Unemployment follow up

[mdabusufian]

Thanks I want to follow your advice.

[tobee43]

Back when my hubby did contract work, he was in demand for his expertise and had headhunters beating down out door all the time. He traveled the world for a major company once so you can imagine our income at one time with me also working. Anyway, when the tech bust hit at the same time of the merger in which he lost his job, he would have had to move overseas to even come anywhere near what he was making before and no one was hiring anyone in his field during the tech bust period. With contract work there is no severence so we started to drown fast when he could not quickly find a job. We used up all savings and then stupidly on bad advice at that time used his 401(k) and to this day kick ourselves for that, for trying not to have to file BK. We managed to get by for over a year and then have to file.

flamingo...we did the exact and i mean EXACT same thing....cashed in our 401's....and i so sorry for that now!

we were more fortunate than most since my husband had taken an "early" out in his state job....they gave him 5 years and health insurance for live...when i figured it out we were actually making $42 more weekly!! so of course we jumped on it...problem was he was young so he began another career and was also in high demand in his field. but now, more because of his age, people won't even give his resume a second look....

and....we are also STILL kicking ourselves....i think now...we could have NOW cashed in that 401 and purchased a nice little house here in florida....so much for bad decisions...we just have to move on.

good news for our "new year" is the owner of this house is going to do owner financing and we are in contract.....it took a ton of convincing LOL!! but he went for it, since we all know nothing is selling in florida ...or really anywhere else for that matter. it's a win win for us and the owner.

flamingo, did your hubby ever find another job????? we ended up filing "early" ss....and now with our small pensions can make it, but i'd rather go to work!

[Flamingo]

actually, you have a point there fallon....since the with the contractors at least where we came from were not issued any benefits so they were more likely to keep the contractor as opposed to their (the companies own employee)....however, it sounds like in the case of flamingo and myself both of our husbands were making too much money....so most likely they were replaced with the new companies "higher" ups who were at different locations...at least that's what happened to us.

Back when my hubby did contract work, he was in demand for his expertise and had headhunters beating down out door all the time. He traveled the world for a major company once so you can imagine our income at one time with me also working. Anyway, when the tech bust hit at the same time of the merger in which he lost his job, he would have had to move overseas to even come anywhere near what he was making before and no one was hiring anyone in his field during the tech bust period. With contract work there is no severence so we started to drown fast when he could not quickly find a job. We used up all savings and then stupidly on bad advice at that time used his 401(k) and to this day kick ourselves for that, for trying not to have to file BK. We managed to get by for over a year and then have to file.

[Ifonly]

I agree with you on this but what long-term folks on unemployment may need to consider is if they cannot find anything in their former expertise/field, it's time to go back to school and change careers/fields. My hubby is in the process of that now and is in his third career change at age 58. He was a Senior UNIX Engineer when laid off 2/01, could not find anything in a year's time and became a sales manager for several years in a national chain store which filed BK and still has some stores open but all area stores are closed here so his last day was March of 2010. There is nothing out there so he is taking some medical courses on the advice of some friends in the field where he could get his foot in the door (he previously worked early in his career in pharmaceuticals/lab).

Many have to consider going back to school and changing careers cause when the unemployment dries up, where is the money going to come from if one cannot retire? What about benefits and health insurance and what happens if one gets ill? Many will have to consider moving in with family/children or having family/children move in with them to keep the house afloat if there is a house involved. Bad long-term scenario here and a big eye opener for many.

Agree with you dependent on people's circumstance. If I were the sole bread winner in the household, I would take the pay cut, consider different venues, whatever it took. In my case, since I'm the secondary income with two children who are too young to be on their own, we have other factors to consider such as day care, increased tax bracket, etc. If I could get tuition assistance, I would still need a sitter. If I take a pay cut to the extent corporations now desire, I actually lose money after factoring in commute, day care and increased tax burden. I'm fortunate that I have a skill that I can attempt to translate into my own business which is what I'm currently working on. It's tough to have the capital for business development in a CH13! I've kept my advertising simple at this point and I hand out business cards like candy. I'm hoping that the few client projects I've had thus far generate positive word of mouth for tax season.

[tobee43]

True. I was eligible for the initial 26 weeks of UC. But financially ineligible for the extensions. Not good at all

yes, it certainly is confusing....it was only because we had no long employment one 15 years...one 30 years...one 13 years..etc. that we had enough in our "fund" to collect....or for EI to pull from...which was the way it was explained to us.

[chicagoannie]

That is one of the MOST confusing things about UI to most people. You can be financially eligible without being actually eligible. And you can be actually eligible (fact of termination) without being financially eligible (what happened to your friend).
.

True. I was eligible for the initial 26 weeks of UC. But financially ineligible for the extensions. Not good at all

[tobee43]

My company is just the opposite, they let go of the direct hire employees and keep the contractors. They have decided that it is cheaper to keep the $10 contracted employee then the direct hire employee.

actually, you have a point there fallon....since the with the contractors at least where we came from were not issued any benefits so they were more likely to keep the contractor as opposed to their (the companies own employee)....however, it sounds like in the case of flamingo and myself both of our husbands were making too much money....so most likely they were replaced with the new companies "higher" ups who were at different locations...at least that's what happened to us.

[Fallonedward]

My company is just the opposite, they let go of the direct hire employees and keep the contractors. They have decided that it is cheaper to keep the $10 contracted employee then the direct hire employee.

Contract people are always the first to go whenever there is a take over or merger. That is what occurred with us when my hubby lost his job due to a merger and his entire department went (all contracted employees). He was making mega bucks and we lost 70% of our income. Could not recover, filed one year later. Sometimes it just does not pay to be contract as it is risky but pays well and you also need to be covered under someone else's benefits as none are provided with contract work. The OP was right to think it out and not take the position.

[tobee43]

Contract people are always the first to go whenever there is a take over or merger. That is what occurred with us when my hubby lost his job due to a merger and his entire department went (all contracted employees). He was making mega bucks and we lost 70% of our income. Could not recover, filed one year later. Sometimes it just does not pay to be contract as it is risky but pays well and you also need to be covered under someone else's benefits as none are provided with contract work. The OP was right to think it out and not take the position.

sound like our husband blazed the same trail....not a happy time for certain.

actually the company he worked for...the "contracting" company had numerous large corp. account...like mtv....other pharmaceuticals, major computer corps...but ALL were laying off people. there are some that kept their jobs during the merger....the "lower" paying positions...they were swallowed up by the new contractors as it was easier and more cost effective to keep those familiar with the systems of the company....it appears the top gets hit first, which makes good business sense as it's the most money and of course, the new companies what THEIR people in those positions. my husband's position was replaced by a vice president...most likely making in the high 6 figures salaries...

so i suppose you husband has had a most difficult time replacing his position...thus far we have been totally out of luck.

[Flamingo]

Oops, no, typo, sorry! I just realized I wrote, "worked". I should have said, "so, I would work...." meaning I never accepted any of those interviews because I didn't want to put myself into that situation - where I could bust my butt, have the contract end, and then not even have UI as a stop gap, especially since the court based our 13 payments on my UI payments.

That's awful about your husband. I see this more and more frequently in my line of work. What people don't realize is that it is no longer "dead weight" or "under-educated" folks being let go and unable to find other employment. It is is incredibly experienced, educated people who, actually, do contribute a great deal. They companies simply decide that they can fill that level of expertise more cheaply and so what if the job is only done half as well? It is the "penny wise, pound foolish" way of new American business; or the "hey, it's good enough" mentality. I can't tell you how many laws my last part time employer was breaking (my little part time gig I had until this past June). They simply didn't care because they didn't get caught and, if they did, a slap on the wrist and they would go right back to breaking the law. I love it when I read random comments on the internet that the unemployed need better job training and need to go back to school. Yeah, so I can have a third degree to be overqualified with. And the advice to dumb down your resume? Even if I were willing to lie (which I'm not), how do I hide the fact that I was a Controller/CFO and then the Sr. VP of Finance for almost a decade? I'd have to ERASE my resume, LOL.

I agree with you on this but what long-term folks on unemployment may need to consider is if they cannot find anything in their former expertise/field, it's time to go back to school and change careers/fields. My hubby is in the process of that now and is in his third career change at age 58. He was a Senior UNIX Engineer when laid off 2/01, could not find anything in a year's time and became a sales manager for several years in a national chain store which filed BK and still has some stores open but all area stores are closed here so his last day was March of 2010. There is nothing out there so he is taking some medical courses on the advice of some friends in the field where he could get his foot in the door (he previously worked early in his career in pharmaceuticals/lab).

Many have to consider going back to school and changing careers cause when the unemployment dries up, where is the money going to come from if one cannot retire? What about benefits and health insurance and what happens if one gets ill? Many will have to consider moving in with family/children or having family/children move in with them to keep the house afloat if there is a house involved. Bad long-term scenario here and a big eye opener for many.

[Flamingo]

ifonly...so you were with one of the pharmaceuticals in nj as a contract employee??? oh i know that one.......well my husband was with the one company that got purchased.....and he was one of the first laid off because he was a contracted..... contracted employee.......LOL!!!!!!!! in other words he worked for a company hired by the pharmaceuticals as contractors for that area of expertize... of course when the other company was going to take over they had their own contract company....although since my husband was the "top" person...he went first since he had the highest salary...he had been there 15 years....but before that was with the state for over 30 years...so EU had a few places to draw from for him....

Contract people are always the first to go whenever there is a take over or merger. That is what occurred with us when my hubby lost his job due to a merger and his entire department went (all contracted employees). He was making mega bucks and we lost 70% of our income. Could not recover, filed one year later. Sometimes it just does not pay to be contract as it is risky but pays well and you also need to be covered under someone else's benefits as none are provided with contract work. The OP was right to think it out and not take the position.

[tobee43]

i really think it's more the banks that control everything...........


look obama baled them out before he took a pee at the whitehouse....that move insured mr. obama the banks in his pocket for the next election....banks...equal MONEY....money in this country means CONTROL....

money flows in people's hands the economy gets a face lift people buy and pend...resulting in more jobs for goods...etc...the basic laws of economics....MONEY TALKS...MONEY is the core....who has the MONEY???

[shark66]

Well, the government is pretty much owned by the same special interests who moved their workforce from U.S. to Far East and what not...and Republican vs. Democrat doesn't make any difference in this particular case...in my opinion, that is...

I was unemployed for several months back in 2003 and it sucked from way too many aspects...so I feel the pain of everyone who's in that spot and worried about their future...

Good luck to all.

[discouraged]

I just really wonder what is going to happen to all of us. How can the government seriously jepardize the welfare of the many of us who have worked all our lives? Now that we are 'baby boomers', the rug has been pulled out from under us. So many of us over the 'wanted' age (whatever that may be) and not close enough to retirement. It is a sad, sad situation that OUR government is allowing this to happen.

I just read an article this week about the many corporations who are thriving - because their employees are overseas. Yes, I know we all know this has been happening for years, but WHY is our government allowing it? Just makes me mad.

[tobee43]

(VIDEO)

by Amanda Hara

SMYRNA, Tenn. - If you are collecting unemployment benefits, you'd better keep reading.

The extension President Obama signed may not apply to you.

After 13 years with Whirlpool, James Johnson learned the plant was shutting down and that his job was over. That was two years ago.

Johnson's been drawing unemployment for 99 weeks, and thought the new piece of legislation would extend the help.

Like so many others, Johnson misunderstood what the extension really means.

"Individuals who had already received the maximum number of weeks of eligibility would not qualify for any additional benefits," Don Ingram with the Department of Labor said.

Before the new legislation was signed, federal unemployment would have run out last month. The extension continues it for another year, but only for people who have been getting help for less than 99 weeks.

"I can certainly understand why everyone was confused," Ingram said.

Ingram said not everyone qualifies for the maximum of 99 weeks. The number of weeks of eligibility is determined by the claimant's earnings during their Base Period.

With no money coming in, Johnson said he'll fall back on what he knows best: performing music.

For folks currently enrolled in unemployment benefits who haven't exhausted their 99 weeks, there is no need to re-apply.

Email: [email protected]


http://www.newschannel5.com/story/13...-confuses-many

this is an excellent explanation of the bill...how at least how it works...

and that is what we thought as well...we were just confused because we personally were just ending our 2nd tier and were going to enter the 3rd....we also know we now have a 4th...and that will bring us to the full 99 weeks...but after that...it's done...finished...hopefully, however, doubtfully we may find jobs by then....but it doesn't look good for us...even when we lie on our resumes...