Could we be facing the same 25% unemployment rate in the near future?? This is getting scary. But in the '30's people knew how to garden, can and preserve, and to actually cookmeals from scratch. and how to sew or patch clothing, and fix their car. We have lost many of skills that our grandparenrts used to survive the great depression.
Stu

A Case of Unemployment
The decade of the 1930s saw the Great Depression in the United States and many other countries. During this decade large numbers of people lived in poverty, desperately in need of more food, clothing, and shelter. Yet the resources that could produce that food, clothing, and shelter were sitting idle, producing nothing.

At the worst point of the Great Depression, in 1933, one in four Americans who wanted to work was unable to find a job. Further, it was not until 1941, when World War II was underway, that the official unemployment rate finally fell below 10%. This massive wave of unemployment hit before a food stamp program and unemployment insurance existed. There were few government programs designed to help the poor or those in temporary difficulty. Further, most wives did not work, so if the husband lost his job, all income for that household stopped. An equivalent rate of unemployment today would cause less economic hardship because of the variety of programs (often inspired by the Great Depression) that cushion unemployment and poverty.

Many people date the beginning of the Depression at October 24, 1929, Black Thursday, the day the stock market crashed. This was indeed a traumatic day for those who owned stock as sales volume broke all records. But the decline in overall stock prices was only about 2.5%, from 261.97 to 255.39 as measured by the New York Times index of 50 stocks. Most of the decline still laid in the future; the market hit bottom on July 7 of 1932 when the Times index was only 33.98, a decline of over 89% from its high of 311.90 of September 19, 1929.

*** Continued***

http://ingrimayne.com/econ/EconomicCatastrophe/GreatDepression.html

Over the last four years, I have seen the hand writing on the wall in my industry (custom home builder). I started then banking back for when the rainy day hit. Last New Year (2008) I told my wife we were probably done within a year. I was dead on. I have been self hunting a new gig for 2 months and it is BLEAK. I recently employed a company to help me get back into the game and their forecast overall is awful for the country as a whole. If I hadn't seen the bubble about to burst I would be truly screwed.

Lessons learned....

Pay off all debt possible
Save as much as possible
Networking within your groups for jobs intelligence
Be ready to take a hit on the paycheck at the new gig
Get Help finding new work. Many aren't and they also aren't working.
Build a Career BOB. It is shocking how the hiring game has changed in 8 - 10 years.
Stay Positive.

Remember that ZERO withholdings are kept out of the unemployment check. At the end of the year Uncle Sam will want his taste still. I had a friend who was shocked into reality on this issue, and almost couldn't pay the IRS, etc.

Store food when you can.
just about any job (even flipping burgers) beats no job
I work on the supply side of the home construction industry, and our smaller contractors who will do repair work are busy.

Yep, the remodel/repair industry is where to be right now. My decision and timing allowed me to continue my standard of living for up to 14 years (current C.O.L. and Inflation) without employment. (Assuming Wall Street doesn't completely crap out.) That would be at the cost of my retirement principal beginning in 6-7 years. When the last house is done, so am I. I contracted a 3rd party company to handle all warranty issues (some things in Texas are 10 year warranty by law) and I am moving on. It will be nice to have benefits and salary without as much risk involved. More sleep, less worry.

This subject would make an excellent thread in the long term forum. Care to go into details?

I update my resume twice a year and try to keep my professional contacts contacted. What else do you suggest?

-Blast

More later. I may start new in long term.

I got laid off in October, along with 1/3 of that office, because the economy is taking a toll on my former employer (overseas ESOL instruction). I was fortunate to land a new gig within 3 weeks, but I know some of my former colleagues are still looking. I am pretty secure with my new job, but I am also taking steps to prepare on the chance that something else comes up...

A point about 1930s Great Depression statistics and Modern Statistics.
In the 30s they counted everybody who was out of work and could not find a job as unemployed. The only exceptions were farmers and the legally retired. Wives were not expected to work so they didn't count as unemployed.
Nowadays they only count the ones who are getting unemployment insurance payments and "seasonally adjust" their numbers, so some people who are getting unemployment payments in the winter are not counted either.
Welfare cases, disability cases, and the people who recieve no benefits at all are not counted.
Women who are out of work are counted but only for as long as they get Unemployment benefits. As soon as they run out of benefits then they are welfare cases.
The homeless and regular bums are not counted either.

It leaves a person wondering what the real unemployment rate is right now. I think if I started adding up the real numbers of unemployed people we would be very close to the worst depression era unemployment rates, and maybe whole lot worse.

I think the social assistance programs mask how serious the problem is. In some areas there are more people on welfare than there are unemployed.

Unemployment
http://www.bls.gov/LAU/

Temporary assistamce, social assistance, etc
http://www.usa.gov/Citizen/Facts/Facts_Business.shtml

Added to the statistics problem is the fact that the attitude of the Main-Streeters towards the poor and towards the Wall-Streeters is just a harsh as it was in the 1930s.

I think that comparisons to the systems in place in 1933 to those of today are as valid as comparing French Literature of the 14th Century to Continuously Variable Transmissions.

There's not a lot in common. So much - so very much - is different today that I can't even think to compare the situations.

What's happening now is bigger, more complicated and more chaotic (in the mathematical sense) than 1933.