January 12, 2009

Soot & Ashes Quote of the Day

"This is unprecedented. It’s coast to coast. It’s everywhere. There’s really no refuge in this job market. There’s no safe place."

- Mark Zandi, chief economist Moody's, discussing the collapse in US jobs, which is just going to get worse and worse, January 2009

26 comments:

Mammoth said...

After thinking for a while about why my employer is not giving anyone a pay raise this year, I finally arrived at the conclusion that they know they can get away with it.

What is everybody here going to do - quit and look for a better-paying job? In this job market?

BTW, we make medical equipment, so it is not like this employer expects revenue to drop by 50% in 2009.

More like the folks at the top of the corporation are are just keeping it all to themselves.

Got torch & pitchfork?

-Mammoth

Anonymous said...

discussing the collapse in US jobs, which is just going to get worse and worse, January 2009


What is he talking about. What is a US job. No such animal. They have all been shipped to the 3rd world slave markets. Die globalist scum. (it is sad America will have to suffer the coming agony for what these souless greedy pigs have done.) I wish they would have the guts to try and defend their greed when things heat up. But alas, greedy pigs will forever be cowards. A service job is not a job when its being supported by a ponzi sceme. Sevice jobs HAVE to be supported by real jobs, manufacturing.

Anonymous said...

Until now, a job in the retail sector was always available as a job of last resort. If nothing else I can always get a job at Wal-Mart, Target, Home Depot, etc. Well thats no more. Things will get much worse in 09.

Anonymous said...

"What is he talking about. What is a US job. No such animal. They have all been shipped to the 3rd world slave markets."

Amen, brother. But how can we get the sheeple to wake up to this?

Anonymous said...

Remember the "Top 10 Places to Live" hype put out by the NAR to blow hot air on already flaming housing markets every year?

I suggest this year begin with:
1) Detroit
2) NJ
3) NY
4) Any state North of Tennessee

Why are these States so desirable?Jobs? No...There are no good jobs there either and the weather still stinks but there will be no Federal or State taxes for the people who relocate and stay there.

Now there is an idea that floats...

Anonymous said...

Mammoth said...
After thinking for a while about why my employer is not giving anyone a pay raise this year, I finally arrived at the conclusion that they know they can get away with it.......

........ More like the folks at the top of the corporation are just keeping it all to themselves.

===========================

Good call Manmoth!

I can relate to that. My employer, major agricultural dealer, is coming off two banner years in a row. My general supervisor boasted around Thanksgiving that he could close the division until Jan 1, let the employees stay home and pay them as if they were still working 40hrs, and still come out umpteen million to the good, for the year.

Bonuses this year for the rank and file was eight hours pay (company closed down for two half days over the holidays anyway) better than nothing, and of course the company didn't have to give them anything, but pretty much a slap in the face for anyone with a brain. Like Manmoth said, almost nobody is going job hunting in this economy!

Anonymous said...

In my area of FL one could always count on picking up a p/t tourist-related job for the snowbird season (restaurant, golf course, hotel). Not this year.

Even the richy-rich area with private resorts in Vero Beach that usually have job fairs in Oct/Nov. have done NO hiring for this season. Unprecedented & Scary.

Anonymous said...

My plans are to graduate from college, and then take a 45 - 50 year break. After that I will put my skills to work as a Walmart Greeter. The only risk involved in this plan is that I will not have as much "greeting" experience as my peers and competitors for the position. :-(

Anonymous said...

I just went through a pile of resumes (approximately 400 in this pile) for a job opening at my client's mobilehome park. Job title is assistant manager.

What struck me most was the number of graduates with 4 year degrees and master degrees that are applying for this job. You know it's bad when a person with a masters degree in engineering from a respectable university is willing to take a low paying hourly job with no benefits managing a trailer park.

Maybe it's the lovely double wide trailer that is thrown in as free housing. I dunno.

Collapse of 09, I believe it.

Anonymous said...

yeah, but when do the economists start getting fired?

Anonymous said...

BTW, we make medical equipment, so it is not like this employer expects revenue to drop by 50% in 2009.
---------------------------

wouldn't be so sure about that. A major hospital in my area has just announced layoffs.

Mitesh Damania said...

Why haven't the heads of the banks and other large corporations been fired yet? Is giving money to the same folks supposed to fix anything?

Anonymous said...

"You know it's bad when a person with a masters degree in engineering from a respectable university is willing to take a low paying hourly job with no benefits managing a trailer park."

Actually you know you're looking at the resume of a kid who never should have wasted his (or his parent's) money on college. Don't kid yourself.

Anonymous said...

Oh the horror. Unemployment is over 7%. Since the government numbers are made up, let's just pull a number out of our asses ourselves and say its 20%.

Still less than the Great Depression. You might want to get some lotion, your hands are all raw from you constant hand-wringing.

Meanwhile my employer is looking to double in size this year. Too bad we can't find any talented young engineers with their heads screwed on straight. The young ones we have hired keep saying nothing is made in this country and there will be no jobs in a year. I run across people like that every year and their doomsday never comes. Could you imagine giving up a programming job in 2002 because you just knew all the jobs were going to India? You'd be out 6 years' wages now.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous-

Give us a hint on whose looking to double this year. Young talented engineers with their heads screwed on straight are reading this blog and others would like to check out the sector.

Anonymous said...

Corporate let 2 outside sales associates go.

Then another 3 people were let go for serious offenses. Now we are not replacing any of them.

That's 5 people gone in a month and no new hiring is being done.

Then, they are cutting out 12% of expenses out of our budget.

That means at least 7 more people are going to be let go in the next month.

People are on pins and needles every day. We are very busy and our revenue is not dropping. That means we have to do the same work we had last quarter, only with fewer people.

I call it burnout, corporate calls it cost cutting, our customers call it..."Im going to your competitor".

Our competitor is doing the same thing, the one that gets screwed is the customer.

Oh well, we are tightening our belt, but killing ourselves in the process.

Dumb.

Anonymous said...

Maybe even scarier is the unemployed who come to realize - hey it ain't so bad.

Lee said...

What a stupid quote.

This is totally precedented. It's called The Depression.

Zandi should wake up, and read history!

Anonymous said...

"Give us a hint on whose looking to double this year. Young talented engineers with their heads screwed on straight are reading this blog..."

That's a joke, right? I got it.

Unfortunately most of the people that seem good enough to bring in for an interview are found to have exaggerated or lied on their resumes, or have an attitude problem. The funniest are the people with 2-3 years' experience applying for our senior and lead jobs, which require 10 years' experience. They get pissed when we ask if they'd like to interview for a junior position instead. No wonder they're out of work.

Hmmm...emotional, exaggerative, egotistical, can't take criticism constructively - hey! I bet all the SAers in my area have already applied where I work! LOL

Anonymous said...

Actually you know you're looking at the resume of a kid who never should have wasted his (or his parent's) money on college. Don't kid yourself.


Hey bud, what the hell does that mean. You think after they inflate the currency away there is going to be a job or money with real value for a superstar like you?????
God help the mentally bankrupt. This is not reallyyyyy happening, its just another cycle.

Anonymous said...

Noodles-

Here in Monterey County you can ALMOST taste the fear...It's like an invisible force waiting to touch down anywhere.

People are in fear...Even at my prison where the doctors and nurses make huge gobs of $$$ they sense it too and fear it.

I just got a 10% salary deduction but so what? I just cut down my expenses by 10%...Those that can't make it will learn to consume less.

America will be great again but first like a Heroin Addict strung out on easy credit it has to go Cold Turkey and man this is not going to be pretty.

Summer Riot Tours 2009...Feel The Fire!!!

Anonymous said...

Give us a hint on whose looking to double this year. Young talented engineers with their heads screwed on straight are reading this blog and others would like to check out the sector.

You have to love those nutjobs. neck deep in blood and they won't figiure it out until until after their head is chopped off.

Anonymous said...

This will probably make you all sick, but my husband is in Europe on business for 2 weeks. He just spent the weekend skiing in Davos and Klosters(Suisse). The skiing was great, with plenty of people on the slopes and no sign of problems in Zurich. But then the Swiss have always had the reputation as the most fiscally prudent people (perhaps tight would be a more accurate word) in Europe.

I suppose, bankers are always the ones with money, so the health of the Swiss economy should not come as a surprise. It follows that American bankers will be able to hang out in the Hamptons and Aspen on all the money they received as ill-gotten bonuses. I would like to note that my husband is not a banker; he actually builds useful energy sector things worldwide.

I do not understand why we are bailing out the banks when they clearly gambled with money. I do not understand why Usary laws are not reinstated.

My daughter is a chemical engineer who works in medical research. Her company in Maine just laid off 6 people in R&D; this would include several Phds. The company has good products too, but can't get loans.

Universities are handing out plenty of money to female chem engineers. She's heading off to grad school.

Anonymous said...

Anonymous-

Give us a hint on whose looking to double this year. Young talented engineers with their heads screwed on straight are reading this blog and others would like to check out the sector.


-----------------------------------

Let me guess: A home health care outfit.

MrCoffee

Anonymous said...

"Hey bud, what the hell does that mean. You think after they inflate the currency away there is going to be a job or money with real value for a superstar like you?????
God help the mentally bankrupt. This is not reallyyyyy happening, its just another cycle."

I don't know if I can put it any simpler to you, "bud": Junior wasn't college material. If Junior was worth a damn, he wouldn't be applying for some loser trailer park job.

Do you think because some kid passes some tests, and may be as dumb as a box of rocks, he should automatically get a great job? Sorry to break it to you - that isn't the way the world works.

Anonymous said...

I don't know if I can put it any simpler to you, "bud": Junior wasn't college material. If Junior was worth a damn, he wouldn't be applying for some loser trailer park job.

Yeah, because, I mean, the entry level job market for skilled recent college grads is just STELLAR!

Most college grads in 2009 are planning on taking internships or hourly jobs, since entry level positions are virtually impossible to find right now. I should know -- our company cancelled its ENTIRE university recruiting program this year. Ordinarily, we'd hire around 30 grads -- this year, zero.

Swagger all you want about how much smarter you are then them dumb entitled kids, but chances are high that you're a Boomer -- which would make you lazier, more entitled, more indebted, and less valuable on average than any of those kids.

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