Part 1: Unemployment this Christmas Season – How Americans are Coping
For many of us, the holidays are a time of being unsure about our financial future. It seems like one day, we were working at a successful career, making plenty of money to enjoy life, and had plans to for an even more successful future. Then the economy hit. For the first time in some of our lives, we find ourselves without work or working for half (or less) than what we were making.
This affects Christmas and the holidays in more ways than we want. Here are some real-life stories of people who have adjusted their lives because of the economy. These stories are from the Money section of CNN in their special report this week.
Starting a Business and Taking a Second Job
Being an owner of a business, you don’t have to submit your resume, get an employment screening check, and wait for the criminal background check to come back before you can work; your motivation and initiative are what drives you. For one former financial advisor, her life took a turn in this very direction in January. She knew that her firm was in trouble and so she left to start her own event planning business.
Though it’s been tough, this former financial advisor has no regrets. However, she realized that not having a steady income was affecting her quality of life and would negatively affect Christmas. So, she decided to take a seasonal second job at a retail clothing store to supplement her income. At $10 an hour, she says she’s thankful and that having the job “keeps [her] spirits up.”
Drug Rehab Counselor Turned Sales Associate
In this struggling economy, no one can let pride get in the way of paying the bills. The same is true for a woman in Minneapolis who has found herself unemployed for the past 10 months. Though she has a Master’s Degree, she still cannot find work in her field. In order to pay the bills and have something leftover for a nice Christmas, she has decided to send out her resume to a retail store and go through the employment screening and criminal background check process.
Though she hasn’t worked in retail for over 20 years, she decided that supplementing her unemployment checks with a part time seasonal job was the best thing to do. She feels grateful to have been offered the job and decided to “go with it” in order to avoid bankruptcy and be able to pay her bills. Though she says it took laying down her pride, the $8.50 an hour is the best thing she could have done, given the circumstances. Never mind the employment screening and criminal background check…this career professional took matters into her own hands.
Many Unemployed, Few Jobs
Though millions of Americans are unemployed during the holidays this year, seasonal jobs are becoming a positive avenue for temporary work for many people. If things improve in 2010, they’ll have known what it feels like to lay down their pride, work harder than ever before, and be even more grateful for their paychecks.
