How Worried Are You About Being Laid-Off? |
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Yesterday, I saw that more than 70,000 people lost their jobs. Using the data on the side panel of that report (and some rough math), that's 33% of the jobs lost year to date in a single day. Okay, you caught me, it's still early this year, but that's still quite a lot for one day.
The news doesn't get any better. The consumer confidence index was revised down to a 37.7 mark for January. That looks to be a record low since the stat have been compiled (1967). It's probably because I was so involved in the Internet economy in 2001, but it just seemed a lot worse to me.
Lastly, the economy has hit home. While my mother still has her job, she is turning 65 this year. She has seen a lot of her retirement savings disappear with the market losses. A little more removed, Bible Money Matter's wife is facing a possible lay-off today (update: seems she kept her job with reduced hours). If you are in a similar situation, I highly suggest you read that article. He has a lot of great information about dealing with all phases of job loss: from prevention to finding a new job.
As I write this I feel a bit of survivor syndrome. Sure, my business here (and elsewhere) is impacted by the economy, but thus far it hasn't been a big impact. One might even claim that recession is good for people who write about responsible spending - more people should be looking for personal finance information. My wife has the equivalent of tenure at her government/military job, something that has her and her co-workers quite happy the last few days.
Are you worried about being laid-off? Sound off in the comments.
This post deals with:consumer confidence index, jobs, laid-off, lay-offs
... and focuses on:Economy
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I wouldn’t say I am worried as I am more aware of the signs and am updating my resume and am checking openings at my back up jobs every once in a while. Good to be prepared.
I’m not worried about losing my job at all. I’m in the Army so I couldn’t get laid off if I wanted to.
Nope; not worried at all. It pays to work for a large private company with lots of cash in the bank who’s niche is helping companies figure out where they are spending money. Sales this past year were up compared to last year; bonuses are still going to happen this year as well as profit sharing.
… I am however worried about your server. Seems slooow today.
[Editor's note: it's been a rough last two days... I'm going to look into fine-tuning some things]
So far, things with my freelance writing business have been fine. But I do worry that my clients may reduce the work they give me. But, so far, it hasn’t happened. And my husband is going to get a pay increase for is research assistantship (the benefits of completing a M.S.). So we’re feeling a little better about things in the event that I see a reduction in work.
A little bit worried, especially working at a start-up. You can’t live each day in fear, but it’s in the back of my mind that tomorrow I could be out of a job and screwed.
I have two jobs: working full time in public education (40 hrs per week) as well as a part time job in the evenings, for a non-profit (10 hours on average per week). While the non-profit is definitely feeling the crunch, I feel incredibly secure about my ‘day’ job working for the state. Although my salary is lower than my peers who are in private enterprise, I’ll probably never be laid off—no matter what the economic circumstances—and my benefits are phenomenal. I’m also in school full time (yes, I’m busy!) so I can hopefully increase my earnings just a bit when the economy finally recovers.
I’m worried. Its probably not warranted due to my situation but I still worry. I work at a high tech company that already announced some cuts but we’re still profitable. I also have verbal assurance from my manager that I wouldn’t be cut in a layoff, but I can’t take that to the bank.
Jim
I’m worried. Things are tough, my dad hasn’t had a full-time job in years, and I worry about everything anyway.
I’m thinking about buying a house, and I’m terrified what will happen if I lose my job.
Layoff’s are scary, and it is critical to prepare for them. IMO, the best thing to do now is to save as much as possible. I wrote a post on how to best prepare for layoffs that you can find here:
http://www.richerandslimmer.com/2009/01/22/layoffs-everywhere-and-what-you-can-do-to-best-prepare/
I’m more paranoid that I’ll be fired rather than laid off, but that’s just me. I’m always worried about being fired! LOL.
The credit union I work for is actually doing quite well, we made enough money last year to get a nice bonus at Christmas time, and we’re on track to do the same this year. We’re making money. A lot of that, I think, is that we’re seeing a lot of people pull out of their investments and put them in the credit union. We’ll see a little bit of a drop in those numbers when the stock market rebounds, but it won’t be much to worry about on my end.
Of course, one never knows. While I’m not worried about it, I have back-up plans in place.
I work for the electric company in nuclear engineering. And while it is not always the most exciting career, I am pretty appreciative that my job seem about as recession proof as it gets.
Thanks for the link! I’m a little apprehensive about losing my job as I work in a sector that has been hard hit by this economic downturn. We’ve had two rounds of layoffs already, and while they promise there won’t be more this year, you never really know.
As mentioned in your post my wife was spared in this round of layoffs, but is now working reduced hours. She’s one of the lucky ones, though, there were 19 people laid off at her job yesterday, she was one of the few that wasn’t let go!
AlL I can say is it’s a good time to make sure you have an emergency fund saved, that you have your financial ducks in a row and making sure your resume is all updated and ready to go!
If I get laid off, I’m moving to South America, learning Spanish, and finding a job there. I’m single, so now’s the time.
Not worried about getting laid off since I don’t have a job (in college). I am worried that I won’t be able to find a job when I graduate though.
Not particularly worried. We already had the first round and I survived. I think I’ll continue to survive based on the fact that I’m doing something incredibly hard to outsource and just about impossible to eliminate. Plus, there are a number of buffers in the form of underperformers in my division before they get to me anyway.
If worst comes to worst, as long as I pick up 3 months severance, I could sit out the lousy job market for about two years.
Not particularly worried. We already had the first round and I survived. I think I’ll continue to survive based on the fact that I’m doing something incredibly hard to outsource and just about impossible to eliminate. Plus, there are a number of buffers in the form of underperformers in my division before they get to me anyway.
If worst comes to worst, as long as I pick up 3 months severance, I could sit out the lousy job market for about two years.
Not worried. Got a large bonus before Xmas, and have a number of huge projects on my desk. We haven’t let anyone go yet over here, but should it come to that I’m 99.9% sure I won’t be at risk.