Sunday, September 06, 2009
Gauging the plight of the unemployed entails more than just examining statistics. According to a survey of those looking for work conducted by Rutgers University, the numbers alone paint a bleak picture, but once the personal feelings of the jobless are considered, the assessment turns heart wrenching.
Only 20% of those surveyed believe they will land a job in the next few months, and only 11% think they’ll get their old job back. Seventy-five percent are considering changing their career. When asked about their emotional states, the responses were: stressed (77%), depressed (68%), helpless (61%), and angry (55%).
Then, there are the personal testimonies on being unemployed:
“The lack of income and loss of health benefits hurts greatly, but losing the ability to provide for my wife and myself is killing me emotionally.”
“Everything I have built up over the past 15 years of my life is being chipped away.”
“I feel like I wasted my money going to school and still not being able to find a job.”
“My age (59) leaves me feeling worthless, very old, and isolated from the workforce—with little chance of finding employment.”
-Noel Brinkerhoff
The Anguish of Unemployment (by Arthur Delaney, Huffington Post)
Report: “The Anguish of Unemployment” (John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers University) (PDF)
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