On July 24, the minimum wage will increase from $6.55 to $7.25 an hour. Every worker deserves a living wage, but the timing of the pay hike is less than ideal. The national jobless rate is nearly 10 percent, and among American teenagers—who are likely to work many of those minimum-wage jobs seeing a pay increase—the unemployment rate …
Careers & Workplace
Job Help: Get Your Resume Read, Avoid Job Scams, Switch Careers
When will the job market pick up again? Economists shrug their shoulders. Maybe by next summer—maybe. Until then, most workers have little choice but to stick with their current jobs, even though chances are they’re overworked, underpaid, and all in all unhappy. If you’re one of the unfortunate millions currently unemployed, the task …
Deep Impact: 10 Ways the Recession Is Hitting Home in Lots of Homes
Divorced couples are living under the same roof because it’s too expensive to really split up right now. There are either more people around the house (because they’re out of work) or fewer people around the house (because they’re working second and third jobs to pay bills and get health coverage). More people are doing their own chores …
Unemployed? Ten Quasi-Productive Things to Keep You Busy and Maybe Accomplish Something
Here are ten things to do this summer that are free or cheap, and that are at least more productive than loafing on the couch. You’ve got the time, right?
College Kids Are Not Loving This Summer
The summer of 2009 is proving to be a reality check for college students and recent grads. Instead of rollicking trips abroad or working at no-pay internships that their families can no longer afford to bankroll, college kids are grinding out the steamy days of summer doing manual labor—and they’re happy to have the work.
Living with the Recession in Detroit, Atlanta, NYC, and Iowa City
Creative Job Training Solutions: Pro Wrestler, Clown, Trapeze Artist
Who wants to be a computer programmer anyway? As noted earlier, the usual job training programs may be proving less than satisfactory. Perhaps it’s time to try something more, uh … artistic?
Job Training Programs: Why Bother?
The stimulus package was supposed to get people working—in the short- and long-run alike. But based on unemployment figures released last week, the stimulus bill seems to be a lot less stimulating in the real world than it was when drawn up on paper. Has the money been poorly misspent? In terms of job training, that seems like the …
Who is Screwed the Worst?
Very few workers feel safe nowadays. If they haven’t been laid off, they know they could be let go at any moment. Or perhaps they’ll have to accept mandatory furloughs, or their benefits will be slashed. Health benefits, vacation time, even free beer allotments (no joke) are being taken away. Retirements are being postponed. Recent grads …
The Recession Will End in September
Then again, maybe it won’t, especially not if another major financial institution collapses. And if the economy does rebound, the recovery will be mild. USA Today sums up the clear-as-mud results of its economic outlook index, which factor in things like the stock market’s current bull market status. Another predictor says that home …
It’s Time to Consider Plan B, Whether You Want to or Not
Lately, plenty of writers seem to be trying careers on for size that don’t involve them sitting in front of a computer, and it’s not because they want to be the next George Plimpton. Everyone knows that their pink slip could be next (people in publishing especially). So, if you’re out of work, or on the brink of being out of work—and …