Sounds like Atlanta when I used to live there...
Are times depressionesque in your corner of the Earth?
- Thread starter Seraphim
- Start date
Sounds like Atlanta when I used to live there...
It's not terribly noticeable here in Ottawa, honestly. We are a government town, though, so that means that things tend to tick onwards no matter what, since a very significant percentage of the population has a fair bit of job security.
As for me personally, I'm a student, so I'm poor either way.
As for me personally, I'm a student, so I'm poor either way.
G
Garrovick
Guest
My County's unemployment rate is currently about 2.5 percent. There more job openings than there are people looking for work IAW the newspaper. I didn't browse the list so I'm not sure what those jobs are. Most are probably tied to retail. I know of two local fast food places that closed because of a lack of employees. One new store has yet to open due to a lack of applicants.
And as a General Contractor slash carpenter, for me things like new and rebuilt decks and fences have kept me busy the last several months. There is a lot of road work too, but that's way beyond my capabilities.
And as a General Contractor slash carpenter, for me things like new and rebuilt decks and fences have kept me busy the last several months. There is a lot of road work too, but that's way beyond my capabilities.
There are cheaper alternatives to fast food...
It's similar here in DC, where the Federal Government is the company in this company town. And with the recent stimulus bill passed, I suspect the mountains of paperwork, bureaucracy and legal wrangling will keep us insulated for some time to come. A lot of non-gov jobs here are also recession proof, consisting primarily of educated professionals (there are seriously like two lawyers to every citizen) and related service work (office workers, etc).It's not terribly noticeable here in Ottawa, honestly. We are a government town, though, so that means that things tend to tick onwards no matter what, since a very significant percentage of the population has a fair bit of job security.
As for me personally, I'm a student, so I'm poor either way.
I myself, as an independent contractor/freelance designer, am only as insulated as I choose to be. I admit I haven't been putting in enough effort and have suffered for it, but I certainly don't feel the pain of those who suffer from things beyond their control.
Basically, unless the government collapses (a possibility I always consider plausible, if unlikely), this city and region will be okay.
A
Amaris
Guest
OMG yeah. Fast food is expensive, and all you're gonna get is a lot of salt.
Scotland's not so bad since our houses weren't overpriced to start with. Some big stores have disappeared from shopping malls but I think that's just about over with now. There is a lot of hot air about the two big Scottish banks royally messing up to the point of both being majority owned by the government now but because the government stepped in, the job losses haven't been so bad. It's going to be terrible for RBS employees in the rest of the world though.
Oddly enough because so many people work in the public sector and so many people were already on benefits, the impact has not been so terrible here.
Oddly enough because so many people work in the public sector and so many people were already on benefits, the impact has not been so terrible here.
Labour's strategy for avoiding their total destruction at the next election - keep people sufficiently wedded to the government teat.
Things won't be so easy for either group when the inevitable massive public spending cuts & tax rises to pay for the trillions of debt kicks in. Alongside the eventual interest rates to shore up sterling and pay off that debt. This is all just a temporary plaster over the gaping wound in the public finances.
Having said that, I'm also sucking pretty hard on that government teat too, since my NHS salary makes up about 60% of my income at the moment. Wish it was less, and I'm actively trying to branch out more but the current economic climate is certainly slowing that growth down a bit. It's also not fun seeing your long-term savings shrink in value.
Depression-esque? No, not near that yet. But certainly big recession-esque.
As others have already said, DC doesn't seem to be feeling it so bad. I'm not a government worker, though, so I wouldn't be so bold as to say my job is secure. It most definitely is not. My employer just announced very positive 4Q and yearly financial results, so that gives me a glimmer of hope that things won't change for me. Raises and bonuses are set to be announced to employees next week. However, my company likes to re-org every year (or sometimes every 6 months, depending on the mood of the EVPs running the joint). Jobs can be lost at any time. Right now I am just thankful to still be employed.
Not too bad where I am. I'm not in a boom/bust province and we have a fairly diversified economy. I think that there is enough built up demand for things in construction because of the over-inflated prices of the last few years to keep people busy here if prices come down. Even new home and car sales here haven't shrunk, people are still selling, though in a month rather than a week and there isn't as much in the way of over-bidding on houses either. Of course how things are for the people who were just scraping by, it is of course getting tougher. The appeals from the food banks and charity shops are increasing weekly now with more fund raising being directed to local needs than other places.
Where I am is fairly strongly government (all three levels) and Crown Corporation (government owned services) dominated with agriculture, mining and a little high-tech. We don't have major corporate HQ's where 500 or 1000 people might get drummed out in a week. We're not that major a center.
Unemployment is still low and because of our relatively substantial Icelandic community we're having immigration/trade missions there to see if we can recruit to keep things going here.
Things would have to get really really bad for another year or so to hit people as hard as other places that I've heard of. With a little bit of luck we'll be able to skirt around things collapsing and just be able to hold the line. When times were tough in Canada in the '80's we didn't suffer quite as badly as everyone else, just stagnated for a decade, but it did take longer for things to kick into gear once there was a recovery.
Where I am is fairly strongly government (all three levels) and Crown Corporation (government owned services) dominated with agriculture, mining and a little high-tech. We don't have major corporate HQ's where 500 or 1000 people might get drummed out in a week. We're not that major a center.
Unemployment is still low and because of our relatively substantial Icelandic community we're having immigration/trade missions there to see if we can recruit to keep things going here.
Things would have to get really really bad for another year or so to hit people as hard as other places that I've heard of. With a little bit of luck we'll be able to skirt around things collapsing and just be able to hold the line. When times were tough in Canada in the '80's we didn't suffer quite as badly as everyone else, just stagnated for a decade, but it did take longer for things to kick into gear once there was a recovery.
I won't be surprised how hard my area will be hit... We've lost Washington Mutual. Starbucks took a hit... Microsoft has laid off...
We're doing well here, the only sector that seems to have taken much of a hit is real estate. Fine by me, prices are STILL ridiculously high imho.
Pretty rough around this part of East-Tennessee. People I normally can count on for various contracts this time of year (promotional stuff for tourism boards, various little events, etc) are pulling back or just can't do it this year-- cutting into my money. And no one is really hiring around here at the moment, so scratch trying to find part-time work close to him-- looks like 45 minute drive one way might be the closest place that's got openings that might even talk to me.
I was in a meeting the other day, and the company had bill collectors calling. And you want awkward, try quoting someone a price when the utility company calls and says they're turning off the business's power that day if they don't pay their bill.
I was in a meeting the other day, and the company had bill collectors calling. And you want awkward, try quoting someone a price when the utility company calls and says they're turning off the business's power that day if they don't pay their bill.
The San Francisco Bay Area is not immune to the current economic crisis. I think we have one of the highest numbers of foreclosures in the country. Unemployment is up (my brother-in-law got laid off a couple of months ago and haven't had luck finding a job). Even California's state government is suffering (one of my sisters works for the CA Dept. of Health and has furloughs twice a month). Luckily for me, I still have a secure full-time job that pays well and gives great benefits, but even I'm feeling tight as evidenced by my other thread.
After being out of work for a year my dad is looking into a program that sets him up to be a teacher in the fall. With luck that'll go through. If not then it could get pretty damn tough, I'm not going to lie.
