Archives for unemployment category
2
Mar
Posted in unemployment by Roger |
So, if you’ve been watching the US Senate, lately, you’re probably well aware of the latest drama, with Jim Bunning attempting a one-man filibuster to stop the payment of unemployment benefits. Although he recently backed down, the reaction to his stand brought out some interesting discussions about politics, budgets, and spending.
Another issue that was brought to surface by this debate is whether unemployment benefits are even good for society as a whole. The benefits are that it provides a safety net for those who find themselves out of work, enabling them to take time to find another job of their choice, usually in the same field for about the same rate of pay.
Unemployment benefits seek to keep us out of here...
The downside, though, is that such benefits may actually aggravate the level of unemployment. If you don’t have to work to get money, after all, aren’t you going to be less motivated to do so? Nina Easton, among others, notes that studies have found that the unemployed people tend to stay unemployed as long as the benefits keep coming, using the benefits as an excuse to put off taking lower paying jobs to survive.
So, who’s right? It’s hard to say exactly how unemployed people are affected by having unemployment benefits available; there are currently millions of people out of work, and as with any group, different people will react in different ways. Luckily (or unluckily, I suppose) I happen to have a perfect subject to gauge just how unemployment benefits can distort incentives right here: me.
A Case Study in Myself
Yes, in the past year or so, I’ve found myself out of work on two separate occasions. (Technically, three, although the third was for a brief period after I ended a temp position but before I started another one, so I didn’t take unemployment benefits, and thus, I’m not counting that.) As a result, I’ve been collecting unemployment benefits for much of the last year, so much so that I’ve actually exhausted the normal amount of benefits available to me and am only still receiving unemployment due to the many extensions that have been passed over the past few years. (Just like the one Jim Bunning was filibustering against, to tie everything back in.)
So, how did unemployment benefits affect me and my desire to gain a job? Well, the critics of unemployment do have a point; I HAVE been pickier about possible jobs than I might be otherwise. Since my most recent job loss in November, I’ve been focused more on trying to regain a job at my previous level of employment, rather than ’settling’ for a lower income job as I might have been forced to without unemployment. From an economic stand point, the existence of unemployment has demotivated me in my job search, exactly what critics fear would happen.
HOWEVER, that’s not the whole story. While it’s true that I haven’t been working in a paid position during that time, I haven’t exactly been idle during this period, either. In addition to continuing to search for a job in my field of study, I’ve also taken the GRE in preparation for going to grad school, continued the work on this very blog, and looked into other possibilities for making money outside a typical nine-to-five position. What is often left out of the debate over unemployment benefits is exactly this kind of transformation; having a period of time after losing your job to re-evaluate your life and make changes for the better (without needing to take any job that will have you just to put a check in your account and food on the table) is one of the greatest advantages of unemployment as it currently exists.
(While we’re on the subject, I’m a little leery of the argument that society as a whole is better off if I take a low-paying job, at least in the short run. Yes, in the long run, my work will help the company to expand, provide money for me to spend or invest, and generally help the economy to keep growing; far be it from me to argue with any of that. However, in the short run, I’m shorting myself of time to building my skills or work on an entrepreneurial endeavor, taking a job that could be filled by someone else, and causing the company I’m working for to spend money training someone who’ll leave at the first opportunity that presents itself.)
Even with the possible demotivational effects, I tend to think that the pros of unemployment benefits far outweigh the cons. Yes, they might have the adverse effect of keeping unemployment higher that it might be otherwise, but the advantages offered to the unemployed more than make up for that fact. At least, they do in the case of this one guy I know…
What do you think about unemployment benefits? Are the cons enough to outweigh the pros? Is it better to encourage people to take a job, any job? Do you think that employment status makes it hard to think about this issue objectively? (I.E., I’m currently unemployed and like the unemployment system.)
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3
Feb
Posted in unemployment by Roger |
If you’ve been unemployed for an extended period of time, had frequent periods of unemployment, or simply held jobs that didn’t meet your needs or desires, you’ve probably spent a lot of your time job hunting. I know that in the time since I graduated from college, that’s been a major part of my daily schedule.
If you’re like me, though, you’ve probably had periods where you just got tired of the constant searching for a job. After all, job hunting can be just as hard as many jobs, without the perks of health care or being paid. So, how do you move past these periods of no motivation and keep up the task of job hunting until you find new employment? Here are a few suggestions to help you keep or regain that job hunting fire:
Just like job hunting, only with more shooting
1) Be sure to take breaks: You might be tempted to spend every waking hour looking for a new job, using as much time as you can to find somewhere new to work. Unfortunately, this sort of approach is counterproductive; while you might be able to keep up this pace for a short time, you’re likely to burn out if you don’t get a job in a few weeks, leaving you frazzled and unmotivated. Rather than risk this sort of fatigue, limit how much time you spend job hunting each week. Only do your job hunting during certain hours of the day (between nine and five perhaps, just as if you were working), take regular breaks from your computer to rest your eyes, and try taking a few days off each week. As long as you are still putting in plenty of job hunting time, a short reprieve every now and then won’t have much impact on your prospects.
2) Try a different search method: A common source of job hunting fatigue is the repetition of doing the same job hunting technique over and over again. If your job hunting methods are few, it’s going to be much harder to keep motivated over the weeks (or even months) that it can finally find a decent source of employment. Rather than becoming a one-trick pony, try a variety of job hunting methods; break up emailing resumes with making follow up phone calls, or spend some time talking with other unemployed individuals to learn the latest job hunting techniques. While we’re on the subject of other people…
3) Join professional groups: Joining professional groups can give you several advantages on the job hunting front. You’ll have something more to add to your resume, you might have access to additional job hunting resources like group specific job hunting websites, and of course, the ability to connect with other people in your field to share ideas and job hunting advice. If nothing else, it can give your people with whom you can vent when the job hunting gets tough.
4) Keep your job qualifications up to date: It’s hard enough to find a job in a slow job market when your skills are up-to-date and you are at the peak of your employ-ability, but try to do so when your skills are out of date, and it could be impossible. Your best hope is to keep training regularly, going back to school for more education or attempting to boost your skills during your spare time. Besides giving you new things to add to your resume, it’ll help you to expand your mind (a good goal in itself) and provide you with something to do while hunting for another job.
5) Look into other job possibilities: If you’ve ever wanted to do something different with your life,a period of unemployment provides you with the opportunity to retrain and turn your career path around. You’ll have the time to take classes, study up on new technology, and get any other training you will need for your desired profession. It’s an opportunity to remake your life if you don’t like the current direction in which it is going. If you don’t want to completely change your life, unemployment is still a good time to try some new things:
6) Take up a new hobby or part-time job: Having free time during unemployment gives you the opportunity to explore your other interests. You could take up a new hobby (I like blogging, as you can probably tell, but to each their own), spend more time working on your current hobbies, or try to find a way to turn your hobby into a source of money. Goodness knows, there are enough freelancing and craft selling sites that it can prove pretty easy to monetize a variety of hobbies.
If you can’t monetize your hobby, there are alternate sources of money in the short term; you can get a part time job. (Note: if you are currently receiving unemployment benefits, you need to be careful with part time work; be sure you know whether working will disrupt your ability to receive unemployment, and if so, be sure you take only jobs that pay more than you are currently getting in benefits.) Admittedly, it might be hard to get a job in your preferred field; but you aren’t (necessarily) trying for a whole new career, just getting a part time job to help make ends meet. You can get some money, and perhaps even remind you of why you like your previous job.
There you go, several ways to break up the boredom of job hunting. Good luck in your job hunt, and hopefully, you find something soon.
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9
Nov
Posted in unemployment by Roger |
Unfortunately, today I learned that I am being terminated from my current (well, previously current) position. I’m not going to get into all the details, both because it’s still a bit early for me to talk about it and because I’m not sure what rules are in play regarding disclosure of my job and related activities in a public forum. Personally, I’m a bit surprised and taken back by the whole situation. It happened so quickly; less than twenty-four hours ago, I was working, attempting to do my best, and now, it’s back to the unemployment line.
Sorry if this post comes off as melodramatic and ‘oh, poor me’, but that’s how I’m feeling right at this moment. Come tomorrow, I promise to be back in full swing with more interesting (and if I can manage it, funny) articles about personal finance and money management. For now, though, I just some time to collect my thoughts and try to figure out what to do next. Have a wonderful day, everyone, and if you can spare a few thoughts, prayers, or well wishes, right now I really could use them. Stay well.
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23
Mar
Posted in unemployment by Roger |
As though of you who have been following my blog are aware, I am currently unemployed. (I’m actually working part-time, but earning a low enough rate that I am still able to receive unemployment benefits.) I am also a resident of Pennsylvania, and have been all my life. And so, it was with great interest that I read this article on CNN about the fees on Pennsylvania’s unemployment debit cards. (Thanks to Mrs. Micah for making note of this article on her blog.)
As a little bit of background, Pennsylvania pays out unemployment in one of two ways. First, you can opt for direct deposit into your bank account (this is the path I chose, since I’m attempting to do most of my banking online anyway). If you are unable or unwilling to do direct deposit, you will receive a debit card, onto which your benefits will transferred when you apply for benefits every two weeks. These are the only options that Pennsylvania (and many other states, I gather) seems to allow; it’s no longer possible to get paper checks sent out.
The problem with the debit cards is that there are numerous fees that are triggered when you take certain actions. These actions can range from making too many withdraws (even at participating banks) to accessing your account via the telephone too many times. A short list includes the following:
-Withdrawing money from a PNC or Wachovia ATMs: $1.50 per withdraw (you are given at least 1 free withdraw using these ATMs per deposit)
-Withdrawal from Alliance One or Seven Eleven ATMs: $1.50 per withdraw (no free withdraws offered)
-Withdrawal from other ATMs: $1.50 per withdraw, plus any surcharge fees from that bank
-Teller Withdraws: No fee
-Deposit transfer: $1.50 each time
-Purchases in the U.S.: No fee
-ATM Balance Inquiry: $0.40 each time
-Monthly account access via telephone: $0.35, after using up the five free calls provided each month
How can you control the amount of money that gets eaten away by these fees? Simple, know your habits and how you’re going to use the debit card. If you never use an ATM (I don’t, myself) and either pay for your purchases directly or withdraw the money using a teller, you can get the debit card without worrying about being nickeled and dimed to death by fees.
On the other hand, if you frequently use ATM machines, especially ones from companies other than PNC, Wachovia, Seven Eleven, and Alliance One, you should at least consider having the cash directly deposited into your checking account. If you find that you’re paying too much in fees to access your unemployment money (and I’d say that paying any fees is too much), it is possible to change your account over to direct deposit without much difficulty. When you are filling out your biweekly unemployment application, you should see the appropriate link available on your state’s system. (It’s one of the first links on the PA unemployment system.)
Here is the site for EPICard, the Pennsylvania unemployment debit card system. It also serves Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Mississippi, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Texas, Utah, and Virginia. They provide numerous services, and could be quite helpful if you get your money put onto the debit card.
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11
Feb
Posted in unemployment by Roger |
As those of you who’ve read my introductory blog entry should know, I’m currently working part time. I’m still receiving unemployment benefits, as a result of my termination, and because I’m working only part-time, those benefits have continued unabated. I’ve noticed, as I’ve perused various PF blogs, that there seems to a fundamental misunderstanding of how unemployment works. I found several responses to J.D.’s recent post on Get Rich Slowly which seemed to imply that anyone receiving unemployment would have no interest in getting a part-time job, for fear of losing their benefits. So, here’s a little primer on how unemployment really works (at least in my home state of Pennsylvania; other states might have different policies):
After being downsized in November, I applied for unemployment. I submitted all my paperwork and the unemployment office calculated that, based on my wages over the previous year, I was entitled to receive about $400 each week (under half of my previous wages). (Actually, they used the four quarters prior to the quarter immediately before the quarter when I was downsized. I lost my job in November of 2008, so they used the third quarter of 2007 through the second quarter of 2008 (July 2007 – June 2008) as the basis for computing my benefits.) I’ll receive a total of about $11,000 from unemployment, which is scheduled to be fully paid out in May, unless I start getting other money coming in and can extend the length of time I receive unemployment (more on that below).
On top of that, I’ve got a ‘part-time work allowance’, of about $150 each week. If I work part-time and make less than that amount, I’ll still receive the full amount of unemployment. I’m currently making $120 each week, and receive the full amount of my unemployment, in addition to the money from my part time job.
If I make MORE than $150 but LESS than the $550 in total weekly payment, my unemployment will be cut down to bring my total compensation for the week down to that level. The difference between the full unemployment benefit and what I actually receive will be credited, and the length of time I can receive unemployment will be extended. If I started making $350 a week part-time, then my unemployment benefits will go down to $200 a week. But, since I’m still entitled to the full $11,000 in unemployment benefits, the amount of time I’ll continue receiving money from the unemployment office will be extended.
If I make MORE than $550 a week while still working part time, I’ll stop receiving unemployment payments, but again, the benefits will roll over, so if I start making less money before finding a full-time job, the payments will start to pick up again. (I believe after two years or so, I’ll be removed from the system, even if I still have some unemployment benefits remaining due to roll-overs. Until that point, I’ll still have unemployment benefits I accrued during my previous full-time work period.)
One advantage of this system is that there’s little, if any, disincentive towards working. Any level of work will generate more income than relying on unemployment alone, so people can find part-time work without worrying that a $7 an hour, twenty hour a week job at McDonald’s will destroy their ability to get unemployment and drop their income. If anything, there’s increased incentive to find MORE part-time work; by increasing my working income, I’ll lower the amount of my benefits I’ll need to tap each week to make the same amount of money, and I’ll be able to stretch out my safety net for a longer period of time.
The overall result is a smoothing of my income; I’m ensured of a minimum payment each week, with the promise that as I increase the amount I earn with part-time work, my weekly income will increase, regardless of how much I’m making with my part-time job. This allows me to take jobs, even those that pay less than $400 a week, and not worry that I’ll lose money in the bargain.
Hopefully, that helps to explain how unemployment works; the idea that people on unemployment won’t take part-time jobs is a misunderstanding, and I hope I’ve managed to help those who had the wrong idea about unemployment benefits.
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