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I'll also agree about not comparing todays numbers from the seventies. They count people diferently and also so many people now work as independent contractors even if they are working full time (so a company can not renew contracts but still not claim any layoffs.) Fewer people work for large businesses/companies now and as this drag on these smaller employers won't be able to ride out the storm as easily as large ones once did. Also South Carolina has a lot of people who are chronically undermeployed. Some people are floating through just fine but the person who only knows one lay-off and no people who are struggling has really been blessed.
It has even hit Kiawah- they are restructuring their restaurants at the hotel to get rid of the high end, set menu restaurant and spread the menus over narrower categories at the other dining rooms and the reopened main. I also know retailers who are absolutely being brutalized and just heard about another store closing on King and one in a nicer area of West Ashley that is pretty much on life support. The only office building I have enterred this year that doen't have vacant space is on Daniel Island. I can name several buildings that are sitting half empty. A lot of people are also very fearful of having the contracts their businesses hold maintained- or even fulfilled. Two friends work at a small softwear company that caters to almost entirely to university run hospitals and with budgets being slashed across the country they are very fearful of having projects delayed/suspended and clients simply putting off any new contract.
The good news is that if you do make it down here you will find a much better housing market for buyers.
I disagree with GAFLSC's statement that "We have a ways to go until we reach the same levels as we did during the '79-81 recession". Were you actually there or are you just looking at numbers?
We were there.. in our early 30's. My husband was a fuel injection engineer with Bendix, which back then was as big a German name as Bosch... both involved in Amer. auto parts mfg. And of course, in a recession they get hit from the get go. He was laid off and he found another job in a month. Our house sold about the same time. And within 6mo we ended up better off. Compared to today, it seems like an easy transition.
My point is.. the '79 recession didn't even come close to affecting the housing market or mortgage industry (with rates at 10%) nor all the small businesses or large businesses down the line like it is doing in today's times.
Nov 07, Bosch closed our plant down after buying it out a year earlier. My husband was unable to find employment and we lived on unemployment for a year until he had his stroke. I blamed Bosch of course.
I tend to agree more with Zuman, that the snowball is only halfway down the hill decimating just about everyone with it's ripple effect.
So don't try to convince me this is *nothing* compared to the '79 recession.
I'm not an economist, but my understanding is that you can't accurately compare headline unemployment in the 1980's to headline unemployment today. They keep changing how the number is calculated, so it is apples to oranges. I believe that December 2008's U6 unemployment figure is something like 13%, is it not?
Yes, the gov't (BLS) changed the way they calculate unemployment during the Clinton days. A website called shadow statistics shows current US unemployment at close to 18%. I personally do not trust the gov't data one bit and believe the Shadow Stats number to be more realistic. It includes U3 and U6.
My "opinion" is based on fact. We do not have double digit unemployment or double digit interest rates as we did during the late 70's-early 80's recession. Only recently has unemployment gone higher than the 2000 mini-recession! My desire to be an "a$$" as you say is merely to show others & the OP not to believe the hype that we're being constantly bombarded with by the media. Sure, things are down, but nowhere near where they've been before.
Just give it time if you don't believe how bad things really are.....you'll see.
Does anyone have any ideas on how to make things better? My DH is laying off 4 people in his dept. tomorrow. The other departments are laying off 15-20 people each tomorrow. I see the stress he is under and there is nothing I can do about it.
Does anyone have any ideas on how to make things better? My DH is laying off 4 people in his dept. tomorrow. The other departments are laying off 15-20 people each tomorrow. I see the stress he is under and there is nothing I can do about it.
I disagree with GAFLSC's statement that "We have a ways to go until we reach the same levels as we did during the '79-81 recession". Were you actually there or are you just looking at numbers?
We were there.. in our early 30's. My husband was a fuel injection engineer with Bendix, which back then was as big a German name as Bosch... both involved in Amer. auto parts mfg. And of course, in a recession they get hit from the get go. He was laid off and he found another job in a month. Our house sold about the same time. And within 6mo we ended up better off. Compared to today, it seems like an easy transition.
My point is.. the '79 recession didn't even come close to affecting the housing market or mortgage industry (with rates at 10%) nor all the small businesses or large businesses down the line like it is doing in today's times.
Nov 07, Bosch closed our plant down after buying it out a year earlier. My husband was unable to find employment and we lived on unemployment for a year until he had his stroke. I blamed Bosch of course.
I tend to agree more with Zuman, that the snowball is only halfway down the hill decimating just about everyone with it's ripple effect.
So don't try to convince me this is *nothing* compared to the '79 recession.
I was there in '79, thanks. Your experience was the exception, not the rule, as evidenced by the double digit unemployment, interest rates & runaway inflation. You came out ok. Millions of others didn't fare as well.
How do people who are laid off say afloat during these times? It seems impossible to keep pushing when there aren't any jobs to be had and bills are piling up.
Instead of starting a new thread I too am looking to move to Charleston, but from Ohio. I love the city and moved to Ohio from Charlotte so went to Charleston frequently. The winters up here are horrid and in need of some nice weather again. The job market doesn't seem to be that bad down here for professional careers from what I've looked at. I am an accountant and have been doing this now for about 9 years and have a Bachelors in Business Forensics (Fraud). Found some good leads in the government sector and some private companies as well. Any suggestions on where else to look as far as major companies are concerned?
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Were you there in the '79 recession?
