I Used to be Middle-Class, now WHAT AM I?

When I was 15 in 1984 I remember asking my dad (who was the sole breadwinner in the house) how much money he made in a year. He told me $43,000 a year. Now for the sad part of the story -- BEFORE I lost my job, my husband and I cleared $34,000 in a year. Now that I'm not working, well, you get the picture. Amazing isn't it? I sometimes wonder how we survive with 2 kids and 2 mortages. Thank God for food pantries and second-hand clothing shops. My children, particularly my 10 year old is acutely aware of the situation. he knows he get free lunch because we are poor. But we are not the stereotypical poor -- we are both well-educated (I have 2 degrees) but things just don't seem to work, economically speaking, like they used to. it used to be that you went to school, got a job, and lived the American dream. We had that when i was a kid - we weren't rich, but we had plenty and always took day trips and yearly vacations. This year was the first in 5 years we took a vacation and we had to go cheaply, including foregoing restaurants, instead eating in our hotel room -- mostly lunch meat and cold sandwiches made from supplies bought from a trip to the grocery store. So seriously, what is going on here. I'm happy at least with what little we have but still, what gives? Where did America go wrong??

Joblessness and Mental Health

People unemployed for more than six months show signs of depression -- job searching creates anxiety, as does fear of rejection. For me it becomes surreal at times, like I can't believe that this is happening to me -- the food stamps, the WIC, the fact that everyone around me seems to have something important to do and I don't. It is, in a nutshell very depressing. But apparently I am not alone. The unemployment rate in the United States is at 8.1%, but that doesn't include people who haven't been looking for a job recently. Some of the things that afflict the jobless are depression, eating habits that revolve around on comfort foods, leading to binging. Stress, anxiety and negative thoughts make it hard to get a good night's sleep, resulting in fatigue and lethargy. This can ultimately lead to weight gain. It's an unfortunate cycle. Research suggests that being unemployed doubles a person's chance of a major depressive episode and that unemployment is also highly associated with domestic violence and alcohol abuse, Leahy said. Unemployment is also associated with an increased risk of suicide, often because of the link to depression, according to the Suicide Research and Prevention Center.and only 1 in 10 long-term unemployed find work -- dismal statistics. Physical health may also suffer: new medical conditions such as hypertension and diabetes may follow the loss of a job. There are suggestions that unemployment can even lead to cardiovascular disease, although it is difficult to prove that job loss causes heart damage.Physical symptoms can also include joint and body aches. Strains on intimate relationships might result from being unemployed, since frustration between partners can result from financial worries. However, divorcerates have been shown to be lower among the unemployed. Feeling uncomfortable and embarrassed about their situations, some unemployed people isolate themselves socially and don't find enjoyment in the activities they once did, Lang said. They may feel hopeless, confused or overwhelmed. Not everyone gets clinical depression as a result of unemployment, but it can happen. Friends and family of unemployed people should look for warning signs, such as sadness, lack of energy, insomnia and irritability. With all of this bad news, instead of ruminating, you could take a proactive role in searching for a new job and taking care of yourself. Try to acquire new skills or network if you can. This is what I've been trying to do but I have to admit it is very difficult. At times I feel entirley useless. It's also said that keeping a consistent schedule helps people who are feeling overwhelmed about the prospect of another day without a job. Chart out what times of day you will be looking for jobs, when you will be sending out resumes and when you will eat your meals. Structured time and physical activity have been linked in research with higher mental health. Even a walk can help. Bottom line is that we unemployed need to do whatever it takes to feel needed and useful in a world seems to be passing us by. It's not easy -- that I know from experience.

Jobs Affected by Government Shutdown

(from CNN) The Bureau of Labor Statistics probably won't have the manpower to issue its key monthly jobs report this Friday. Only 3 of its 2,400 employees are working during the government shutdown. Labor Department officials will still not confirm or deny whether the government's monthly jobs report will be released as scheduled Friday, but other signs point to a delay amid the government shutdown. Since the recession, the monthly report has become the most closely watched indicator on the economy, with the first Friday of each month often being dubbed "Jobs Friday." The information is so sensitive, that when it's released, reporters who write about it are locked in a windowless room without internet or phone access until 8:30 a.m. on the dot, to prevent the information from getting to investors even a millisecond too soon. The report is also of particular importance this month, as the Federal Reserve monitors the unemployment rate to decide when to slow its stimulus program. The Bureau of Labor Statistics compiles the report each month based on surveys of about 60,000 households and 145,000 businesses and government agencies. Those surveys are both conducted during the week of the 12th, so the September data has already been collected. But with just three of its roughly 2,400 employees on duty during the shutdown, the BLS is unlikely to have the manpower to compile and release the report on Friday. BLS Commissioner Erica Groshen said in a memo Friday that "all survey and other program operations will cease and the public website will not be updated," and the agency has since posted an advisory on its site, indicating it "will not collect data, issue reports, or respond to public inquiries." Meanwhile, Department of Labor officials will not respond to inquiries about the jobs report, but they have indicated there's at least one exception. A weekly report on unemployment benefits will continue to be released every Thursday morning. That report is compiled by a separate division, the Employment and Training Administration, which has 28 of its roughly 1,100 employees reporting to work during the shutdown.

Very interesting viewpoint on America's lost middle class from the Russian (English) news organization, RT: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_PsUyEYO16E

Food Stamps

I recently applied for food stamps for the first time. I decided to take the plunge after giving up on my pride. I need food and I don't have the money for it -- it's that simole. My children nned to eat. There's been some debate about foodstamps lately, and here's a few facts that show that they work just fine: The number of people on the food-stamp program has increased by about 27 million since the recession, bbut it is smaller than the increase in poverty. Also, a higher percentage of people who qualified are getting food stamps than before, but it is true that about a quarter of households that could get food stamps don’t get them, for whatever reason. For me, it was prie. Unfortunately, those households without food stamps report that they aren’t always able to get enough food to feed their families. The Food Research Action Center reports that about a quarter of households with children say they can’t get enough food. By and large, adults with children are the most likely to seek out food assistance. About three quarters of food-stamp recipients are households with children living in their households, and 47 percent of individual recipients are children. The average benefit for a family of three is just under $400, which is about $33 per person per week. Not everyone gets the same amount, however. Many recipients are working adults, and the more they earn, the fewer benefits they get. Bottom line is that food stamps feed children whose parents work low-wage jobs -- like myself. My husband pulls in a measley $28,000/year before taxes. While I haven't recieved y foodstamp benefits yet, according to thier chart that qualifies us for somewhere around $260/ month in food stap benefit.

A Little About Myself....

I am 45 years old and jobless. Well, not entirely jobless - I recently started selling Avon. I have worked in retail, food service, education, landscaping, music....the list goes on. My most recent job -- a job I loved -- as a paraprofessional in an elementary school was taken out from under me a few weeks ago due to a shifting in special needs population in my school. I was devistated, crying for 4 days. I loved that job and the peoople I worked with -- kids and adults. Most of the friends I had there I will likely not see again, that's often the way it goes with workplace relationships. Anyway, I applied for unemployment, WIC and foodstamps. I got the idea to sell Avon while looking around on the web. Instead of a prescribed schedule my days are full of many different activites. I case the neighborhood looking for new Avon customers. I take surveys online to pick up extra change. I take care of my 3 year old daughter. In some ways I like it better and so far, we are getting by. But when unemployment runs out things will get interesting. I hope that I'll find some kind of job before then. So that is who I am, and this blog reflects my interest in all things related to unemployment, the dissapearring middle class, and how to get by on less. I hope you enjoy reading my blog as much as I enjoy writing it.

THE POOR AND UNEMPLOYED Number not seen since the Great Depression

The gap in employment rates between America's highest- and lowest-income families has reached its widest level since officials began tracking the data a decade ago, according to an analysis of government data conducted for The Associated Press.Rates of unemployment for the lowest-income families - those earning less than $20,000 - have topped 21 percent, nearly matching the rate for all workers during the 1930s Great Depression. U.S. households with income of more than $150,000 a year have an unemployment rate of 3.2 percent, whhich is considered full employment. However, middle-income workers are increasingly pushed into low-wage jobs. Many of them in turn are displacing lower-skilled, low-income workers, who become unemployed or are forced to work fewer hours. Based on employment-to-population ratios, which are seen as a reliable gauge of the labor market, the employment disparity between rich and poor households remains at the highest levels in more than a decade, the period for which comparable data are available. Last year the average length of unemployment for U.S. workers reached 39.5 weeks, the highest level since World War II. The duration of unemployment has since edged lower to 36.5 weeks based on data from January to July, still relatively high historically. Economists call this a "crowding out" in the labor market, a domino effect that pushes out lower-income workers, pushes median income downward and contributes to income inequality. Because many mid-skill jobs are being lost to globalization and automation, recent U.S. growth in low-wage jobs has not come fast enough to absorb displaced workers at the bottom.