October unemployment info was released by the Washington State Employment Security Department this week, so here’s a shot of the Seattle area (King/Snohomish) unemployment rate (NSA) compared to the national U3 rate:
According to their data, the Seattle area has shed 66,600 jobs in the last year, while adding 42,320 people to the labor force.
We’ll never find out how many of those have left the area adding to inventory.
I wonder how many have taken pay cuts? I changed jobs and took a 7% cut.
In talking to a guy who is not one of the overpaid riveters but an engineer on the 787 etc.. He said that a lot of the people in his immediate job area are looking towards SC, and applying for positions there. The prices for homes are 50% off what they are here, the salaries are not bad.
Same job: 5% pay cut, and a grouping of furlough days..
One of the unemployed now but first came the pay cut of 5%, then the furlough days. There were some other things that took place and ultimately i requested a layoff with severance etc and got it.
Dont regret it one bit, this staying home with my son is not so bad. As far as other jobs on the job search it is bleak out there. its tough and ugly out there, I feel for those in tougher positions than myself. I grew up as a kid of a construction worker in the 90’s in california, having a layed off parent is very tough and a big strain on the family.
But at least we’re under the national average by almost a full percentage point! That’s good news, right? Right…? right…..? :( :(
I heard someone spout that on some news radio channel recently and needless to say I didn’t feel all warm and fuzzy from it.
I feel for those of you that are unemployed… as someone that was there post dot com bust, I know how bad it sucks and my heart goes out to you.
Very distressing.
Some of the Mtg Reps I used to work with in Washington and Nevada began new careers. The ones I follow:
2 went into health care (still in school)
1 Manager at 24 hr Fitness
1 Joined the US Army
1 Costco
1 Head of Security for mall
2 Insurance
Life is change and we all know it has ups and downs. We all must adapt. I personally have never been on unemployment but understand its a necessity for some people. When on it too long I see self esteem plummett.
Personally, I must work or go nutts. I can’t imagine being on unemployment and looking for a job for a year.
It seems to me there is ALWAYS jobs but are the unemployed willing to take it?
My father was a custodian and started his own company . It was just a 5 man operation in San Jose that my brother and I worked until I moved here at age 19. I worked from age 13-19 washing windows at Burger Kings, cleaning Recruiting offices, buffing dance studios floors, and cleaning buildings.
I’m just sorry but it just seems so many feed into this 10% unemployment rate fodder and are more concerned about getting the next extension instead of getting off their ass.
Hopefully something will come up soon Mag. Sorry to hear that.
RE: mukoh @ 3 –
SC … oh yes, bugs the size of 787, summers like a sauna, not a coffee shop open on a Sunday
Hope they have fun
Ray,
Not sure many are chosing to sit on their asses. Pull up a job search in a field, i was pretty shocked at how few business/finance jobs were listed. Are there listings, sure. But compared to previous times its dismal.
Everyone has their own view of course 99 weeks is ridiculous, but thats what the feds are calling for.
I think the way to put unemployment finally in check is to spark another rally based on Fed’s bubble. So like in the real estate bubble investors need to take whacko risks – for example 1:5 that this will work. Based on the enhanced risk – commotion will be created like in the real estate bubble. And new jobs will be created. So basically we need more bubbles and move from 1 bubble to another until we can find a bubble that will work finally.
The key is to get the word out that sthg is brewing.
Well Ray unless you have walked in the shoes of the new unemployed you do not know how it is. I worked all my adult life and have not been that picky put myself through University etc.. Laid off after the Dot com bubble, that was a nightmare never have I had such a hard time finding work. I ended up having to settle for part time contract work. Last year my husband got laid off and that has been a nightmare but he has been able to get good contract work. It is a different world out there looking for work and unless you have been there you should not just say people don’t want to work. I don’t know anyone who likes being on unemployment.
Given the unemployment picture who exactly are going to be able to buy houses even with the tax credit carrot? A lot of the people getting laid off are in management with good incomes. The layoffs are across all pay levels it is not just in the lower wage earner jobs.
Average hours worked per week is down to 33 nationally, a new low. Lots of folks on reduced or part time hours. The percentage that are under employed is at all time highs. What does it all mean? In short, excess capacity in human capital means that despite dollar devaluations, printing and/or Q.E., etc. we won’t be seeing any raises or wage increases for some time. The labor market has to first absorb the extra capacity before we can start to see inflation. At least that’s the way it is in traditional models. Here, down the rabbit hole with Alice in Wonderland anything seems possible.
Yet they’re saying the recession is “over” because corporate earnings have improved, even though some of these corporate earnings have improved through sleight of hand, now you see it now you don’t…And even if there were no sleight of hand involved and the corporate earnings were legit, the recession is over?
Tell that to all the unemployed and underemployed people out there, the folks who now pay for medical benefits but formerly had them provided, the people who’ve taken wage cuts, etc. Off my soapbox now.
Unemployment continues to increase, incomes are down. My income is down about 15% however, lazy assed overpaid city and state workers continue to get pay increases and generous pensions.
My property taxes and now my state sales taxes keep going up to cover another state deficit. My income is fixed so I shift money I would have spent in the local economy to paying taxes exacerbating an already bad economy. I’ve already cancelled my membership at a local gym, drastically reduced my grocery and wine spend, shop at COSTCO for bulk purchases, eliminated eating out at restaurants and given up on several home improvement projects. Rather than buy a new stove this weekend I spent 3 hours repairing my gas oven which is 18 years old. I plan to cancel my DirecTV when my contract ends and also gove up my personal cell phone. There’s not a lot left to cut back on after that….Mutiply that by the remaining employed private sector employees and you have a serious problem.
It was interesting to see how impotent the USA has become. On display during Obama’s trip to China with the Chinese lecturing him on sound economic policy while Obama listened. I hope he was listening, our country can learn a lot from the Chinese. Wall Street Journal had article today stating 10% of homeowners are behind on mortgage payments Things are going to get a lot worse.
RE: QueenAnneRunner @ 15 – Not to get too picky, but how do these two statements reconcile?
1. “My income is down about 15%…”
2. “My income is fixed…”
Moving forward, “Wall Street Journal had article today stating 10% of homeowners are behind on mortgage payments.”
Note that the unemployment rate is also about 10%.
By AMS @ 16:
No contradiction…my monthly disposeable income is fixed, albeit 15% less than last year. When taxes go up my disposeable income decreases and I cut my spending.
RE: QueenAnneRunner @ 15 – There is a really nice gem in here, however.
“Rather than buy a new stove this weekend I spent 3 hours repairing my gas oven which is 18 years old.”
This is very interesting, and it deserves much more discussion. There is the whole idea of tossing out the old and replacing. This is done on an economic basis. When something gets to the point of no repair, then it’s best to replace. The point of no repair is different for different income levels.
In India the untouchables will use what the others consider to be garbage: broken glasses, scraps, and so on. These items of little value are usable to the untouchables, who have no other resources.
The three hours labor plus parts was deemed a better option than replacement. I suspect we have entered a phase where repairing will become more common, but I could be wrong. It will depend on the relative cost of the goods. Deflation encourages replacement, but lower incomes encourages repair.
It wasn’t that long ago that someone would have simply refinanced and extracted an extra $10,000 to buy all new appliances instead of repairing one. You know, all the appliances are old, plus they were not a perfect match. Best to replace, or so the story went.
RE: QueenAnneRunner @ 17 – Oh, yes, gross income has remained constant, but net income is down 15%. I am surprised that the tax load has increased sufficiently to cut your disposable income by 15% in a single year, especially in a state that is heavily rooted in sales tax. Did your spending go up significantly?
RE: Ray Pepper @ 7 –
I’ve wondered this myself, is it that there aren’t jobs to be had or just that the jobs people want are gone? I really have no idea, so I’m asking. For example, we’ve heard over the years about there not being enough people to harvest each year. Hard work, low pay, but jobs. Home healthcare work, dishwashing at restaurants, etc. Are people who are unemployed moving that way? Is it worth it? Or do unemployment benefits pay so much more, it pays more to not work?
I’d also like to add that my group at a scientific research institute spent 6 months trying to find statisticians and programmers. It took national searches, flying in candidates from elsewhere, etc., and we found people close to what we wanted, though not exactly. I’ve heard the same about other math- and science-oriented jobs, especially in response to ARRA funding which has to be spent quickly.
“It was interesting to see how impotent the USA has become. On display during Obama’s trip to China with the Chinese lecturing him on sound economic policy while Obama listened. I hope he was listening, our country can learn a lot from the Chinese.”
As part of the underemployed, and recently out of college, its really really frustrating. And not to knock the Chinese, they are in better shape than we are, but the too have some problems, such as over investment in production resulting in keeping their RMB tied to a deflating dollar, among many other things I observed while I was in Shanghai. I would rather Obama look to our past for guidance, in retrospect its pretty easy to see what made us powerful economically. Promote policies that are good for long term growth, as little involvement in business as possible, no corporate welfare for the corporations with enough money to buy our politicians, remove certain regulations that do nothing but make it more expensive to do business in the US, and quit spending more than what we take in on the Federal level.
RE: Elizabeth @ 20 – There really are a shortage of jobs that aren’t the kind you’re talking about. And frankly, from what I’ve heard, there’s even a shortage of those kinds of jobs (retailers and restaurants not hiring so much or going out of business). Several of my friends have been doing whatever they can to find anything, but they’re older, or over-qualified and can’t even get a retailer to give them a second look (believe me, they’d take that job at this point).
And yeah, it does pay more on unemployment to continue to look for some other kind of job than to accept a job as a dishwasher (assuming you weren’t a dishwasher before) – but that’s as it should be. It’s unemployment “insurance” not “some dollars to tide you over until you find any job at all” – much like housing or car insurance replaces your car, not just gives you whatever POS they can find.
That said, for a certain amount of time you’re “only” required to look for 3 jobs (minimum) per week that you’re qualified for, and allowed to reject jobs if they would require you to move/drive too far or represent huge pay cuts (allowed = allowed to do so and still collect unemployment). But after those weeks are up, you’re required to look for more jobs (4/week) and no longer allowed to reject a job for those reasons (and still get unemployment). So there are things in the system that require you to have a very broad job search after your initial benefits run out.
We should welcome a system that works this way (as opposed to one that forces everyone without sufficient savings to immediately work in another field for less money) – it’s good for the economy as a whole, most things considered.
Lack of unemployment insurance is one of the things that made the job losses in the Great Depression so bad.
k2000k
I I think the USA can learn a lot from China specifically, the value of hard work, living frugally and within your means and producing real products the world wants.China has the benefit of political leadership and will focused on advancing the interests of China and providing jobs and economic progress for its population. America has policitians focussed on self enrichment and form over substance politics.
No civilization in history has ever survived by consuming a dispraportionate proportion of the earth’s resources while borrowing enormous amounts of money to buy products made by people in other countries and producing ever decreasing amounts of real products and value added services.
For me Obama’s trip to China was a very public display that the begining of the end for America is underway. We are in decline and the longer our impotent ignorant policitians do nothing, the less likely the odds we can correct our death spiral.
RE: AMS @ 19 – RE: AMS @ 18 – RE: AMS @ 16 –
This is what I was talking about on the open thread.
RE: QueenAnneRunner @ 23 –
Obama asked for a couple of things. He would like Chinese involvement in Afganistan, and to open up trade. China, with a growing manufacturing based economy, has pent up consumer demand for American products.
The impression that the United States is impotent is a good observation. We have taken a beating in the last eight years. We have a lot to recover from in the global arena.
RE: David Losh @ 24 – Can you just let it go and move on? I’m sorry about whatever it is you are not happy about.
RE: QueenAnneRunner @ 15 – “My income is down about 15% however, lazy assed overpaid city and state workers continue to get pay increases and generous pensions.”
State salaries are frozen for 2 years and are not likely to be increased anytime soon. State employees typically earn about 25% less than their private sector peers.
RE: jcricket @ 22 – “So there are things in the system that require you to have a very broad job search after your initial benefits run out.”
That’s especially true with EB, which is a federally mandated form of extended benefits of last resort.
Here is my warning to anybody drawing unemployment benefits: There is a system using random number generation that selects claimants to come in and verify the work searches they have done. If they don’t bring in verifiable job searches for the week in question, they are asked to repay the week they were paid and also bring in verification of job searches for all weeks they claimed. If they fail to produce this, their entire claim is denied, and they have to pay back every cent they have been paid over the life of the claim. At $2,500/mo the amount owed can add up in a hurry. If they can’t pay, it goes to collections, and future wages can be garnished.
Now here is the clincher: the number of people who get nailed is shockingly high. In many cases, the claimants actually did their job searches but were lazy record keepers. If you are on unemployment, be sure to keep accurate verifiable records. The odds of the system are designed such that, most likely, you will randomly be called in to verify your work search activity several times over the life of the claim.
By Jonness @ 27:
Exactly. I’ve had my salary frozen for 2+ years as a research scientist.
RE: QueenAnneRunner @ 15 – RE: QueenAnneRunner @ 23 –
Not that I think things are “great”, but beyond ” living frugally and within your means and producing real products the world wants” I don’t think we should follow China’s lead whatsoever.
You say: “China has the benefit of political leadership and will focused on advancing the interests of China and providing jobs and economic progress for its population.”
Yeah, they’re advancing their interests… at the cost of their people and their environment: http://market-ticker.org/archives/1641-Pollution-in-China-A-Must-Read.html
I’d rather see our country go down in the flames of an uprising of the people than to see it go down like that. And really, China may be gaining wealth, but in all liklihood, their actions are going to screw them long term. Just imagine how strong their country will be when half of the population doesn’t live past 40 due to cancer.
“For me Obama’s trip to China was a very public display that the begining of the end for America is underway. We are in decline and the longer our impotent ignorant policitians do nothing, the less likely the odds we can correct our death spiral. ”
To reference Market Ticker again (What can I say he has interesting ideas!): http://market-ticker.org/archives/1632-Open-Letter-To-The-Chinese-Premier.html
I link that not because I don’t think we are no longer going to be the number one world power, but more because I don’t think China necessarily will be either, and further, I hardly think this is “the end of America”.
Sorry if this comment is too OT, QueenAnneRunner, I’d be happy to continue this conversation in the discussion thread.
RE Jonnes @38: Excellent points about being on unemployment benefits. Since I spent four months this past year being unemployed, let me share my own warning which is directly related to what you mentioned.
The state employment security department (ESD), when they select you for an in-office visit to go over your job search records, will snail-MAIL you notice of the appointment (no phone reminder, no email), giving you ONE WEEK of notification INCLUDING mailing time from Olympia. I use a private mailbox and sometimes only pick up my mail once a week. Well, I did this, and then let the mail sit on my desk for a couple of days. I opened the meeting notice from the ESD the day AFTER the appointment was scheduled–oops!
Despite immediately calling them and rescheduling the meeting which I made sure to attend (no problem, kept good job search records), I had to repay the entire week’s worth of benefits for the week in which I had missed the meeting. I appealed this decision and had a telecon hearing with an administrative court judge–no dice.
You’d think that they would use 20th century technology (telephone, email), instead of relying upon snail mail with extremely short advanced notice (they do this by design so you don’t have time to fake records–so why not use the phone or email instead?) of the meeting.
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Regarding overpaid state (and local) gov’t workers, I think there is a mix of overpaid and underpaid positions, depending upon the job position. For example, my brother is an attorney (Columbia Univ, NY) working for WA state in Olympia, and he is definitely underpaid compared to what he could make in private industry (and also at frozen salary for the time being). Then take a look at the truck driver (GED, or HS diploma) at the City of Redmond making $65-75K/year with full benefits and lifetime job security who is even in this economy getting 3-5% pay raises every year. That level of pay, benefits and job security for that type of position in private industry simply doesn’t exist (OK, maybe a few isolated exceptions, like garbage truck drivers).