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Collection: Whose recovery is it?September 13-17, 2004
Whose recovery is it, anyway?
What recovery? I managed to be employed 13 of the last 14 months, the longest stretch of employment I have had since moving to Minnesota in 1999! However, on September 8th, I was informed that I was to be laid off on Friday the 10th. I was actually relieved to be laid off from my position as a Property Tax Technician with a Mortgage company because the pay was much too low for my needs, and the work environment was too negative for my taste. However, it was a job.
Now what? Well, at first glance it appears that there a pretty large number of jobs available compared with the middle of 2003 when I was last seeking employment. However upon closer examination, the majority of jobs are either very low paying (as low as less than $9.00/hr) or very high paying requiring considerably more knowledge and experience than I will ever have.
I have signed up with five employment agencies. I have applied for some positions that I know I could handle. And I am willing to get very assertive in this job search and make cold calls or do whatever is necessary to get back to work. The question in my mind is will I have to go back to looking for "any job" just to get an income and have to tolerate a hostile work environment, or will I finally be able to break into a professional employment situation (where my education level and experience would be more accepted and appropriate) that pays the kind of salary I need to live on?
Lisa Ragsdale
Minneapolis, MN
It's not my recovery
State employees represented by the two largest bargaining units have not seen across the board wage increases in the past two years. A limited number of employees have seen "step" increases, but that affects a significantly fewer number of employees than those who have not seen raises. The increased out of pocket insurance costs (co-pays, co-insurance, higher family premiums) have more than eaten up any possible wage increases and in many cases have resulted in a real wage decrease.
This is in addition to the significant number of layoffs in state service. My Union local has seen a decrease in represented members in the past 3 years from nearly 1,200 employees to slightly more than 800 represented employees, the bulk of the reduction based on layoffs in state agencies. Let's get a full picture of the impact.
Michael Nelson
Coon Rapids, MN
What recovery?
I felt more secure on unemployment. The business I am working in only lost $175 last month (3 employees). If we have two more months like July, a loss of $2500, my boss says, "The game is over."
This is my tenth job since 9/11. I am a persuasive and experienced worker; some have said I could sell ice cubes to the Eskimos. Not in this economy! All I can do is hope for stability through the Fall. I think my unemployment has been restored, maybe this time I will write that novel churning through my head. I am sure sick of the job search.
Steve Law
St. Paul, MN
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