60 Minutes totally depressed me tonight. They were talking about two new types of mortgages that were given out a lot that are just now starting to skyrocket with their interest rates. The expert said he didn't see an end to this any time soon.

The Detroit Media Partnership (a joint operating agreement between The Detroit News, an afternoon paper and The Detroit Free Press, a morning paper) announced significant changes today... another sign of the times: http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll...ETRO/812160419

...home delivery of The News and Free Press will end Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays. Delivery will continue on Thursdays and Fridays at both papers and Sundays at the Free Press. Both will still be available at the regular price at 20,000 stores and boxes throughout Michigan and through an electronic "e-edition" that allows readers to view replicas of the printed papers online.

I'm supposed to just be glad I have a job
 

So we got a memo near the end of the work day yesterday outlining what my health system is doing to keep their heads above water in these "challenging economic times". I'm not happy, not happy at all. Here's the plan:
1) no raises this year (I was expecting this, not surprised, no big deal, can live without a raise)
2) Selective layoffs (probably not too many, probably an excuse to get rid of some people who are slackers anyway but tough to fire, I'm not worried about my position)
3) Hiring freeze (Could very definitely affect me because my partner/co-worker in computer support is leaving in May and they may not be able to replace her which is going to double my work if that happens, but I'm not going to freak out until it's for sure, our management could possibly justify the new hire)
4) Revocation of our two "floating holidays".. two days that they gave us to make up for taking away the Christmas Eve and New Year's Eve holidays. They are days off that we can take any time during the year. Ok, take two days off, that's ok, but I used mine already this year! Since I used mine this year, they are going to take 16 hours from my Time Off bank. I accrue my time off at a rate of 9.23 hours per pay period all year round. Are they just going to reduce how much I accrue? No. They are going to take the 16 hours in a lump sum out of what is already accrued. I only have 35 hours accrued right now due to two illnesses that made me use 3 days each time in the last two months. That will leave me 19 hours in my bank and I don't know if I'll have enough for the vacations I already have planned this summer, which sucks totally. If they just had me accrue at a slower rate for the rest of the year, this impact would not be felt, really. However, doing it this way, it's going to hurt. I guess the logic is that they want to make sure they don't have to pay people for those days if they are the ones being laid off (see #2). They didn't tell us when those hours will be taken from our bank or what will happen if you don't have 16 hours in your bank right now. My manager is trying to find out.
5) The one that really ticks me off: They are reducing the matching retirement from 2 1/2% to .25%. So, if they put in $50 per pay now, they will now put in $5. The way the retirement plan was set up, we contribute 2% and they contributed 2.5%.We had to choose to opt in or opt out ON HIRE. Saturday is my 15 year anniversary with this health system. I opted in on hire, 15 years ago. I cannot opt out yet, the way the funds are going, with them only contributing .25% I will be losing money way faster than I'm putting it in and I have no way to get out of it. It seems to me that if we can't opt out, they shouldn't be able to change the terms so drastically. If they have to change the terms so drastically, then we should get a one time chance to opt out. I might as well take my money and flush it down the toilet. Nobody said, when we had to choose whether to opt in or not, that the terms could change. This just isn't sitting right with me. I understand having to cut the contribution, but give us the frickin' option to get out of the plan! On top of it all, they changed which funds are available to us back in September so we had to move all of our stuff to new funds right when things started to tank. The new funds are doing MUCH worse than the old ones. We are able to change which funds we invest in and I did move all of mine to a bond fund, which is losing money less quickly than the "retirement age" funds (like 2030 fund, if you're planning on retiring around 2030). I'm not sure I'm ever going to be able to retire. I don't think social security will be around and my retirement fund is dwindling daily, although not as fast as if I'd left it in the 2030 fund! I'm feeling so screwed. I want my money back and I want to put it in an FDIC money market. <sigh> I'm not as furious about this as I was yesterday, but yesterday, before I worked out, I was ready to bite someone's head off.

Yet, everybody says "Be happy you have a job" and I am happy that I have a job. It's a decent job and my immediate management has been incredibly good to me. However, I'm mourning my summer plans and my retirement fund. I think grad school has now become a necessity rather than a choice I was trying to make. It's the only way I'm ever going to get ahead and be able to put more into retirement.

My friend's company decided to remove a weeks vacation from everyone's compensation package. She is the Director of Human Resources, so was in the meeting when the President said "if they don't like it, let them quit. I'll have their position filled in a day." The sad thing is, the President is right. Unemployment numbers are just that high.

I've been grinding my teeth at night and I wake up with really bad headache. It all started when the market tanked.

What's sad is that retail isn't even hiring. And if they are, they want you to have experience. Another thing is that the crime rate here is starting to rise. An 86 year old woman got carjacked down the road from me at a meat market that my mom frequents, and it's across the street from the mall. I'm not sure I want to be walking out of the mall after a night shift. Too dangerous.

Gas prices have risen a good 40cents in the last month. Back to $2 a gallon.

I'm in the same boat. There are SO MANY jobs out there hiring. I've sent out over 100 resumes to the companies that I'm actually eligible for. I haven't gotten one phone call. My friends told me that I may be over qualified for the jobs I'm applying for. I'm thinking about lying on my resume to say that I did NOT graduate college. I'm sick of seeing people who haven't stepped foot on a college campus, or those without even a high school diploma, getting these jobs over those of us who have worked our asses off to get where we should be.

I used to be one of those people who stuck up for the UAW but after really thinking about it and seeing numerous things on the news where they just don't want to give anything up and are STILL fighting for more benefits, I'm just disgusted and can't help but think they are to blame. I know someone who got a LARGE buyout package and they hadn't even been there a year. When I say large, I mean pushing towards $100,000.

A big part of the problem, PM_Mama, is that companies that have one open position get inundated with so many resumes that they can't even look at all of them. There was a position posted on our website for a job in purchasing and they got over 200 resumes the first day, took the posting down and only kept the first 100 resumes that came in.

Interestingly, I just found a PDF on our retirement savings plan website that says your election to participate in our RSP is irrevocable UNLESS HFHS reduces the employer contribution to the Plan. "If that happens, you may change your original election." Therefore, I should be able to opt out. My manager is going to ask HR about it and I don't expect the answer to be good, but I feel better having raised the question.

UMD was having a career fair today. I planned on going until I saw the employer list. I'm only qualified for one of the 28 jobs... that being a promotions assistant at Radio Disney Detroit. Would have been a cool job but I'm sure there would have been hundreds of alumni there and I wouldn't have had a chance.

Yes, it is depressing and I am depressed. I think it is more depressing for me because it is combined with a number of big life changes (moving back from Scotland sorta-kinda against my will, getting married, graduating again, etc). The lack of jobs is very. very. stressful. I'm not even getting rejection e-mails, just nothing. Sending applications every.single.day. and not getting a single word back.

I've been compensating for it by volunteering and interning in my field,hoping to network that way...but I'd be lying if I didn't think of the money every minute of every hour of every day (OMG, I need insulin, do we have money for that? How many more days til my student loans go into repayment? I'll just not eat lunch today...etc).

I'm taking my good friend, who was laid off from my work place last week, out for drinks tonight. She's also a single mom of two teenagers who works hard just to keep things going. She got 12 weeks severance pay. She has a very optimistic attitude.

The attitude on the law school campus is down, to put it mildly. People either have had offers withdrawn, are having trouble finding any work, or have had their start dates moved back from September to January. The legal market is looking rough.

My private-sector attorney friends are, by far, having the worst time of anyone I know. One buddy was actively getting new clients for his firm, and they laid him off. :mad: Another person, one of my best friends, is HR at a big firm. It really sucks to be her now.

Do you read abovethelaw?

I graduate in 35 days, have not been able to find a job, have graduate school acceptances that I can't afford without massive loans (if I could even get a loan right now), and have no other ideas whatsoever. I don't know what I'm going to do and it is REALLY starting to stress me out. I seem to be in the same boat as a lot of other people in my graduating class.

That's putting it mildly. I can't even imagine starting out right now. I've had several friends my experience level (in our 4th year of practice) get laid off recently. Some from large firms, some smaller. The trouble with hiring first year attorneys is that they generally don't know what the heck they're doing...but you spend the money to train them. Unfortunately, even the more marketable (3rd-5th year) attorneys are having trouble finding jobs right now though. First year attorneys are getting shut out of the game. I have a friend who has been licensed for over a year with no job.

While I'm definitely happy to have a job, but I don't feel like any legal job is stable right now. If one of our big clients goes out of business then who knows what would happen.