My girlfriend has been unemployed for the last 6 months. We bought a townhouse, and she was laid off about 8 months later. After responding to about 150 job postings, only 4 employers have called her. A strong resume in property management doesn't seem to matter. She didn't get 2 of the jobs because she doesn't speak Spanish, and she's competeing with thousands of nonworking South, FL real estate agents trying to find any kind of work. She would have been hired within a month if only we lived closer to Orlando. She just doesn't seem to be the same person anymore.
It looks like she will finally get an offer in the next few days, but it will be for 20% less pay. At least she finished paying off her CC debt the week after loosing her job, so she may have roughly the same amount of extra cash. This job seems to be just in time, as we've burned through nearly all my savings. I honeslty don't know how people with kids could keep their sanity. I feel for them.
Also, my father took early retirement from General Motors just this past summer. He worked at the Wilmington, DE plant for 27 years, and he's been a Tool-and-Die maker for much longer. Now his 401K is nearly worthless, and he's planning to find new work at 55 because the pension fund may get raided. He'll be fine, but he has several friends who aren't as well prepared.
I wish everyone the strength to keep it together until they arrive at the otherside of the bridge. I think it would have wiped me out if I had lost my job and not Nicole.