Well, the defining movement of the 21st century has finally caught up with me. For the first time in a long, journalistic career I find myself without a job. Hence the title of this blog, which by the way is a rip-off of the 2010 book, The Adventures of Unemployed Man by authors Erich Origen and Gan Golan.
It was a layoff that got me.
What can you really say when it is not just you laid off, but a whole group of journalists? The upside is you can be reasonably sure you did not do anything wrong or at least that is what they tell you. It’s just simple economics, a restructuring to make the company stronger, they say. As if a stronger company that does not include you has any value or interest to those being walked out the door.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, an additional 80,000 jobs were added in October 2011, but the unemployment rate was little changed and remained at 9 percent.
“Both the number of unemployed persons (13.9 million) and the unemployment rate (9.0 percent) changed little over the month. The unemployment rate has remained in a narrow range from 9.0 to 9.2 percent since April,” according to the BLS.
In a nation of 300-plus million, 80,000 jobs will not change the overall picture, especially when there are a total of 13.9 million unemployed. In Connecticut (where I live), the unemployment rate is 8.9 percent, so I suppose I should feel better than someone in Mississippi where the unemployment stands at 10.6 percent.
I don’t.
But at least if the stories, reports and are true, perhaps all is not lost. Or is it? What really happens when a 58-year-old journalist/writer finds themselves beating the pavement? Is there hope after dismissal? Is experience a valued commodity or is the journalistic world now the dominium of the $22,000-a-year-just-out-of-college-will-work-for-pizza candidate? Is there even any pavement? Well, in the next several months I hope to find out. And, I hope to hear from others in the same situation.
The unexpected journey begins.
Sharp looking blog, Jim. Well done. I think your comment about the "$22,000-a-year-just-out-of-college-will-work-for-pizza candidate" is spot on, and it's probably only a matter of time before they are replaced with unpaid interns.
Matt Brown
Posted by: Matt Brown | November 21, 2011 at 02:47 PM