[criticalmass]

I just lost mine and I figured why not see if others are losing theirs as well?
I'm guessing this will become more frequent in the coming months are our economy spirals out of control. In August I was ridiculed for predicting double-digit unemployment in the US by May. Not that I'm happy to add to that statistic, but I just did.

[blukatzen]

Sorry to hear of your job loss. What are your plans after the holidays? What industry are you in?

Don't forget the job board here in PeakOil.com, we may put that to work more often now.

Chin up!

Blu

[emersonbiggins]

I've lost my job (in architecture) last month, and there have been several dozen more layoffs across firms within the last month, about 300 by my count here in Dallas alone thus far. I'm just looking for the bottom, b/c the ongoing bleeding is only making things worse, from a jobs perspective. I've had a couple of interviews, but definitely nothing firm. Most architecture firms are throwing out January 1st as a date for the end of their hiring freezes, but I see nothing magical about that date.

Oh well, good luck with your job hunt! (definitely file for unemployment as well!)

[criticalmass]

There may be some Colorado front range people to network with on here.
I guess I'd be more excited for a new opportunity if the economy were better. That's why I posted, I wanted a bit of a pulse from other PO'ers on what they've experienced in thier localities.

[POAlex]

Sorry to hear that CM. Hang in there.

Here, Nortel seems to be teetering on the verge of bankruptcy.

Alex

[uNkNowN ElEmEnt]

Sorry to hear you are on the outs. I hope you find something better soon. I was talking to an ex-b/f today and foudn out the trucking company he worked for shut down. He said the bank pretty much took 15 or 16 trucks and closed them up.

Its weird how it can feel like you've just been dislocated (as if you were an apendage or something.)

[ReverseEngineer]

So far I haven't seen much in the way of job loss up here. There is some scuttlebutt about Rig Shutdowns and a Hiring Freeze up on the Slope, but its just rumour at the moment. I have a friend who recently applied for a job up on the Slope, he is looking to make more money though he is currently employed. He told me he ill hear on Monday whether he has a job up there or not for the Winter Rig he applied for.

The only place I have heard of problems is in the Car Dealerships with some of the Salesmen who haven't been able to sell and make most of their income on Commission. Otherwise the Local Economy seems to be puttering along quite normally. About all the local economy however is driven by the money made up on the Slope and the Military. With Oil prices this low, its tough to imagine how they can maintain profitability in the rigs on the Slope, and if they start to shut down, the whole economy around here would collapse around it.

My guess would be however that the Oil Companies are currently flush enough to keep some rigs running and a skeleton force up there while the prices are low. A complete shutdown up there this year seems unlikely, but ya never know.

Meanwhile Road and Building construction went on as usual all through the summer months, and guys I know in the road biz are bidding on contracts for next year. None of the Banks up here have closed or been taken over by the FDIC as of yet.

My job for the moment seems secure. I am 1-2 levels down in the economy, I derive my income from the money made by parents on the slope or parents in the military or parents who work in the Tourist Industry, or from people who work to support any of those three industries. It won't be until after these folks start losing their jobs that my job goes in jeopardy.

I don't think the Military will abandon Alaska in the next year, so even if the Slope shuts down there still will be something going on here, but if the Slope slows down in any major way we will be hurting in every sector of the local economy. At the moment though, still no sign in the local economy that anything is wrong, other than the large number of For Sale signs that were up all summer on homes around here. Mostly these are second homes for people from the lower 48. Most of the For Sale signs are taken down now as nothing sells even in good times in the winter here. I would guess the Real Estate people are taking a beating, but I don't know anybody in this business up here.

Its going to be interesting how it develops when people here start losing jobs. Many I think will actually abandon Alaska thinking they can find something down in the Lower 48. Many people came here JUST because of high paying jobs on the Slope, if those are not available they won't want to stay in this climate. Most of my friends though won't leave, they are long term Alaskans. If more people leave, that is good. It leaves more Moose and more Salmon for those of us who stay.

Reverse Engineer

[Nefarious]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('cbxer55', ' ')"The situation is bleak at this time!"

[Ludi]

There's a great deal to be said for staying put where you are comfortable and have family. Personally, I would also put that ahead of moving to a new location for a job. Who knows how secure the new job would be? Probably not very secure these days.

[Nefarious]

I can respect the decision you made now that you provided more information. Before it sounded more like just you didn't want to move.
Best of luck in finding a new job and hope things improve for you. Family is important and can be a rock to lean against in times of necessity.
I made my decision years ago and moved away from the family following my job. I see them once in every 4 or 5 years. It's ok for me, it suits my disposition.

[Sixstrings]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'S')omeone who wants to stay employed while unemployment continues to rise .....maybe? You didn't state that it was uneconomical to move only that you didn't want to. I am going on that pretext alone.

[Nefarious]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Sixstrings', 'A')re we to all become nomads, migrant workers, Oakies.. forever transfering, relocating, shuffling from town to town lookin for work?

[Sixstrings]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'C')ompared to what? Staying in one location where there is no work at all. You do what you have to do in order to survive the situation you're in at present.

[vision-master]

Normally by this time of year I get happy letters from my pension plans with good news on COLA increases for the comming year. This year, nothing. The Public (City Plan) is going to merge with the State plan in order to stay solvent. That's the only news I've heard so far.

[Nefarious]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'M')y point is that the economy can very well go bust in the new location, and then you find yourself alone there with *no* extended family network.

[vision-master]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('cbxer55', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Ludi', 'T')here's a great deal to be said for staying put where you are comfortable and have family. Personally, I would also put that ahead of moving to a new location for a job. Who knows how secure the new job would be? Probably not very secure these days.

[Ludi]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Nefarious', 'W')hat do you do when one day you are going out to ask for help from the extended family network and you bump in to them on their way to your house to ask you for help?

[criticalmass]

Coincidently, I'm looking at relocating to a pretty good growing locale with friends and family nearby and trying to change careers completely. I just can see sitting in a large city where I hardly know anyone while "Rome" burns and I've got nowhere else to turn. There's strength in numbers, but it's no good to be on the wrong end.
This whole thing could end up being what saves myself and my fiance.

[emeraldg40]

$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('Sixstrings', '')$this->bbcode_second_pass_quote('', 'S')omeone who wants to stay employed while unemployment continues to rise .....maybe? You didn't state that it was uneconomical to move only that you didn't want to. I am going on that pretext alone.

[criticalmass]

Not looking so good out here. Not unless you want to sell on straight comission and cold-call all day long. Sales is about the only job title out there en-masse right now. That and nurses.