How has the recent economic turmoil affected you?

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Tue Jun 18, 2013 12:14 am

May Unemployment - 7.6% (up 0.1%)

>= Age 25 by education level

Less than a high school diploma - 10.3% (down 1.1%, down 1.9% Year Over Year)
High school graduates, no college - 6.9% (down 0.3%, down 0.9% YOY)
Some college or associate degree - 6.3% (up 0.3%, down 1.1% YOY)
Bachelor's degree and higher - 3.6% (no change, down 0.1% YOY)

Table A-1 - Unemployment Rate Ages 16-19 - 24.3% (up 1.8%, down 0.1% YOY)

Table A-11 - Reasons for unemployment

Job losers and persons who completed temporary jobs	3.7
Job leavers	0.6
Reentrants	2.2
New entrants	0.8

Red = higher
Default = no change
Green = lower

LawBeefaroni · Post by **LawBeefaroni** » Tue Jun 18, 2013 9:57 am

Help Wanted, But Only Part Time.

We're talking about almost eight million people in the country who are working part-time jobs when they would rather work full-time. That is a lot of people. When you look at the overall unemployment rate, of course 7.6 percent, you forget there are all sorts of stories under that. There are people who are underemployed who might have jobs and not count in that 7.6 percent.

Once you count people who are discouraged and people who are working in part-time work when they'd rather have full-time jobs, that unemployment rate actually rises to about 13.8 percent. So it's a big gap and we're seeing this divide worsen as we go along in the recovery, because people are taking part-time jobs now just because they've run out of hope to find a full-time job and they're just stretching out - the recovery is stretching out for so long that a lot of people have no other choice than to take whatever they can get.

The Meal · Post by **The Meal** » Tue Jun 18, 2013 4:28 pm

The opening of my timeline is encapsulated earlier in this thread. Spent most of 2008 trying to get gainful employment back in my natural field, and after jumping through some huge hoops, I just managed to sneak in under the global economy collapse wire. (The site had a lay-off in our department within the month I got hired on.)

I held onto that job for a few years, but partially due to the economic turmoil in the subject line and partially because of some personal turmoil I was let go in January 2011.

I was pretty happy they paid me to leave a job I was not enjoying, and I started playing cards a bit more regularly. At one point I got pretty good at playing poker and managed to keep myself afloat that way.

13 months after I was let go from my job I was contacted by the same place who now found themselves with too much to do and too few employees to do it. Since the pay for the contract job was like "winning a poker tournament every day," I took them up on the offer. Initially I was capped at 40-hour weeks (which left enough time to continue playing cards on Friday - Sunday), but eventually the OT hours floodgates were opened up, and the time-and-a-half mistress kept me away from the straight-and-narrow ways of the gambling halls.

I'm currently in my 67th consecutive week of working as an hourly contractor, but it looks like my transition to a benefited employee ends this weekend and I go through "orientation" on Monday (if you count my contractor stint separately from my other stretches, this is my fourth go-around with this same company). The base pay compared to the contractor position is about $25k less a year, but with retirement, health/life insurance, and the incentive program it's probably back to being on par. Throw in holidays and vacation days and I come out just a bit ahead, all things considered.

I'm lukewarm on coming back (the salary offer was a serious low-ball, just below where I was when I left in 2011 — buy me a beer and I'll tell you all about how my negotiations went...). The upside is that I'm in a new role and learning a ton of stuff which should make my transition out of this particular industry a whole lot more smooth. The company is making money hand-over-fist, yet claims that its op ex budget is way out of whack. Morale is at an all time low (which is saying A LOT) and we've lost so much of our quality talent over the past few years that it's beyond comical. But I'm guessing my experience with corporate America is far from unique over these past five years. It really is a new world for us working stiffs, and it's not particularly pretty.

Arkon · Post by **Arkon** » Tue Jun 18, 2013 5:06 pm

I have to admit, this is my first visit into this thread. Up until now, the economic turmoil hadn't hit home as I was merely chugging along at my job.

That all came crashing down yesterday when I found out I am being laid off by IBM, effective July 17th, as IBM is streamlining to reduce costs.

IceBear · Post by **IceBear** » Tue Jun 18, 2013 5:17 pm

Yeah... Waiting to be streamlined myself

Kraken · Post by **Kraken** » Tue Jun 18, 2013 6:53 pm

I've hoped that I would have good news for this thread at least four times in the past year...in fact, my last post in this thread was to the effect that a new job was imminent. That's how many times my wife -- the breadwinner of the family, the one with the education and professional background -- has been a finalist for a high-level position in academia. She keeps getting interviews and callbacks and making the final cut with an offer dangled just out of reach. She lost one of the jobs to obvious age discrimination -- the last question the department head asked her was "how do you feel about working with younger people?" (She had a good answer, but it was obvious to her at the time that no answer was going to cut it.) The other three positions were all either eliminated or redefined and left permanently unfilled.

She said last summer that she would keep grinding out resumes until the end of this year, and that's still her plan. If she can't score something by then she's going to give up and stay in her current underpaid junior position while trying to figure out some valid self-employment alternative. The primary barriers to that, of course, are health insurance and retirement savings.

It's like we've been right on the verge of regaining our old Clinton-era standard of living for a year now, but it keeps getting snatched away.

On the plus side, she got a promotion a few months ago and is in line for a small raise at the end of this month. It won't make much difference ($50 per week is expected), but it will be her first raise in 7 years, so at least that's something.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Wed Jun 19, 2013 12:58 am

Arkon wrote:I have to admit, this is my first visit into this thread. Up until now, the economic turmoil hadn't hit home as I was merely chugging along at my job.

That all came crashing down yesterday when I found out I am being laid off by IBM, effective July 17th, as IBM is streamlining to reduce costs.

I find it morbidly amusing that I just got an e-mail from Monster advertising an Entry Level Systems Engineer position with IBM.

LawBeefaroni wrote:Help Wanted, But Only Part Time.

It may be ignored in the national media, but not by the DOL: Table A-15. Alternative measures of labor underutilization. (U-6)

It's been 13.4 unadjusted for April and May, seasonally adjusted for May was 13.8. Compared to the numbers above it, you're looking at 4.9% of the workforce (unadjusted) is underemployed.

coopasonic · Post by **coopasonic** » Wed Jun 19, 2013 8:53 am

Isgrimnur wrote:
Arkon wrote:I have to admit, this is my first visit into this thread. Up until now, the economic turmoil hadn't hit home as I was merely chugging along at my job.

That all came crashing down yesterday when I found out I am being laid off by IBM, effective July 17th, as IBM is streamlining to reduce costs.
I find it morbidly amusing that I just got an e-mail from Monster advertising an Entry Level Systems Engineer position with IBM.

We've been using IBM for some of our system administration duties. I was under the impression Entry Level was the only level they had.

Octavious · Post by **Octavious** » Wed Jun 19, 2013 9:03 am

My one buddy just started working for them two weeka ago. I bet he's regretting that move now.

Arkon · Post by **Arkon** » Wed Jun 19, 2013 9:58 am

In my case, I am part of the education group, and IBM is moving away from delivering education and rather they are having 3rd party companies sell and deliver the training, so a lot of folks from my group were let go.

LawBeefaroni · Post by **LawBeefaroni** » Wed Jun 19, 2013 10:04 am

Bank of America ordered us to lie, ex-workers say

Several former Bank of America employees filed declarations in a federal court last week claiming the mortgage lender told them to lie to customers seeking loan modifications.

Bank of America fired back, essentially calling them the liars. “Each of the declarations is rife with factual inaccuracies,” the bank responded in a statement emailed to media.

...

It’s also worth noting that Bank of America was among five mortgage servicers that reached a $25 billion settlement with state and federal regulators last year to resolve similar allegations of abusive foreclosure practices.

...
“We were told to lie to customers and claim that Bank of America had not received documents it had requested, and that it had not received trial payments” when in fact it had, said Simone Gordon, who worked at Bank of America from July 2007 to February 2012. “A collector who placed 10 or more accounts into foreclosure in a given month received a $500 bonus. Bank of America also gave employees gift cards to retail stores as rewards for placing accounts into foreclosure.”

“I saw records regarding hundreds of homeowners that Bank of America treated dishonestly,” said Erika Brown, who worked at Bank of America from June 2009 through June 2010. “The homeowners were eligible for loan modifications under HAMP, sent back all the required documents, and made all their required payments. Bank of America nevertheless damaged their credit ratings by reporting them delinquent, tacked on additional charges to their loans, increased the amounts it considered as being owed and often referred these homeowners to foreclosure.”

So I wonder if BAC gets off by paying more fines/settlements or if someone in the Administration takes an interest in them shitting all over the Home Affordable Modification Program. Allegedly.

IceBear · Post by **IceBear** » Wed Jun 19, 2013 11:07 am

coopasonic wrote:
Isgrimnur wrote:
Arkon wrote:I have to admit, this is my first visit into this thread. Up until now, the economic turmoil hadn't hit home as I was merely chugging along at my job.

That all came crashing down yesterday when I found out I am being laid off by IBM, effective July 17th, as IBM is streamlining to reduce costs.
I find it morbidly amusing that I just got an e-mail from Monster advertising an Entry Level Systems Engineer position with IBM.
We've been using IBM for some of our system administration duties. I was under the impression Entry Level was the only level they had.

That's because you aren't complaining loudly enough

We dropped a Distinguished Engineer onsite at one of our customer sites because they screamed loud enough (even though they caused their own problem).

LawBeefaroni · Post by **LawBeefaroni** » Thu Jun 20, 2013 10:16 am

Wind down of QE?

Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said the central bank could start winding down its $85 billion-a-month bond-buying program later this year and end it altogether by mid-2014, setting up a high-stakes test to see if the economy and financial markets can begin to stand on their own.

Financial markets—which have been enlivened by the fuel of the Fed's easy-money policies—didn't take the news happily. The Dow Jones Industrial Average finished the day down 206.04, or 1.35%, at 15112.19. Yields on 10-year Treasury notes jumped 0.126 percentage point to 2.308%, the highest level since March 2012. The dollar strengthened. Asian markets moved lower in early trading Thursday.

Initial jobless claims rose for the week, economists were expecting a drop.

In the week ending June 15, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 354,000, an increase of 18,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 336,000. The 4-week moving average was 348,250, an increase of 2,500 from the previous week's revised average of 345,750.

Housing is up though:

Existing-home sales rose 4.2% in May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.18 million -- the highest rate since November 2009, when a buyer tax credit deadline approached -- pointing to a continuing recovery, the National Association of Realtors reported Thursday. Sales of existing homes in May were 12.9% higher than during the same period in the prior year. Meanwhile, the median existing-home price hit $208,000 in May, the highest since 2008, with low inventory supporting prices.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Fri Jun 21, 2013 6:45 pm

I'm beginning to understand why job applications are such a goldmine for identity thieves. I've had to give out former addresses, my SSAN on a couple occasions, my DL#, etc.

And I have a newfound respect for companies that can pre-fill my work history from an uploaded resume so I don't have to re-type all of it.

WPD · Post by **WPD** » Fri Jun 21, 2013 7:37 pm

Isgrimnur wrote:
And I have a newfound respect for companies that can pre-fill my work history from an uploaded resume so I don't have to re-type all of it.

By that, I assume you mean pre-fill your work history correctly. 75% of the time it seemed to just make the job harder because it pre-filled it incorrectly..."What's that? My degree is the previous job title that I had?"

LawBeefaroni · Post by **LawBeefaroni** » Thu Jun 27, 2013 3:57 pm

WSJ

The 30-year fixed mortgage rate posted its largest weekly percentage increase in more than 25 years, according to mortgage-finance company Freddie Mac.

The increase brings the 30-year fixed rate to its highest in nearly two years, according to Freddie data for the latest week released Thursday.

Average mortgage rates in the U.S. resumed their climb as investors remained concerned the Federal Reserve could soon embark on an end to its bond-buying stimulus program.

coopasonic · Post by **coopasonic** » Thu Jun 27, 2013 4:34 pm

Coop does the I refied at the right time dance.

Teggy · Post by **Teggy** » Thu Jun 27, 2013 6:34 pm

coopasonic wrote:Coop does the I refied at the right time dance.

Same.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Fri Jul 05, 2013 2:22 pm

Yay! I'm a statistic!

June Unemployment - 7.6% (no change)

>= Age 25 by education level

Less than a high school diploma - 9.7% (down 0.6%, down 1.8% Year Over Year)
High school graduates, no college - 7.3% (up 0.4%, down 0.8% YOY)
Some college or associate degree - 6.4% (up 0.1%, down 1.0% YOY)
Bachelor's degree and higher - 3.9% (up 0.3%, down 0.2% YOY)

Table A-1 - Unemployment Rate Ages 16-19 - 26.6% (up 2.3%, up 0.1% YOY)

Table A-11 - Reasons for unemployment

Job losers and persons who completed temporary jobs	3.8
Job leavers	0.6
Reentrants	2.3
New entrants	1.1

Red = higher
Default = no change
Green = lower

LordMortis · Post by **LordMortis** » Mon Jul 15, 2013 4:09 pm

Wow. I'm not sure what to think here. My first thought is dangerous precedent.

http://www.thenation.com/article/175244 ... ent-domain#" target="_blank

Faced with this quagmire, a growing number of cities—with the support of community groups and unions—are taking things into their own hands. Thanks to a legal strategy initially formulated by Cornell University law professor Robert Hockett, city officials have discovered that they can use their eminent domain power—which they routinely use to purchase property for sidewalks, infrastructure, school construction and other projects—to buy underwater mortgages at their current market value and resell them to homeowners at reduced price and mortgage payments.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Mon Jul 15, 2013 5:47 pm

If enough people do it, it will eventually end up before SCOTUS.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Fri Jul 19, 2013 4:39 pm

Well, I just applied for an open position at my former company. The position had been up on their website for a month, and it's targeted specifically at a tech that I used a few times for them.

LordMortis · Post by **LordMortis** » Fri Jul 19, 2013 4:46 pm

Isgrimnur wrote:Well, I just applied for an open position at my former company. The position had been up on their website for a month, and it's targeted specifically at a tech that I used a few times for them.

Is that weird or by former company do you mean company you formally contracted at?

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Fri Jul 19, 2013 4:59 pm

The one that got me to Dallas that I spent 4.5 years at before going with the recruiter.

When I left last summer, I actually stayed on for another two weeks to assist with the project I was on when they offered to throw me a bonus to stay, so it's not like I left them hung out to dry. I participated in the interview process, even going to my old college for the job fair. I'm pretty sure I didn't burn any bridges on the way out. I may call up the recruiter there that I know next week and see what the lay of the land looks like.

coopasonic · Post by **coopasonic** » Fri Jul 19, 2013 5:12 pm

Yeah if you can contacts, don't just apply cold as you aren't nearly the unknown quantity that the general IT public would be.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Fri Jul 19, 2013 5:13 pm

I put the app in a few minutes ago. I doubt anyone wants to hear from me an hour before quitting time on a Friday.

LawBeefaroni · Post by **LawBeefaroni** » Fri Jul 19, 2013 5:15 pm

Forgot to add to the woe last week (my Chicago Teacher's Union post reminded me). The wife got notice that the university theater department will be moving the roles of two movment (yoga) instructors into one existing acting teacher who "does some yoga." One of those instructors was her. It's primarily a cost cutting measure.

The wife is crushed, not so much about losing the steady paycheck, but because she loves the kids and loves the perk of getting tickets to go to all of their shows.

I recently read somewhere (was it here?) about the University bubble being one of the next to burst.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Fri Jul 19, 2013 5:45 pm

And I already got a rejection e-mail.

Other candidates have been identified that better match our needs for position.

Then why the hell is it still up on your website?

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Thu Sep 05, 2013 7:43 pm

Yay! I'm still a statistic!

July Unemployment - 7.4% (down 0.2)

>= Age 25 by education level

Less than a high school diploma - 10.7% (up 1.0%, down 1.5% Year Over Year)
High school graduates, no college - 7.4% (up 0.1%, down 1.0% YOY)
Some college or associate degree - 6.2% (down 0.2%, down 1.2% YOY)
Bachelor's degree and higher - 4.2% (up 0.3%, down 0.3% YOY)

Table A-1 - Unemployment Rate Ages 16-19 - 24.2% (down 2.4%, down 0.3% YOY)

Table A-11 - Reasons for unemployment

Job losers and persons who completed temporary jobs	3.8
Job leavers	0.6
Reentrants	2.2
New entrants	1.1

Red = higher
Default = no change
Green = lower

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Thu Sep 05, 2013 7:46 pm

Completed a second interview at a local financial institution with the CIO and VP along with the AVP from previous, and a quick talk with a senior programmer. I think I nailed it. I got along well with everyone and think I comported myself well. Of course, it's like a 20-minuted drive each way through the heart of the Metroplex.

Octavious · Post by **Octavious** » Fri Sep 06, 2013 10:58 am

Isgrimnur wrote:Completed a second interview at a local financial institution with the CIO and VP along with the AVP from previous, and a quick talk with a senior programmer. I think I nailed it. I got along well with everyone and think I comported myself well. Of course, it's like a 20-minuted drive each way through the heart of the Metroplex.

Congrats I hope!

coopasonic · Post by **coopasonic** » Fri Sep 06, 2013 11:03 am

Isgrimnur wrote:Of course, it's like a 20-minuted drive each way through the heart of the Metroplex.

Are you complaining about a 20 minute commute?

Fretmute · Post by **Fretmute** » Fri Sep 06, 2013 11:07 am

coopasonic wrote:
Isgrimnur wrote:Of course, it's like a 20-minuted drive each way through the heart of the Metroplex.
Are you complaining about a 20 minute commute?

Even my commute takes 20 minutes, and I drive 10 miles in the opposite direction of rush hour traffic.

LordMortis · Post by **LordMortis** » Fri Sep 06, 2013 11:24 am

coopasonic wrote:
Isgrimnur wrote:Of course, it's like a 20-minuted drive each way through the heart of the Metroplex.
Are you complaining about a 20 minute commute?

I have a half an hour plus bad traffic commute to a job that doesn't watch the time clock. I'm ecstatic (more for the later than the former) but as happy as I am I would love to cut my commute into 1/3 of what it is.

LawBeefaroni · Post by **LawBeefaroni** » Fri Sep 06, 2013 11:26 am

Fretmute wrote:
coopasonic wrote:
Isgrimnur wrote:Of course, it's like a 20-minuted drive each way through the heart of the Metroplex.
Are you complaining about a 20 minute commute?
Even my commute takes 20 minutes, and I drive 10 miles in the opposite direction of rush hour traffic.

My commute is 5 miles. 20-30 minutes depending on day/weather/traffic. Minimum 10 minutes/max 2 hours (so far).

PLW · Post by **PLW** » Fri Sep 06, 2013 11:46 am

3.9 miles, 11 minutes. Small town living.

Octavious · Post by **Octavious** » Fri Sep 06, 2013 12:13 pm

25 miles 1-1.5 hours each way. IF there's a holiday it can take 35-40 minutes. IF there's an accident you can make that 1.5-2 hours. I once took me like 6-7 hours to get home when there was a horrible accident. I was not amused.

Exodor · Post by **Exodor** » Fri Sep 06, 2013 12:21 pm

My commute last night was delayed thanks to this bus that caught on fire right before 5 PM

You can't really make it out in that picture but that bus is just outside the tunnel that connects the westside and downtown. I was stuck on the other side of the tunnel with only one lane getting through.

Normally my commute is ~30 minutes. Last night was not normal.

LordMortis · Post by **LordMortis** » Fri Sep 06, 2013 12:30 pm

And speaking of commutes... Kids went back to school this week. This somehow adds 10 minutes to my commute on good days. But good days become far less frequent. There are more nonsensical back ups and accidents and people changing lanes into a lane where a vehicle is present and people talking on phones. Fricken back to school traffic. Shouldn't there be less traffic with more people in school, especially when high school starts fifteen minutes before my commute begins.

I almost got ran off the road yesterday and twice I went from 50 to 0 (in a 70) in an instant on the commute this morning.

LawBeefaroni · Post by **LawBeefaroni** » Fri Sep 06, 2013 12:44 pm

LordMortis wrote:And speaking of commutes... Kids went back to school this week. This somehow adds 10 minutes to my commute on good days. But good days become far less frequent. There are more nonsensical back ups and accidents and people changing lanes into a lane where a vehicle is present and people talking on phones. Fricken back to school traffic. Shouldn't there be less traffic with more people in school, especially when high school starts fifteen minutes before my commute begins.

I almost got ran off the road yesterday and twice I went from 50 to 0 (in a 70) in an instant on the commute this morning.

The back-to-school traffic is crazy. Don't get me started.

I think it's a few things, and I have a lot of time to think about this stuff stuck behind the I'll-park-in-the-commute-lane-thank-you-very-much haven that is Mt. Carmel every morning. During summer, while kids are out of school, lots of families take vacations. So spread out there are less people on the road any given week. We slowly get acclimated to this artifically lowered traffic and come back-to-school everyone is back on the road at once. Also, you get people going to new schools for the first time, getting lost, double parking, etc., further exacerbating the clusterfuckage. Because of all this, you also get people running late for work and/or school who decide to do stupid shit. Combine and it makes for utter carnage on the roads.

Every year, for about a week, I forget about the hot-zones around schools that become my summer shortcuts before I remember to go back to my fall/winter routes.