The official US unemployment rate fell to 7.7% last month, its lowest in four years. For the long-term unemployed, however, the outlook is still extraordinarily grim. Each week, we bring you true stories of unemployment, straight from the unemployed. Thirty volumes deep and still coming. This is what's happening out there.
Keith Olbermann, famed observer of reckless drivers and occasional Gawker emailer, is reportedly testing the waters at ESPN, the station he left in 1997 in a typically bridge-burning/napalming fashion. Several times over the last year, the former Current and MSNBC host reached out to ESPN president John Skipper with friendly "Gee, I would love to have dinner" emails, and finally, some time a few months ago, the two dined together at New York's Four Seasons restaurant:
Weight Watchers International made profits of $253 million last year by charging people a monthly fee for diet advice that is available for free elsewhere, and selling packaged diet food that is inferior to other food available more cheaply elsewhere. But hey, whatever works for you, etc etc. A more basic problem: they exploit their workers.
New veterans—those who left US military service recently—have higher unemployment rates than both older veterans and civilians, according to a new research paper from the Chicago Fed. Even taking into account the age and education level of new veterans, "neither demographics nor simply being a new veteran by themselves can account for the rise in relative unemployment rates for new veterans," the paper says. "Instead, our results suggest that prolonged deployments overseas account for much of the difference in unemployment rates between recent veterans and nonveterans."
Last week, Gawker posted a job listing seeking applicants for a reporter position. Among the responses was a letter from Hjalmar Sveinbjőrnsson and Alex Bejerstrand, two under-employed roommates living in Nybro, Sweden. In addition to inquiring after work, Hjalmar and Alex provided samples of their artwork and requested several photos of the Gawker offices. We supplied them with the requested photos and encouraged them to pitch us ideas. Below is their response. Below that is an email from me to Hjalmar and Alex laying out their first assignment: A post assessing the controversy over the Onion's "cunt" tweet about Quvenzhané Wallis. We have reproduced Hjalmar and Alex's email without correcting grammar or punctuation.
As we spend the day arguing over a satirical tweet about a Hollywood awards show, more than 12 million Americans remain unemployed. Millions more have dropped out of the labor force entirely. The upcoming sequester deal could cause sharp cuts in unemployment benefits. Each week, we bring you true stories of unemployment, from the unemployed themselves. This is what's happening out there.
Earlier this week, Gawker posted a job listing seeking applicants for a reporter position. Among the responses was this letter from Hjalmar Sveinbjőrnsson and Alex, two under-employed Swedish roommates. We have reproduced the letter without correcting grammar or punctuation; the images shown above were attached. Gawker's response follows.
The real unemployment rate in southwest Detroit is almost 50%. Seventeen rural South Carolina counties just closed their unemployment offices due to budget cuts, despite high unemployment. In New York, unemployed people say they're being discriminated against in job searches. The life of the unemployed American is not easy. Each week, we bring you true stories of unemployment, from those who have lived it. This is what's happening out there.
Since the Great Recession struck several years ago, nearly a quarter of Americans have been laid off themselves, and another 50% of Americans have seen a friend or family member lose their job. Each week, we bring you true stories of unemployment, straight from the unemployed. This is what's happening out there.
The economy added more than 150,000 jobs in January, but unemployment still rose to 7.9%; if you count those who have given up and stopped looking for work, the rate is much higher. Each week, we bring you true stories of unemployment, from those who have lived it. This is what's happening out there.
New unemployment claims are down, and the stock market is once again approaching peak levels. It's an easy time to forget that more than 12 million Americans are officially unemployed. Each week, we bring you true stories of unemployment, straight from the unemployed themselves. This is what's happening out there.
The "American Dream," which is dead, is to work a steady job for four decades or so, buy a house, watch some football, make some pineapple upside-down cake, and then retire at age 65 with a little pension to enjoy your useless time before death. Every single part of that setup is now crumbling to pieces.
When Barack Obama was inaugurated in January of 2009, the U.S. unemployment rate was 7.8%. Today, as Barack Obama is inaugurated for his second term, the U.S. unemployment rate is 7.8%. Hope, but no change. Each week, we're bringing you true stories of unemployment, from the unemployed themselves. This is what's happening out there.
It's no secret that it's hard out here for a pimp; pimps of all ages, colors, and creeds are looking for work, any work, any time, any place they can get it.
Economics is a field in which the general public will often give deference to the opinions of someone with professional credentials, even when that person seems to be saying something in direct opposition to common sense. "Well, sounds crazy, but he's the expert," we say to ourselves. We assume that the expert knows something we don't. Sometimes, he does. Other times, the expert is just a very wrong person with a very impressive job title.
For many millions of Americans who lost their jobs when the Great Recession struck, unemployment has not just been a typical, momentary bump in the road; it has been persistent, and grinding, and, for many, seemingly impossible to escape, despite their best efforts. Losing a job is bad enough, but the sort of long term unemployment afflicting America for the past several years has been a nightmare. Now, there seems to be the merest flicker of improvement.
