Whose Recession Is It Anyway? part v - What Has Happened?

I’m hoping you can help me solve a mystery that’s been occupying my mind lately. I’ve been wondering what is happening to all the people who are losing their jobs?

So far 115,000 people have lost their job in Ireland this year. We are told half a million of us could be unemployed by Christmas. That’s over six Croke Park’s full of people, or more than three times the entire population of County Meath, looking for a job. That’s a massive amount of people. How come we never near from them?

I’m not being flippant; I just find it strange that so many people have lost their jobs without even a murmur of what’s happened to them all.

We’re told the 1980’s were bad. Indeed they were; our young people left in droves to find work in Britain, America, Canada and Australia. I remember the ‘send off’ parties which were a strange mixture of fund raising, bon voyage and tears. Well if things were bad then, they are far worse now.

1985 was the worst year for job losses in those bad old days; 24,000 people lost their job in the 12 months of that year. By contrast 36,500 people lost their job in the single month of January 2009 alone. I was one of them.

For those who lost your job in January, your ten month anniversary has just passed. Almost a year on the dole folks, hard to believe isn’t it? Should I be offering congratulations or commiserations?

Back to my question then, ‘What has happened to all those people?’ Have they found jobs? Have they gone to Australia or Canada, or some other place where things aren’t so bad? Have they just settled for unemployment, accepted their lot so to speak? Are they just marking time until their redundancy cheques run out? Is the dole enough to live on? Are they happily sunning themselves (between the showers) in their back gardens? Are they bored and depressed and devoid of hope? Or are they working away on the black market, pulling in nixers and living the life of Reilly? What about the migrant workers, have they gone back to Poland, Lithuania or Latvia? What has happened to everyone?

This recession and the consequent huge number of job losses is arguably the biggest social catastrophe to hit Ireland since the famine; yet we know almost nothing about what is happening to the people most affected by it. I think it’s amazing that hundreds of thousands of our population could be thrown out of their job and then just disappear. No-one seems to be protesting, there’s been no Jarrow style marches, no picketing of TDs’ offices; nothing seems to have happened.

I set up The Job Seekers Union to give a voice to unemployed people. I wanted to create local job clubs to help job seekers support each other, to come together to generate work perhaps on a co-operative basis. I expected to be flooded with applicants; it’s free to join after all. I have to say, I’ve been surprised at the lack of interest. It makes me wonder, have the unemployed found a contentment that the rest of the population doesn’t know about? They have after all, been christened the ‘Fun-employed.’ Could it really be true; is it fun to be unemployed? Somehow I don’t think so; certainly not if my experience is anything to go by.

Maybe we’ve all lost our tongues? Perhaps we’re ashamed or embarrassed to speak out? Maybe that stigma of being without a job still holds true? Whatever it is; it’s still amazing that such a huge percentage of our population could suffer something as profound as losing their job, yet we know so little about what has happened to them.

According to Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice, “You take my life when you do take the means whereby I live.” Is that true? Is losing your job a disaster?

County Meath has been particularly badly hit by unemployment. The commuter belt has gone a bit quiet this year; you only have to drive to Dublin on the N2 or N3 in the rush hour to see the impact of the recession. More than 10,000 people are signing on in Meath. We’d like to hear their stories. Tell us what it’s been like for you.

Write to David Jones. You can email me at david@thejobseekersunion.com.

Copyright © David Jones 2009

Part five of a five part series. For previous installments check the archive pages on The Job Seekers Blog. 

Whose Recession Is It Anyway? part i - Losing your job

Losing your job in the current economic climate is a devastating experience. Your first reaction is obviously one of shock, followed by confusion. “What am I going to do?” is the first question on everyone’s mind; “How am I going to find another job?”

It takes a few days for it to really sink in. Telling your family and friends is difficult; unfortunately there is still a stigma attached to losing your job. There’s a huge sense of rejection; a feeling of not being wanted. Your mind keeps wondering, “Why me? What did I do wrong?”

It’s really important to remember that people are losing their jobs today through no fault of their own. They haven’t done anything wrong. It’s not their fault there’s a worldwide recession; they can do nothing about the banking crisis. People who are being made redundant are not being singled out because they are bad employees; they’re losing their jobs simply because their employer is facing financial difficulties. Their employer can no longer afford to keep employing them. It’s that simple.

I lost my job in January of this year; I know what it’s like. In my own case I found there was very little help available to tell me what to do. I’d never been unemployed before. I had no idea what my entitlements were; I didn’t know how to go about signing on or anything like that.

That’s why I wrote my book, Oh no; I’ve lost my job. What am I going to do? In a way it was a kind of therapy for me. Writing it gave me a sense of purpose, something positive to be doing. You’ll find my book in most of the local bookshops. [You can also purchase it online from the website of The Job Seekers Union. Price €4.99 plus P&P. - ed.] It tells you everything you need to know if you’ve lost your job; including how to deal with debts, how to get your spending under control; as well as your welfare entitlements and how to go about claiming them. There’s advice too on how to go about looking for another job; how to write your CV, prepare for an interview and so on.

As with everything in life; if you find yourself unemployed, it’s important to try to stay positive. Boredom can quickly lead to depression; so try to stay active and busy. Tackle those jobs around the house that you never got around to; get busy in the garden, take up a hobby.

No matter what your circumstances; it really is important to register with your local social welfare office. The sooner you sign on, the sooner your jobseekers benefit or jobseekers allowance can be processed. It’s takes a while for the first payment to come through, but it will be back dated to the date you first signed on.

If you are in financial difficulty while you are waiting for your benefits to come through, you can get temporary assistance from the Community Welfare Officer. You can find their number in the Phonebook under Community Welfare Services or call your Local Health Centre.

They say looking for a job is a job in itself. Unfortunately there aren’t many vacancies about at the moment, but there are some. Try to be positive, and remember nothing lasts forever. You might have sent off hundreds of CV’s and got no response so far, but you never know what’s around the corner; so don’t give up trying.

Losing your job needn’t be the end of the world; it may be the opportunity to re-invent yourself and do something you’ve always wanted to do. Maybe you’ve always wanted to start a new business, or take up studying? In my own case it gave me the chance to write a book, which I never thought I’d do. I’ve a second book written, so who knows, maybe it’s the start of a new career for me as an author? [David Jones' second book, The Pothole Republic is also available from The Job Seekers Union at a special discount price of €4.99 plus P&P. Click here for more info. - ed]

It’s hard to believe there are over 400,000 unemployed people in the country; that’s a massive number for a country as small as ours. I recently set up a self help organisation called The Job Seekers Union. You can check it out at www.thejobseekersunion.com.

Incidentally, feel free to write to me with your experiences of unemployment. I’m compiling a book of people’s stories which I hope to publish later in the year.

You can contact me through The Job Seekers Union where you can also email me - david@thejobseekersunion.com.

Copyright © David Jones 2009

This is the first in a series of five articles. In the next installment David addresses the issues of 'Telling Your Family and Friends' that you have lost your job. 

A bit of humour for the JSU

A man walks onto a building site and asks to see the foreman.

"Are you looking for work?" asks the foreman.

"No," answered the man; "But I wouldn't mind a job."

Next Meeting at the Digital Exchange - 10am, Friday 12th June

After the success of last Friday's meeting jointly hosted by The Job Seekers Union and the Dublin Job Club, it has been decided to make these a weekly event for the time being.

Anyone who wants to come along tomorrow (11th June and every Friday thereafter) to Digital Exchange, Crane Street (off Thomas Street) Dublin is most welcome and if you want to bring friend, the more the merrier.

The meeting starts at 10am and you should aim to arrive early, otherwise you'll miss it.

The purpose of the meeting is to help job seekers stay focused and keep motivated. Helpful advice is on hand from people with experience in the field of recruitment, HR etc.

Enthusiastic Gathering at the Digital Exchange

About twenty or so people turned up at the Digital Exchange in Dublin city centre on Friday, 5th June for a meeting organised by The Job Seekers Union and the Dublin Job Club.

The theme of the meeting was motivation and staying focused when 'between jobs'. It was chaired by Aaron Downes of the Dublin Job Club who opened by explaining the concept behind a job club, how it works and where the idea came from originally. It is basically to provide support networks for people who have recently been made redundant. You can read more in an interview which Aaron gave to the Recruit Ireland blog recently.

The meeting was a casual, informal affair. Everyone in attendance was given the opportunity to introduce themselves, describe their background, career prospects and expectations. The format also allowed people to recount experiences of the jobs market today, the kind of obstacles encountered etc. The issues raised were then dealt with in the context of a group discussion.

Before the meeting broke up, time was allocated for participants to speak to the professional advisers who are were in attendance, to have their CVs critiqued, get advice about interview preparation etc.

It is intended that these meetings will become a regular event and anyone who didn't make it is welcome to come along this Friday, 12th June at the same venue - Digital Exchange, Crane Street (off Thomas Street) Dublin. Meetings start at 10am and run till 1pm. Get there early or you'll miss it. We will keep you informed and you can also check out the Dublin Job Club's blog for upcoming events of a similar nature.

We understand that a number of you live outside the Dublin area and therefore find it difficult to attend meetings held in the city centre. One suggestion might be to form Job Clubs in your own area. There really isn't that much organisation involved but if you would like to learn more about the idea, the Dublin Job Club is on hand to give advice. You can contact them via their blog.

Meeting of The Job Seekers Union and Dublin Job Club

Note for your Diary - Friday, 5th June, 10am

The Job Seekers Union and the Dublin Job Club have joined forces and organised a meeting this Friday morning 10am - 1pm, 5th June in the Digital Exchange, Crane Street (off Thomas Street) Dublin.

The meeting will focus on motivating job seekers and on CV preparation - a CV doctor will talk about preparing effective CVs.

Everyone is welcome and can bring friends. Admission is free. Members and friends are encouraged to attend as we hope this will the first of many meetings in Dublin and around the country.

Further details will follow.

We Need People to Put up Posters

One of our members, Eva Grundy, is a graphic design professional and has kindly produced two new posters, to help publicise The Job Seekers Union to a wider public audience.

If you feel you could help, by displaying them up at your local post office, job centre, social welfare office, library etc (do ask permission first!) the posters can be downloaded here in a printable format that includes a colour and a black and white version.

The Job Seekers Union featured on The Morning Show

Founder of The Job Seekers Union, David Jones, appeared recently on TV3's The Morning Show. You can view it here.

Oh No, I've Lost My Job ... What Am I Going to Do?

Founder of The Job Seekers Union, David Jones, has written a book about the experience of losing your job and what to do in the immediate aftermath. It's called ‘Oh no, I've lost my job. What am I going to do?’ and is available from Easons, Tescos and Dunnes Stores. You can also Buy it Here, from the main website of The Job Seekers Union.

Introducing The Job Seekers Union

The Job Seekers Union is a new organisation arising out of the deteriorating economic situation in Ireland and internationally.

Founded by David Jones, author of ‘Oh no; I’ve lost my job. What am I going to do?’, The Job Seekers Union will focus on helping people to come together to help themselves in these difficult times. It plans to expand to provide support and guidance to people all over the world.

It is not necessary to be unemployed to register; anybody interested in improving the situation facing us today is welcome. To Join The Job Seekers Union please visit the Membership section in the main website - How to Join.

Learn more about The Job Seekers Union by visiting the website - www.thejobseekersunion.com.