Life in the Recession

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Life has been so hard in the economic crisis, and it's effected so many of us, I thought it'd be interesting to have a thread where we all discuss our experiences so far. I'll go first.

My family's been in plumbing for years now (my dad union, my mother non-union) and since that's part of the construction business they're getting hit pretty hard. My dad is down to four days a week, my mother down to three. My step-dad's job thankfully is secure, and my dad's girlfriend works in education so she's not going anywhere. But most of our friends and relatives have either been out of work for a few months now or are on their way to being so. I'm actually moving home because 1.) I finished school and there's nothing left for me here and 2.) I feel at this point it'd be wise for us to stick together.

I'm trained in commercial art, and in times like this it's really hard to find work. Most places that would hire someone with my skills are sticking to their core group of people if they're not going out of business altogether. I've found a good job that'll last me through the summer, but after that if this hasn't cleared up I'm not sure what to do with myself.

So those're my experiences so far. Yours?

My dad, who works at the employment agency, had to work a little harder to deal with the increasing number of unemployments.

jamesohgoodie wrote:

Has your family tried expanding into HVAC? Many plumbers also do heating and air-conditioning.

Hmm, I dunno. They both handle the construction aspect of plumbing. My mother's company installs pipe-fittings into homes being constructed around the area, and my dad does the same thing only with major commercial property like offices and high rises. But since new buildings aren't being constructed they're both losing business.