I'm not really unemployed, I preffer the term "self-unemployed", but its been a really tough year. I'm running out of savings and it sucks! I started my cabinet shop in 2004. 04' wasn't great. 05' wasn't too bad. 06' was pretty damn good. 07' was rockin. 08' has been shite. Starting around this time last year things started to fall apart. A couple of really good jobs fell through, and its been all downhill since. I haven't done one single job this year that was either a decent size or had much profit in it.

I had one employee. Started him green, he was just getting good too, and I had to let him go. I was just starting to build steam, things were getting better, the jobs were getting better, and I was befinning to make pretty good money. I was building momentum, now I feel like I'm back where I was my second year, but not as single, or living as cheaply.

The only thing that has been good is that all of the cabinet shops around me are starving too. I still have very little debt, (truck payment and a mortgage thats all), and the business carries zero debt. All of the shops that have big debt are in serious trouble right now. Many have gone out of business and I've bought alot of equipment. Probably smart buying equipment cheap, probably not so smart burning up my reserve doing so.

I'm just pissed off and venting. Make that, poor, pissed off, and venting.

Carpenters in Iraq can make up to $15k a month though! Seriously considered it, its gotta be safer than working in DC, Philly, or Detroit

Yep; got credit Crunched out of my investment banking job in sept.

Now a part time Ski instructor. being an SI, will streach the redundancy out some more; but I think we have another 2 years(maybe) of dosh and then the poo hits the fan.....

Client I saw today who works for a large commercial fittings company here in Adelaide told me that his company is only just holding and haven't laid any staff of.... yet.

Karl
the trouble is, it's the companies with the big debts that have got us all in this mess. they will be the 1st ones to fold and disappear, so if you can keep your company going, or at least on show in the meantime - you will be there to benefit when things do get going.
the good thing about a trade like carpentry is that you can try to go out and find some work rather than sit and wait in a shop or on the end of a phone for someone to come and buy something.
One door closes and another opens somewhere

Paul [Carpenter/builder]

I think the situation in the UK is a lot worse than people are admitting. My wife lost her job earlier this year when the airline she worked for stopped trading. She won't appear on any of the lists of unemployed as I am working so she does not count. Loads more people are now employed on temporary contracts, lots of my friends have lost jobs in the auto industry and as they are contract staff so they won't count either.

Many people are too proud to register as unemployed, or will have lost a skilled job and taken an unskilled job just to get by, these kind of people won't count.

The other consequences you don't see are people who now have to work unsociable hours at the detriment of their family, I was talking to a guy yesterday who says his factory has to work Xmas day to meet orders, normally they would be able to turn down this kind of work but not now.

There is no doubt its tough out there.

Gareth

I appreciate the fact that people are having hard times....

However, I've worked more 16 hour days in the past 3 months than I care to admit. We're too busy, and keep getting more and more work from the pharma industry. We're expecting a lot of it to dry up next year as the annual budgets are cut from our clients' research funds - but we have plenty in backlog and non-competitive contracts.

We build production equipment for the food and beverage industry. We're fortunate to be doing quite well right now...we're actually breaking sales records and though we're trying to keep the belt tight in preparation for "what could happen", things are good. The company has no debt and we all feel pretty secure.

In some ways, for us, companies still need to manufacture products for people to eat and drink...and people are eating at home more now.

(a little sunshine for this thread I guess).

My brother works for Malt-O-Meal. They're having a good year as well.

... three pence from continental Europe: I have the feeling that my country (Germany) is talked into recession. Sure, the car industry and their suppliers are in trouble but this is mainly their own fault and would have occured sooner or later anyway. I personally don't know anybody who became unemployed this year or whose business runs on a critical level. 2008 was the best year my company (music industry) ever had - but if the media continues to paint everything that black, our ecomomy will follow soon ...

Our son-in-law works for a community college, and it is thriving right now. Enrollment is WAY up, because people cannot afford to go away to one of the big colleges. They are even constructing new buildings on the campus!

And here we have one of the root causes of the issue.

And apparently at least some sailors have some money, because:



It is hard to imagine how people can afford to bring their kids to Miami during the week between Christmas and New Year's for this regatta, when it is the highest-rental-rate time of the year in South Florida!

Education and food service are the big gainers in this economy.

People are retraining for new jobs and taking classes to improve their worth to their companies. One of my properties has an ITT Tech school as its only tenant. We just completed a $1.2M expansion for them. Their stock has gone from $42/share in April to $88/share today.

The best performing stocks I own right now are McDonalds and YUM! Brands (KFC, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut). People are cutting back on the "higher end" fast food (Applebees, Bennigans (now in Chapter 11), etc.) and going back to the "traditional" fast food.

It depends which sector of foodservice a person is employed in. Many independant restaurants are struggling as well as some chains. In the NE the ice storms last week shut many down for 6-12 dqys at a crucial time. my former restaurant has been without power for 8 days and the entire town is still out. As far as fast food goes, this truly does not say much if you believe that eating anything from there is remotely healthy.

How so, if she is signing-on, she is counted?



How so, if they are signing-on, they are counted?



Agreed.

My wife did not work over 40 hours and so is not signed on so does not count, The contractors work through limited companies, in order to sign on they have to disband the company, if they don't have a limited company they can't get more work, most people take crappy jobs to see them through.

Perhaps your ITT should have a chardioligist programm to meet all the demand your YUM brands will bring into that "industry".... lol

I don't even know what "YUM" is.

You're always welcome to come and eat Top Ramen with me Karl

J

YUM! Brands (KFC, Taco Bell, Pizza Hut)

YUM! Brands, Inc. (YUM) is a quick service restaurant (QSR) with over 35,000 units in more than 100 countries and territories. Through the five concepts of KFC, Pizza Hut, Taco Bell, LJS and A&W (the Concepts), the Company develops, operates, franchises and licenses a worldwide system of restaurants, which prepare, package and sell a menu of food items