who were both laid off on the same day¹, as well as a Vietnam veteran whose leg operation allowed him to walk after years in a wheelchair, but which also caused his disability payments to stop. Once the payments dried up, he could no longer afford to pay his rent.² Other residents said they were there because they could no longer afford their mortgage payments. Many of the homeless include those who worked in construction. Read more »

State government leaders are coping with widespread budget shortfalls triggered by rising foreclosures and falling home values — both of which erode property tax revenue and reduce state revenue — in a variety of ways.

But balanced budgets — which are legally mandated in most, if not all, states — are never easy to accomplish; they usually consist of some combination of higher taxes and controversial cuts in social services. Read more »

The recession is creating job losses across a wide swath of America and in every industry group. A recent New York Times story took a closer look at which demographic and ethnic groups (and states) are disproportionately feeling the pain of what’s been coined The Great Recession.

The Winners
• Renters, who had no equity to lose in real estate or the ability to take on risky mortgages
• Retirees who rely on Social Security income rather than personal investments
• Young families, who stand to benefit if their investments in the current, depressed stock market normalize in coming years Read more »

Many people know that certain items sell better during an economic slump – things like liquor or movie ticket sales tend to perk up people who are looking for an “escape,” no matter how temporary, from their day-to-day money worries.

Interestingly, H.J. Heinz Company reported an 11% increase in its quarterly profit even after raising prices by 8%.

Well, that’s a lot of ketchup sales!

Actually, the Pittsburgh-based Heinz makes much more than just ketchup (including frozen food, soups, beans and pasta meals), but the food company’s obviously enjoying the benefits of the dining-in trend among consumers.

Prepared meals by Heinz and other food makers are also enjoying renewed popularity, as busy families on the go are trading down from catching dinner at local establishments to prepared meals at home. Not everyone is ready to try cooking from scratch.

Can you predict the winners or losers of food sales during an economic downturn? Which foods will sell briskly, and which will languish?

Also take a look at “How to Save Money on Groceries” for ways to cut back and still eat great.

While there’s obviously no guarantee that this recession will follow the same path as ones that have come before, here’s a very interesting look at how this downturn compares to some of the biggest of the last 80 years.

The chart above, created by dshort.com and updated on Feb. 25, gives a very compelling look at the stock-market path of the current economic recession compared to those of the Great Depression, the 1973 oil crisis, and the recession caused by the collapse of the technology bubble at the beginning of this century.

A lot of facts, figures and odd measurements (like the actual height of a stack of one billion dollar bills) have been thrown around since the start of the recession, but I find this chart a very tangible quantification of what’s really happening. Hopefully, you will too.

Do you find this chart illustrates the recession better than others you’ve seen? Does it help you put the recession in real terms?