Link: http://whistlecorps.com/blog/

We’re in month four of our unemployment experience. The job market in our area is, well, weak would be the kind and quickest descriptor.

What’s behind that small talk term, “weak job market”? Well, what lies behind affects us all, including you, even if your name is still written on a payroll somewhere.

Here’s how Mike and I are experiencing this jobless recovery: first, there are very few jobs available. The weekly threshold for collecting unemployment insurance in Virginia is two job contacts. We actually have trouble making that quota for jobs based here or in any realistically commutable distance from here. Pathetic, but not surprising.

Second, salaries are down, down, down. Here in Charlottesville, we’re facing the prospect of earning what we did in our first jobs out of college (circa 1991). Local companies seeking experienced, qualified individuals in our industry are offering $12-15 p/hour. Those aren’t just cost center jobs, either; we’re looking at that wage level for profit-generating positions.

Third, a full-time job is hard to find and harder to hold. Most companies have reclassified positions under that golden PT mantle. Work 30-hours a week and we don’t owe you (1) a real salary (2) benefits or (3) a commitment. This is happening across the hiring board: from small business (where necessity is in the driver’s seat) to large corporations (where “bottom-line” grips the wheel).

And yet, land one of these low-wage part-time jobs and you’re officially off the unemployment rolls – your number gets deducted from that scary statistic we hear every month, the one that momentarily affects trading on Wall Street. So, there you are, working 15-hours a week, netting about $175, but things are looking up because unemployment is headed down.

Real unemployment is the real issue. Look at this report by the United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Statistics. It puts the number of total unemployed “plus all marginally attached workers, plus total employed part-time for economic reasons” at 17.5% for October, 2009. Now that’s more like what we’re experiencing.

And, hey, that’s the number that’s coming for you, unemployed or no. The average American worker has been devalued to such a degree – their welfare swapped out for dividends (go ahead, try to disprove it) – we’re left with a labor force that’s been hollowed out like Swiss cheese, fine lace or Dick Cheney’s moral compass.

What about American expertise? I know too many experienced workers who are hiding under whatever first opportunity came their way. And so much the better if they didn’t have to sell their 20-year experience for that $12 an hour salary.

What about American ingenuity? Where there is no real contract between company and worker, there is no real incentive to invent. For this, I look back to Mike's time at giant-not-to-be-named telecom: he knew, from the day he was hired, that layoff was inevitable. Hard work? Talent? Reputation? These don't factor. It's difficult, for any worker faced with that reality, to fend off the "Oh, what's the point?" blues.

We’ve gutted our labor force, in very simple, very human terms that everyone can understand. Economic recovery? It comes down to food on the table. It comes down to individual pride. And, somewhere buried deep in all the “lies, damned lies and statistics” (love you, Sam Clemens!) – there is the truth that it’s time for the average American worker to divest of his addiction to corporate culture and apply her ingenuity to establishing real and enduring means of self-reliance.

I’ve learned a few good tricks, where that last matter is concerned. Ah, yes! There are no bad times without good lessons learned. We always lived lean in this household, but now we're learning to live smart.

Banking, healthcare and tax planning tips next time.