Where are you getting your statistics???

I am so sick & tired of hearing people tell me how unemployment is down. I'm sick to death of people asking me why I'm having such a hard time finding a job when I seem to have such a great resume!

First of all... unemployment is not "down"... people are just falling off the rosters! In November I was counted as one of the unemployed of the nation. I was receiving unemployment benefits & therefore I was a statistic. My friend & former co-worker, "B", who lost her job just weeks after me (fuck office "restructuring" in it's proverbial ass!) chose not to file & therefore was not a statistic. She was just as unemployed as I was, yet she was not counted among "the unemployed"... she was not one of the numbers you hear about on the news.

In December I got a job. I was workin, on average, about 25-30 hours per week. This meant that I was still receiving a little bit of unemployment money because I was making far less than I had been previously. By the end of January I received a better job offer, so I quit that job. The better job turned out to be a crock of shit & after 4 days I was let go because they needed me to run all over town for them & I didn't have a car... they didn't bother to ask me this in the interview or inform me that it was a requirement for the job. So... here I am, unemployed again... only this time I am not a statistic!

In February I lost my unemployment benefits because I quit my job to pursue another one. You can't receive unemployment if you quit (with the exception of a few very good reasons). I February I lowered the unemployment rate for my area when I fell off the rosters. But wait... I'm still just as unemployed as I was the day before!

Everyday people quit jobs for good reason, get laid off & choose not to file, or get fired for just cause & therefore are deemed uneligible for benefits. These people are not counted as being among "the unemployed". Unemployment statistics are based on the number of people receiving unemployment benefits. NOT AN ACCURATE STATISTIC!!!

Now... let's talk about the second part... why I can't get a job. More & more people are educated these days. Whether it be a college degree or a trade school certificate, people have come to realize the value of education. In my field, medical administration, education usually comes in the form of a trade school certificate. I am not one of those people. My skills come from over 10 years of just doing it. Learning  & advancing from within. I am damn good at what I do & well worth the $15+ per hour that I am accustomed to receiving for my work. Unfortunately, with more & more people graduating from these trade schools every day with just a few classes under their belts & little to no experience, it makes it harder & harder for someone like me to find a decent paying job.

Most of these new graduates have never worked or have worked jobs in fast food or retail. Most have made, on average, $8-9 per hour. Employers like these people because they can get away with paying them $10/hr & they are happy to receive it. They have just enough training to make them easy to train further & they are happy to have a job doing something that they feel is more valuable to society than where they came from. This is their career path.

I have topped out in my field. I have very valuable skills, but I come with a high price tag. Many employers see my resume, their impressed, but they don't even want to interview me because they know just by looking at my experience that I am worth more than they want to pay. They'll look at the new graduates first.

This is only compounded by the fact that there just aren't that many jobs to go around. My local Sunday paper has, on average, 4 pages worth of jobs each week! And at least 1/4 of that is filled up with large picture ads that take up big chunks of the page! With so few jobs & so much competition, employers can afford to be pickier. They can hold out for that person willing to work for less. They can wait for someone who can give them all of their time & work a flexible schedule & not need set hours each week.

Oh... did I mention why I lost my job to begin with? I made the most! The new manager was told to cut costs... I had the highest salary (just under hers) & she knew I had been up for her position before she was hired. The quickest way to cut costs was to cut me! Why pay me $15/hr when she can take over 1/2 my duties herself & hire a temp to come in for $9 to do the rest?

Pitches