November 11, 2009
Before I remind you to save money I want to remind you of the raffle to help a deserving family this Christmas. We all know when we give we are blessed. Invest in the raffle and maybe you’ll win a great wall hanging/table topper you can give as a gift! Purchase your tickets today!
There has been so much talk about the improving economy the last few weeks but most of the people I know are not convinced. I thought I would share with you some of the information I found that may help you in your planning and saving. I believe we need to learn from the great depression and the lessons they learned. Even after the crisis had passed they continued to live frugally and to save for future rainy days.
According to the latest figures there are mow 6 people unemployed for every job available. In the construction industry the number balloons to 25 people for every job. Jobs in the manufacturing area are 13 jobs for every job. This is the frightening one as manufacturers are discovering the productivity has not suffered as jobs have been eliminated. Manufacturers are not planning to increase their staff to old levels when the economy rebounds.
Unemployment in the United States stood at 10.2% last week. This is high and the rate jumps to 17.5% when you add in those who have given up looking for work. I was curious about how this compared to the Great Depression so I did a little research. The following information is a good summary of what I found.
The unemployment rate for the years 1923-29 was 3.3 percent. In 1931 it jumped to 15.9, in 1933 it was 24.9 percent. It then steadily decreased until 1941 when it stood at 9.9%. In 1942, after U.S. entry into World War II, the rate dropped to 4.7%.
(Source: http://www.bls.gov/opub/cwc/cm20030124ar03p1.htm. See also http://www.nber.org/chapters/c2644.pdf, the chapter titled “Annual Estimates of Unemployment in the United States, 1900-1954″, from the National Bureau of Economic Research publication “The Measurement and Behavior of Unemployment”
When trying to compare historical and contemporary employment and unemployment rates, it is important to note that US employment and unemployment figures (and there are multiple official employment and unemployment figures for the same time period, just as there are multiple official rates of inflation, depending on exactly what is being looked at) are now calculated differently than they were during the 1930s and 1940s. In general, current unemployment numbers would be between 5% and 10% higher if calculated in the same way as in the past; conversely, the numbers from the 1930s and 1940s would be 5% – 10% lower if calculated using our contemporary methods.
One major change is that workers are no longer considered “unemployed” if they become discouraged after being unable to find a job and stop searching. Currently, these workers disappear from the numbers. A worker must now be “actively” seeking employment to be considered unemployed, in contrast with the 1930s when any worker without a job but seeking work was considered unemployed. Another major change is that the unemployment rate of the time included 14 and 15 year olds. Child labor laws were changed in 1938 by the Fair Labor Standards Act and subsequent laws to generally prohibit employing workers under the age of 16. Current unemployment statistics start at 16 years old as a result.
Employment and unemployment figures are also difficult to compare, since they are typically calculated differently. For example, official employment and unemployment numbers may go up at the same time, which is illogical if we think that these numbers are based on the same formula.
Too, many critics of both earlier and contemporary methods of calculating unemployment have pointed out that both undercount the unemployed by omitting significant groups of workers, such as many of those who are self-employed.
Finally, there are significantly different methods of calculating employment and unemployment rates used by different countries and by international organizations, so it is often inappropriate to directly compare the published employment and unemployment numbers.
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_was_the_unemployment_rate_during_the_Great_Depression
As always it is not my intention to cause fear in sharing this information but to remind ourselves that self reliance is the best defense for a crisis in the future. It may be many months before the job market improves but even if it were to happen next week remember how quickly this recession hit.
The other lesson from this downturn is how dependent we are on foreign economies. That was not the case in 1929-1934. Now, when there is a downturn in any of the many markets we rely on for goods and food it effects us too.
I had a discussion yesterday with one of my kids and she was telling me how they are planning to spend very little for Christmas and they want us to commit to do the same. Last year I did so well and I intend to do the same this year.
Today I decided to try to make my own mint jelly. I love to make thumbprint cookies for the holidays and I always purchase mint jelly so I can have both green and red varieties for these favorites. I have also been thinking about unique ways to rotate our food storage so I decided to use my apple juice to make mint jelly. It is so…..good. I added what I thought was about the right amount of peppermint extract and it is very minty, but I like it. I think it is going to be great with a sweet cookie. I am very happy and I spent only 60 cents for each half pint bottle. A big savings and a fun gift. Now I have pomegranate jelly I made two weeks ago, and mint jelly for my cookies and to give as gifts. The best part, both are very inexpensive and unique.
I had another great idea thanks to one of our readers and yahoo group member, who supplied a recipe for making homemade hot chocolate. The recipe is on the yahoo group and in your November newsletter. I was thinking about how to make this an even more unique gift and decided to purchase some small disposable cake decorating frosting bags. Fill the bags with the mix until half full. Add a layer of miniature marshmallows on top and them twist closed and tie with a ribbon. It will look like an ice cream cone when you are finished. Place in a dollar store basket with a few candy cane for stirring and you have a fun gift or make chocolate spoons for stirring.
I will share a new idea with you each week until the holidays but I would like help from you. I get so many great ideas from others. Please share with us how you are planning to save money on gifts or entertaining this holiday season.
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Finding a good job can be pretty troublesome. Especially when you have high expectations.
Here are some tips that helped me land the job of my dreams:
* Plan out your CV, if you’ve never done a CV (resume) before, this is the time to learn.
* Take into consideration what skills do you have. You may have more choices if you consider additional job titles.
* Don’t neglect any source of jobs : internet, newspaper, radio and other media. Ask your friends that have similar jobs if there may be an opening in their company.
* You need to be proactive about this. Don’t just email them, make sure to call the HR department to have them confirm your resume.
Finding a job is pretty much a job in itself and it’s all about how well can you market your abilities.
Re: Unemployment
Because of all those fluctuations in figuring out what the unemployment rate it, I generally ignore the numbers given to us by all the different places they come from.
Here’s what it boils down to for me. I have a job, for which I am absolutely grateful. I can name 25 good friends of mine who had their hours cut and another 10 who are out of work, currently looking, plus 2 who are, so sadly, in that “given up looking” status. I don’t need a percentage to tell me things are pretty grim right now.