Our company recently had a major "staff reductions". We were told that the company cut deeper than they needed to so that we wouldn't have to do lay-offs again later on. Perhaps many other company are doing the same, thus adding to the unemployment number?

Hi,

How about the #'s of folks that are coming off the unemployment benefits? Hey are still unemployed!

Shouldn't these #'s be kept in the unemployment #'s

Wouldn't be great if you didn't get penalized by Unemployment by going back to school!!!

I was laid off in October. First time ever at 57 years old. I got a new job in January, hated that one and landed another one in May, which I love. I am making about the same amount of money as I was making before.

After over a year out of work, my husband found a job 50 miles away and making less than he had been prior to the recession. The good news is that he genuinely loves the job, although it's an opportunity he never would have considered had it not been for recession.

Please consider being a news source for Southern California Public Radio:

If you'd like to share your layoff story with the KPCC newsroom, here's the link: www.tinyurl.com/SCPR-layoffs

And if you're already dealing with the unemployment office, we'd like to know how efficient and responsive they are. Share what you know: www.tinyurl.com/scpr-edd

On Sept 1, I had four investors and kicking off a style magazine. On Sept 20 - immediately after the Lehman Brothers meltdown - I had no investors. Nobody wanted to be left holding the bag - and I was OOB (officially out of business). It has taken me until now to rebuild enough freelance clients to count as a "living" - but it is really tough. Clients want my advice, my work, my skills - but they do not want to pay too much. In terms of real dollars - I am earning half what I was making last year. Sadly... there's not much hope that I will be whole again very soon.

Jo (prev. comment) is onto something. Some employeers take advantage of economic downturns to "dump" unwanted employees on the job market when poor performance manaement practices have not prepared them to manage staffing needs well. Having failed to document and encourage needed performance imprevement thus hampering thier freedom to move unproductive staff off their payroll, they hide behind the headlines and base their actions on fiscal necessity. If there really are budget constraints, so much the better. At the private Univeristy where I worked for 30 years, I think they loved these down-turns. Amazing how they rarely got around to dismissing the ineffective managers! They should at least get pretty poor marks in "citizenship".

Hi,

Unfortunately, I am one of the many who were laid off unexpectedly in June. My unemployment checks have not arrived yet, the scheduled an interview with me next week. I worked in the education industry and will go back to school in the fall to start a masters program.
I appreciate the advice from your guest because going back to school involves making a financial sacrifice, but I do agree that it is worth it in the long run. So my husband and I will have to watch our expenses for the next two years.
Thanks.

I am getting more hours (over time) then ever. My work is busier then it has been in years.
I work at a homeless shelter

Hi

I moved to LA 2 years ago. I got a temp job which lasted for a year and then got another temp job from Dec 08 to April 09. I've been unemployed since then.

I was getting unemployment and decided to go back to school, but then my unemployment stopped so I dropped out.

I don't have a degree and suffer from major depression which my employment situation is compounding. It is all I can do to get out of bed in the morning. I don't know which way to turn or how to get myself out of this situation.

Regarding previous comment- Neil there are some school/training programs that unemployment will pay you to get. Check them out. It is hard, good luck.
. http://www.edd.ca.gov/Jobs_and_Training/Job_Seekers_Individuals.htm

How does the issue of votebots (computer programs specifically written to 'vote down' or 'vote up' something) figure in the whole ratings issue?

On-Line slander by competitors is a problem, but so is overly laudatory reviews by owners of businesses themselves.

Product reviews and business/establishment reviews are very different reviews. Yes, you either need to be very happy or very displeased to 'waste' your time to share it with others.

I must disagree with the author of the ratings article that a prudent consumer must necessarily "throw out the extremes." The real question on a one-star review of, say, a restaurant, is: Why? What reason does the author of the negative post give for being negative? Does it make sense, in your opinion? The same applies to five-star reviews...the fake ones are usually quite obvious, in my opinion, whether extreme or "in the middle." And, who really wants to go to a "middle of the road" restaurant anyway?

Dont forget the "community" aspcets of a site like Yelp. If you use the site regularly you get to know the other reviewers, who they are, what they like, what are their pet peeves. It really helps to velidate the reviews of a place to see them against the review of someone who has given a proved reliable review before.

Also...you can see the number of reviews written by any reviewer and even see the distribution of stars that that reviewer has given.

I like yelp. For so long the rule of thumb has been "Let The Buyer Beware". Well...we are being aware.

I suggest that we lay off more government employees.

I have little sympathy for most (and this is a big generalization) government employees, and hearing about their protests regarding work furlows really gets me upset. In my profession (I am essentially a mediator between the government and their contractors), I have observed that most government employees have no sense of fiscal responsibility or motivation to be excellent. This is a slap in the face to anyone coming from the extremely competitive private sector.

Of course government employees feel that they are being singled out and that they are hard working individuals, but their perspective is biased. The typical bureuacracy at just the City level is rediculously ineffecient. They waste tons of money and worst is that there is no reason to change. The typicall employee has long forgotten about what it takes to compete for employment, and especially to continue to compete for promotion.

The gov helped us all into the current situation and unfortunately that gov and all their employees now need to pay for their errors. They have gotten away with too much for too long. I want to clarify that it is not any one individuals fault, but there is really no rewards system to keep them motivated. Worse, if they are more effecient (generally and fiscally), then they are essentially punished. As an example, if it takes 2 people to do a job, and despite hardship you get it done with 1 person. Then you are expected to get it done with 1 person from thereon. The lesson is don't work too hard. Another example is that if it takes 100 dollars to pave a street, but you manage to find some effecienceies and get it done for 80. then you will have to fight to get the 100 dollars. The kick is that if the gov needs more than 2 people and more than 100, they will get the resources. Again, the lesson is that if you are efficient you are punished and if you are wastefull you will be rewarded. This type of management would never last in the private sector and subsequently gov employees are not typically good workers.

In contrast, there are perfectly capable people who would jump through hoops right now just to get ANY job. It is infuriating to see these people really struggling when gov employees are keeping their jobs (which also provide benefits i.e. medical) and all they need to do is take a couple of days off.

If the US GOV were to become a business corporation, I would wager that the board of directors would clean house and lay off a large percentage of the workforce.

Because the gov is partially responsible, and it's employees are extremely inefficient, I would like to see them take the hit for the budget.

BTW-
If the banks get paid interest to cash the IOU's, does anybody who receives them get interest as well? Also, per CA codes, interest to be paid on undisputed debts is 6%. How do they justify changing it?