Bad Times

This isn't the typical Seth in the City post, but I've got a lot on my mind tonight and I thought I'd just purge a bit of it in blog form.

This economic mess we're in seems to be getting worse by the day and I don't think there is anyone out there who is unaffected by it. I've certainly not been immune. For the last month, the store I work for has had to drastically slash hours for all non full time employees (which is most of the staff) and a lot of us are trying to get by on 12-16 hours a week at the moment, which is of course impossible.

The truly awful part is that it's not expected to improve any time soon. The only way we will be able to get more hours is if people start quitting and there are fewer employees to spread the hours among. Of course, no one can quit because there aren't any other jobs out there!

This was bad enough, but this week we lost two co-workers, both of whom have worked at our store for years, to layoffs. One of these women had worked for the company for about a decade and the other for nearly eight years, and just like that they were unemployed.

I have an awful feeling that this just the beginning and that more layoffs, or even store closures, will follow before long, and I feel like everything I've known for the last several years is suddenly unstable, that the life I've built for myself since leaving home is hanging by a thread.

It's an incredibly scary feeling, and one that many people all over the country are living with on a daily basis. I've just finally joined the club.