How bad is unemployment where you are?

[dissentowner]

It is very bad here and I am seriously debating moving at this point. There is zero opportunity in SW Ontario right now. I was so desperate for full time work I even applied to freakin Wal Mart and could not even get an interview because I did not have a minimum 5 years experience in retail! I have two college degrees with honours and I can't even get a job flipping burgers, it's ridiculous! I did have my own business supplying reptiles and other exotics however with the economy gone to crap the pet stores were not buying at the same rate any more and financially I was starting to lose money on it so I got out. I have had to go on anti depressents because I am so stressed and down about not having a decent income. This sucks!

[wooohooo]

That's terrible. It's not TOO bad here in Edmonton/Alberta I don't think. It really depends on the type of job, but there are for sure retail jobs and flipping burgers. My buddy who's an Engineer had trouble finding a job so he went back to school.

I know some teacher's, engineer's, nurses with some pretty hard times to find a job but I don't think it's nearly as bad as it seems. Hopefully things get better for you. Would you ever consider moving out of Ontario?

[PIMking]

When I moved down to Alabama I put in over 150 applications. Mostly construction but I got a cushy gig at a hotel for the time being. I'm going back to school this summer.

[dissentowner]

Originally Posted by wooohooo

That's terrible. It's not TOO bad here in Edmonton/Alberta I don't think. It really depends on the type of job, but there are for sure retail jobs and flipping burgers. My buddy who's an Engineer had trouble finding a job so he went back to school.

I know some teacher's, engineer's, nurses with some pretty hard times to find a job but I don't think it's nearly as bad as it seems. Hopefully things get better for you. Would you ever consider moving out of Ontario?

I would certainly move out of Ontario.

[Phanuthier]

Pretty bad in the Silicon Valley. I'm told (though unconfirmed) that because so much of the valley is made up of internationals on work visas, a lot of victims of layoffs are willing to work for free to keep their visa valid. I know a lot of people top MBA schools (Stanford GSB, Berkeley's Haas) that are getting low ball, low level jobs when and these guys (well girls, I guess) are usually the cream of the crop in the world. I know new grads are having a tough time in the valley as well.

[Mad Mel]

I feel your pain, dissentowner. I had to leave Ontario for BC when I finished school in 1992, as Bob Rae's NDP had pretty much run the economy into the ground. It helped that I am a western boy at heart and had lived in BC before, but it's much nicer if you don't feel like you're getting pushed out the door.

Probably a little far to go, but it's at 5.5% here in Australia. Pretty much if you want to work, you can get a job. Don't know your life situation, but if you aren't going to be working anyway, a year's working holiday could be fun.

[Devils'Advocate]

Originally Posted by dissentowner

It is very bad here and I am seriously debating moving at this point.

Well, it's not Ontario that is in the crapper, it's PARTS of Ontario that are suffering. When you say SW Ontario, I'm assuming the Lake Superior area (from the Sault, to Thunder Bay to Kenora). And those places are suffering. The Sault has gone from an unemployment rate of 6.4 in 2007 to 13.3 now.

I'd recommend moving. I'm originally from Nova Scotia and I graduated with a degree in Computer Science.. and couldn't find a decent well paying job in Halifax. There were just very few jobs compared to the number of graduates. So I became part of Nova Scotia's #1 export: "Educated young people". It is hard to move from the familiar, away from friends and family, but having a job is more important.

It's funny.... my mother was laid off from the company she worked for for 27 years (needed 30 for a pension). She was out of work for 2 years and she went into a tailspin and ended up in a depression. So many people I have worked with over the years have said something like "Oh, I'd like to have a year off just to sit and watch TV and not have to drag myself into this place every day" but that quickly becomes torturous. BEYOND the paycheck, work gives you more than that - a sense of contributing, a sense of working with a team to get things done, etc..

I've said it before... "People who are working say that they'd rather not be working, people who are not working say that they'd rather be working."

-=-=-=-
FWIW - I'm in Ottawa. As a government town, it works in the inverse. It prospers during a recession and the cuts come when the economy recovers. Which is why Stockwell Day was moved to head Treasury Board with the task of cutting the federal public service. But at the moment the unemployment rate is between 5 and 6 percent.

[albertGQ]

The recession hasn't really affected my employment yet. In fact, I have two jobs.

[Crispy's Critter]

where I am we are booming, and there is lots of work around. In fact there is a shortage of local workers, and most of the crews/rigs working up here have been brought in from elsewhere. The place I work at has just done a record month in sales, and we are projecting beating it next month again. The jobs here are mostly entry level/labourer type oilfield jobs so if anybody is interested in coming to northern Alberta for that type of job send me a PM and I can see what I might be able to find, as I talk to someone from all the companies in town just about every day.

[Rathji]

I work in Calgary, and last May when I was looking for work after school things were rough. I had zero experience in the field I was looking for work though, so I am not surprised at all by that. I ended up going back and cutting meat at Cargil out in High River for 6 months. Pay wasn't that great and the work is hard but literally they will hire anyone with a pulse. That is one job that is recession proof, at least in Alberta.

I finally got an IT position in November, the pay isn't as good as it could be, but it is a Junior position and there is a huge opportunity to learn along with very flexible hours, so it is a trade I was willing to make.

[FlamesFanInOilCountry]

I'm a manager at a restaurant in Edmonton and we're running with about 20% less staff than we were at this time last year, though our sales are starting to show an increase over this time last year.

[604flames]

The forest industry is taking a beating province-wide (including here), but the good news for us is down the road in Trail Teck is anticipating ~800 job vacancies over the next 5-10 years, their average worker age is in the high 40s low 50s if I'm not mistaken..

[I-Hate-Hulse]

What are your two college degrees in?

[Mr.Coffee]

Originally Posted by Crispy's Critter

where I am we are booming, and there is lots of work around. In fact there is a shortage of local workers, and most of the crews/rigs working up here have been brought in from elsewhere. The place I work at has just done a record month in sales, and we are projecting beating it next month again. The jobs here are mostly entry level/labourer type oilfield jobs so if anybody is interested in coming to northern Alberta for that type of job send me a PM and I can see what I might be able to find, as I talk to someone from all the companies in town just about every day.

The oil and gas industry is pretty active in winter as many areas in the province can only be drilled while the ground is frozen. So while it may be crazy right now it could slow down after spring break up.

However I would say that finding jobs in industry would probably be much easier than sticking it out in Ontario, as it sounds pretty rough.

[Crispy's Critter]

Originally Posted by Mr.Coffee

The oil and gas industry is pretty active in winter as many areas in the province can only be drilled while the ground is frozen. So while it may be crazy right now it could slow down after spring break up.

However I would say that finding jobs in industry would probably be much easier than sticking it out in Ontario, as it sounds pretty rough.

Actually up here they are saying that they will be drilling all year, as supposedly any of the trust companies who have claims on crown land have to do something on their claims or they will lose them. I don't know if this is the case anywhere else, but that is what we are being told up here. Supposedly there is supposed to be up to 60 drilling rigs up here the rest of the year. I've been up here 4 years now, and have never seen this type of activity or heard this type of buzz before, so am really hoping there is something to it.

Also between this post and the last I have been talking to a manager of a service rig company in Grande Prairie who says that most of the companies there have rigs standing that could be working, but they are having trouble finding people to man them. So if anybody is looking for that line of work you might want to send resumes in to the rig companies in GP.

[dissentowner]

Originally Posted by I-Hate-Hulse

What are your two college degrees in?

Police Foundations and Private Security.

[Mr.Coffee]

Originally Posted by Crispy's Critter

Actually up here they are saying that they will be drilling all year, as supposedly any of the trust companies who have claims on crown land have to do something on their claims or they will lose them. I don't know if this is the case anywhere else, but that is what we are being told up here. Supposedly there is supposed to be up to 60 drilling rigs up here the rest of the year. I've been up here 4 years now, and have never seen this type of activity or heard this type of buzz before, so am really hoping there is something to it.

Also between this post and the last I have been talking to a manager of a service rig company in Grande Prairie who says that most of the companies there have rigs standing that could be working, but they are having trouble finding people to man them. So if anybody is looking for that line of work you might want to send resumes in to the rig companies in GP.

I'm guessing that what you mean is the area you're in has primarily trust companies operating. It would make no difference if the company is a trust or not, if your Crown land is expiring, you typically need to drill it to continue the rights.

Finding rigs is really difficult right now, you're right.

My company is searching for rigs quite actively. We're also hiring for certain positions that don't require extensive training. My other friends, not in oil and gas and living in Calgary, have been able to find jobs fairly quickly too.

[fatso]

Originally Posted by dissentowner

It is very bad here and I am seriously debating moving at this point. There is zero opportunity in SW Ontario right now. I was so desperate for full time work I even applied to freakin Wal Mart and could not even get an interview because I did not have a minimum 5 years experience in retail! I have two college degrees with honours and I can't even get a job flipping burgers, it's ridiculous! I did have my own business supplying reptiles and other exotics however with the economy gone to crap the pet stores were not buying at the same rate any more and financially I was starting to lose money on it so I got out. I have had to go on anti depressents because I am so stressed and down about not having a decent income. This sucks!

Sorry to hear that man. I was living in London ON until recently and didn't realize things were bad. I don't know if you've looked, but you could try looking at UWO or Fanshawe to see if there's anything going. They are always expanding it seems and might need service people.

[dissentowner]

Originally Posted by fatso

Sorry to hear that man. I was living in London ON until recently and didn't realize things were bad. I don't know if you've looked, but you could try looking at UWO or Fanshawe to see if there's anything going. They are always expanding it seems and might need service people.

There is nothing man, nobody in London is hiring.

[ken0042]

A friend of mine's wife is from southern Ontario. He managed to get himself a transfer with the retail store he was at, and found himself making about 1/2 what he was here.

He ended up moving back. A blessing in disguise was that his wife stayed behind (in Calgary) to sell the house (and she couldn't transfer)- so at least he was able to transfer back and only lost a few months salary.