We’re in a recession. And don’t tell me otherwise.
Maybe it’s not the traditional recession in economic terms. But many of us are unemployed, broke and tired. I was laid off back in May from my copywriting tech role. I spent the summer applying to jobs, updating my resume and website, sitting on Zoom interviews and perfecting writing assignments recruiters emailed over to test my skills. I sent over 300 resumes this summer and had a handful of interviews just to be rejected (or worse, ghosted). I joke to my therapist that I am the Queen of the Fourth Round- I get to the fourth round of interviews but no offers. It’s tough out there. And not just for me. One of my friends was a creative director at a FAANG company for 5+ years and was laid off around the same time I was. Despite her experience and her educational pedigree, she only has had three interviews this summer, as well as countless rejections.
The US unemployment rate currently sits at 3.8% (approximately 6.4 million Americans) but I believe the percentage is much higher. There isn’t a measure for underemployment, a step many people are taking in order to survive. I’m working in the service industry now, making half of what I made in my tech role and without health insurance. I’ve always fallen back on waitressing and bartending during hard times as I hunted for something I’m more aligned with employment-wise. While I know that service will always be needed (at least for now), I still don’t get enough hours to fully fuel my desires (like buying a car- but who the fuck knows when that will happen with the auto industry’s rising costs and inflation).
Plenty of folk are still exclaiming, no one wants to work. Bullshit. No one wants to hire. The job market is demoralizing. There are people out there who want to work, are desperate to work. Many are simply just looking for a job. Savings are running out. They can’t put food on the table nor pay their power bill. Others are looking for a second, possibly a third, to help supplement their low income. What I am hearing from my friends, coworkers, strangers off the internet, all genders and ages, across every industry is the basic lack of respect from employers.
The entire process of just applying for jobs is a mess. Expectations from employers are unreasonable. Employers are looking for the perfect candidate that needs to check every skill box. Employers don’t want to provide any training opportunities it seems anymore. Entry-level jobs are now requiring at least two years of experience. My heart goes out to the recent college grads looking for their first post-college job. Internships are not enough anymore. Some job postings on Indeed and LinkedIn require a master’s degree with pay of only $45,000 for full-time work. Oh, have I mentioned ghost postings? Or the countless logins I have to create only to be rejected?
Even when you get the job, things seem bleak. The federal minimum wage hasn’t gone up in years. Wages, in general, haven’t either (and I’ll never stop talking about how women make up about 46% of the workforce and still only get paid about 85% of what men are paid). The cost of living skyrocketed and no one can work for $17/hr and pay bills anymore. Employers want to hire someone for the minimum. Companies are running on skeleton crews to complete work. Many remote jobs are now being outsourced. Some employees fear for their basic safety.
Jobs aren’t providing the benefits people need to maintain healthy lives. The option to work from home was a godsend to many during the pandemic but that right is getting stripped away. Benefits like healthcare and PTO are on the chopping block. There is no job security. Even my friends who are highly educated in lucrative roles are concerned- my friend is a veterinarian in Austin and has told me that he’s concerned about his job, as more people can’t afford vet care for their pets and choose to forgo his services (he has also told me about the terrible health insurance he has especially after receiving some critical bites; as well as the uptick in rude clients and poor upper management).
Many workers are taking a stand and speaking up for their rights. After the throws of the pandemic, workers are hanging on to work-life balance expectations and increased demand for higher wages and better working conditions. The Great Gloom no more. Unions are forming every day. Multiple strikes have already happened (SAG-AFTRA, the almost strike with UPS and a possible one this month with the United Auto Workers). Workers have reevaluated their priorities, leading them to seek out more fulfilling and flexible work opportunities- all which they deserve.
All summer, I’ve been asking myself if I should switch careers. Maybe go back to school (I’ve been exploring various options from nursing to funeral directing). As much as I love writing and my journalism background, I feel like today’s job market has little need for creatives like me (don’t get me started on ChatGPT and AI). Applying for jobs has wiped away a good portion of my energy and has made feel like a shell of a human. I keep reading how the job market will surge this month but I’m not holding my breath. It’s difficult to remain optimistic about finding anything when you’re struggling paying bills. My biggest fantasy right now is to simply have a savings account.
If you are in a similar boat as I am, dear reader, let me tell you this: it sucks. It hurts. But keep going. Stay persistent for what you deserve. If you are fortunate to have a job in any capacity, remember that you are not your job. If you want to, you can let it define you but it’s okay just to work to make money to live. You deserve to be treated with respect and decency, especially your workplace.