tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-74389766722431140142024-02-08T13:25:17.055-05:00what's so funny about unemployment?for your (un)enjoymentjoannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07276531166989194240noreply@blogger.comBlogger32125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7438976672243114014.post-9152785439893052862009-05-03T01:29:00.002-04:002009-05-03T01:33:14.093-04:00We have moved!This blog has moved to a new site hosted by WordPress.com.Please update your bookmarks.joannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07276531166989194240noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7438976672243114014.post-20698161040270375952009-05-02T09:47:00.007-04:002009-05-02T10:22:47.308-04:00A place with more jobs than people!This morning, I discovered a magical place where they say there are more jobs than people to fill them.It's a little town called Pinedale, Wyoming, where the county unemployment rate is a mere 2.1 percent. Let me say that again: 2.1 percent. That's almost the opposite of Michigan's 12 percent!This mountain town of 1,412 has more jobs than people, according to ABC News, thanks to a natural gas joannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07276531166989194240noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7438976672243114014.post-59016638811183496752009-05-01T09:38:00.003-04:002009-05-01T09:44:42.014-04:00Quote of the DayMay Day! May Day! No, no need to take cover: It's Friday, the first of May and time once again for our weekly Quote of the Day.Today's quote is from Orson Scott Card:"Unemployment is capitalism's way of getting you to plant a garden."joannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07276531166989194240noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7438976672243114014.post-58784693718934697502009-04-30T18:01:00.006-04:002009-04-30T18:13:43.728-04:00That didn't take longAccording to WDIV-TV and WXYZ-TV's newscasts here in Detroit, the now-bankrupt Chrysler L.L.C. has already shut down three to four assembly plants in Warren and Sterling Heights, Michigan.Supposedly, Chrysler was going to shut its plants on Monday. But suppliers already won't ship parts to the company.To quote one worker walking out of one of the plants, "Where's Lee Iacocca when you need him?"joannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07276531166989194240noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7438976672243114014.post-22657853121901230072009-04-29T10:12:00.007-04:002009-04-29T10:34:19.534-04:00An anniversaryI realized I celebrated a major anniversary yesterday: My college graduation.I won't say how long it was since I graduated from college, but I listened to this album that summer. You can do the math. (Gosh, I'm old.)I graduated with no job into the midst of a recession. If you asked me that day what I'd be doing now, I would not have said I'd be unemployed in the midst of another, even worse, joannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07276531166989194240noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7438976672243114014.post-67789309471637842062009-04-27T13:54:00.006-04:002009-04-27T14:12:19.651-04:00I read the news today, oh boyGeneral Motors announced this morning it is slashing 23,000 jobs, closing 40 percent of its dealerships, and dropping its Pontiac brand, all by next year. Which is only going to add to unemployment.In unrelated news, the dreaded swine flu may have moved into Michigan.I think I'm going to quit watching the news.joannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07276531166989194240noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7438976672243114014.post-90241061005156829642009-04-24T04:19:00.003-04:002009-04-24T04:24:17.425-04:00Quote of the DayTGIF, WSFAU readers! Time once again for our Quote of the Day.This week's quote comes to us from Edward Heath:"Unemployment is of vital importance, particularly to the unemployed." joannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07276531166989194240noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7438976672243114014.post-71505422386385578262009-04-22T15:34:00.006-04:002009-04-22T15:53:28.247-04:00Maybe I should apply for this.This doesn't have much to do with unemployment, except that I heard about this on the radio this morning while driving to my latest job interview:A tall and wealthy man in Birmingham, one of Detroit's wealthiest suburbs, is advertising for a wife. Actually, according to the Detroit Free Press, after about a billion bad blind dates, he's paying a New York matchmaker to search for a wife for joannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07276531166989194240noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7438976672243114014.post-88110973579821190502009-04-21T12:10:00.002-04:002009-04-21T12:13:59.992-04:00Good news, bad newsBad news: I didn't get the job I wanted to get.Good news: I have an interview tomorrow morning for another job.joannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07276531166989194240noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7438976672243114014.post-91573291509453305732009-04-17T09:46:00.003-04:002009-04-17T09:52:29.753-04:00Quote of the DayHappy Friday, everyone! Time once again for the WSFAU Quote of the Day.Today's quote is from President Harry S. Truman:"It's a recession when your neighbor loses his job; it's a depression when you lose your own." joannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07276531166989194240noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7438976672243114014.post-31169486043225881552009-04-16T11:47:00.006-04:002009-04-16T12:04:32.606-04:00We're still number one! Dammit.Yesterday, the Michigan Department of Energy, Labor, and Economic Growth reported our state's unemployment rate had reached 12.6 percent in March.According to Crain's Detroit Business: "The new 12.6 percent level was a full 5 percentage points higher than a year ago, when the Michigan rate was 7.6 percent. During the same period, the national jobless rate rose by 3.4 percentage points."I don't joannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07276531166989194240noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7438976672243114014.post-3844893497976491122009-04-16T08:43:00.006-04:002009-04-16T11:45:27.313-04:00Local Unemployed OlympicsToday, the WSFAU staff and I tip our hats to "The Chad Show" at 106.7 The Fox FM here in Detroit. This morning, they're having an Unemployed Olympics for their unemployed listeners to blow off steam (and win concert tickets). Have fun smashing those computers and printers, guys!joannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07276531166989194240noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7438976672243114014.post-81496073079432340812009-04-15T14:53:00.006-04:002009-04-15T16:00:02.698-04:00Happy Tax Day! Or not.Once again, it's April 15. I've already seen the yearly news coverage of drivers crawling up to the massive Royal Oak, Michigan post office, last-minute returns in hand. I have to go to downtown Royal Oak in a few hours; I may just go down to the post office and watch the fun in person.Unlike some unemployed people, I TurboTaxed and e-filed my returns the moment I took my former employer's W2 joannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07276531166989194240noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7438976672243114014.post-25350875444404551152009-04-15T00:33:00.007-04:002009-04-15T00:54:14.892-04:00Gotta love The OnionOne of my old college friends posted a 2007 The Onion story to my Facebook news feed tonight. I thought I'd share it here: Thousands Lose Jobs as Michigan Unemployment Offices Close.As I've said here before, Michigan's unemployed don't report to unemployment offices. We file our initial claims over the Internet. Then we call into the unemployment agency's telephone system -- the dreaded MARVIN --joannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07276531166989194240noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7438976672243114014.post-59574866215100159182009-04-13T17:45:00.003-04:002009-04-13T18:01:30.116-04:00The interviewNow that Easter's over, I'm back home from spending the holiday with family and friends. I'm back to work on the unemployment front. So to speak.My job interview today went well. I met with my potential supervisor and the person who now has the job to hear about the job. It's something which is well-suited to my background and experience, and I hope they were able to see that in between my resumejoannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07276531166989194240noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7438976672243114014.post-73503368121260910042009-04-10T00:07:00.004-04:002009-04-10T00:16:15.235-04:00Quote of the DayIt's Friday. Time once again for the WSFAU Quote of the Day:"The nearest to perfection that most people come is when filling out an employment application."Source: Unknown.Happy Easter, everyone! I'll be away from the blog (and the Internet) for the next few days. Enjoy the holiday!joannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07276531166989194240noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7438976672243114014.post-50128286648292684982009-04-09T16:26:00.008-04:002009-04-09T17:06:09.339-04:00InterviewsI have a job interview on Monday.I'm both happy and nervous about this.Happy because it's an interview for a job I want at a place I've wanted to work. I have a good chance of getting this job, and I want and need to go back to work.Nervous because it's a job interview. Job interviews make me uncomfortable, and I haven't been on an interview in a little while.When I was in outplacement counselingjoannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07276531166989194240noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7438976672243114014.post-37115293482440204742009-04-07T23:42:00.004-04:002009-04-08T00:44:22.744-04:00The Jay Leno Comedy Stimulus Plan ShowI just took the WSFAU staff out to the Jay Leno Comedy Stimulus Plan Show for metro Detroit's unemployed. We spared every expense: The show was free. Even the parking, the Coke and a bag of Doritos were free, thanks to the sponsors.After the crowd was warmed up by a local jazz-funk band, the show began with a surprise introduction of Leno by Kid Rock, ovations for Rock and Leno, and Leno's littlejoannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07276531166989194240noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7438976672243114014.post-78017329128296470562009-04-07T13:37:00.006-04:002009-04-07T14:09:02.848-04:00Her husband needs a job ....A Yahoo News story today described a San Francisco woman who created myhusbandneedsajob.com to find work for her unemployed, newly-MBA-degreed spouse. It's the 21st century equivalent of standing on a street corner with a "I need a job" sign around your neck, only the Internet is the street corner.I have mixed feelings about this.First, she put together a good site. It's a serious effort, and it joannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07276531166989194240noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7438976672243114014.post-79471482414740932332009-04-06T15:29:00.006-04:002009-04-06T16:05:40.220-04:00I too could become a medical assistant! Or not.I've been spending the day watching too much daytime television while looking for jobs online and waiting for people to return my telephone calls about jobs. It's that kind of a Monday. And I don't want to go outside; it snowed here last night. As Prince sang and my father used to say, sometimes it snows in April.While writing and editing this post, I have seen three commercials about training tojoannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07276531166989194240noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7438976672243114014.post-66452387586621826822009-04-05T10:38:00.007-04:002009-04-05T11:15:26.257-04:00Comedy Stimulus previewAs I mentioned in this blog's very first post, Jay Leno is coming to the Detroit area (don't say he's coming to Detroit, or the Detroit City Council will beg to differ with you) Tuesday and Wednesday to give a pair of Comedy Stimulus concerts especially for the unemployed.I'm going to Tuesday's show. I'll review it for WSFAU.Until then, here's a Detroit Free Press interview of Leno, his working joannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07276531166989194240noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7438976672243114014.post-61841813416732362492009-04-04T12:55:00.006-04:002009-04-05T11:29:11.852-04:00"A band built for hard times"This morning I read a Sunday Los Angeles Times interview of my favorite musician, Bruce Springsteen. (Yes, it's only Saturday, but the interview's already on the LA Times web site and posted to Springsteen fan sites.) At the beginning of the interview, he calls the E Street Band "a band built for hard times."As I, a longtime fan who would be the first to tell you that they have just started a newjoannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07276531166989194240noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7438976672243114014.post-37522631387046873112009-04-03T09:01:00.003-04:002009-04-03T09:16:16.341-04:00Quote of the DayToday at WSFAU, we're introducing a new feature: the Friday Quote of the Day.Our first quote is attributed to President Calvin Coolidge:"When a great many people are unable to find work, unemployment results."(To be fair to "Silent Cal," however, Yahoo Education does say this widely-quoted quote is possibly spurious.) joannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07276531166989194240noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7438976672243114014.post-19894945730816147022009-04-02T17:30:00.004-04:002009-04-02T18:12:33.067-04:00Calling unemploymentThe one thing every unemployed person has to do is the one thing every unemployed person hates doing: Calling their state unemployment department every week or two for their unemployment insurance benefits.As Suze Ormond said on Oprah today, if you're unemployed, you're entitled to unemployment. You paid into the system (and so did your former employer) while you were working. But, as she warned,joannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07276531166989194240noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7438976672243114014.post-59910139677251734842009-04-01T18:25:00.006-04:002009-04-01T18:56:28.814-04:00Good news?Employers across the country are again hiring the jobless in a sudden reversal of hiring freezes, signaling an end to the recession."We decided it was about time to hire someone to do the unfinished work around here," said P. R. Person, spokesperson for Megacorp. The widget producer, which laid off 75 percent of its staff in cost-cutting moves in 2008 and earlier this year, was among the major joannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07276531166989194240noreply@blogger.com0