Job Security?
Posted on April 10, 2008 by Him and tagged employment
In the news as of late are talks of a recession, whether we're in one, and what that means. One of the more common benchmarks that I see is lob losses. As our economy worsens, there is less money available to pay people, thus companies are forced to lay people off.
When I read that and compare it to both Her's and my job situation, I'm flabbergasted. Both of our companies are on hiring rampages and have doubled in size since we've started. To add to that, both of our companies don't show any slowdown of hiring new people or obtaining new projects. We have recently received more responsibilities, bonuses, and pay raises.
We're extremely lucky to be in the fields of work that we're in and working for great companies. I'm crossing my fingers and hoping that we can get out of this economic downturn in a better position than how we entered it.
How is your employment situation looking?
Comments/Trackbacks
Trackback URL: http://www.makelovenotdebt.com/MT/mlnd-trackbacks.cgi/1247
Mark | Apr 10, 2008
Here in Seattle the job market is still pretty strong.
Personally, I work for a small company (12 people) but we've doubled our business in the last 14 months or so and are landing new business at a faster clip than ever before.
We're adding a couple new people as well as bringing work that was previously done on a contract basis (like bookkeeping) in-house.
It's getting hectic but I'm not worried about my job security at this point. We need all the help we can get...
Ariella | Apr 10, 2008
I live in Madison, WI, and haven't really heard about a lot of people in this area losing jobs. The University and the Capitol really insulate the community from the worst of things, but I'm sure there's some rise in unemployment.
As for my job, I'm a defense lawyer, so I am not too worried. People rarely stop suing one another just because the economy goes south.
The partner works for an engineering company and they were hiring like crazy last year and the company quickly doubled. However, that seemed to backfire and suddenly lots of cut backs were made with the most serious being in the past few weeks.
At first, I felt that the partner's job was secure because he is one of the engineers (and without them, they can't get more contacts... more money in). But a couple weeks ago they laid off more than 10% of the company - okay, it's a small company, so like 5 people -- including one of the engineers.
Needless to say, I'm very stressed over this and the reality that the partner's current multi-year project is coming to a close and there is nothing else waiting for his attention.
MVW | Apr 10, 2008
Consider yourselves lucky. My company (and my entire industry) is struggling. My company prides itself on never doing layoffs, but in reality, they just wait for people to quit or retire, then wait a really long time, if ever, to fill the position. Then, they often fill it with a lower-paid, inexperienced person straight out of college. Profit sharing has gone the way of the dinosaurs in the last 2 years, and pay raises are capped at 2 percent this year. We can't afford our usual interns this summer, and there's little room in the budget for travel or training. Hooray. Enjoy your prosperity while it lasts...
We've had some layoffs which is very unusual for my company. I've been with the company 8 years and this is the first time they've ever laid people off. In my department, I think we are pretty safe (fingers crossed). We still had pretty nice raises this year though.
One of the best things about being self-employed is that you can't really be fired per se. The worst thing that can happen is a slowdown in work, and thus far I've seen the opposite, if anything.
My company has a hiring freeze and expense review in place, as we are in financial services. However, I work in data security, and it seems like we have more work than we can handle. My husband is more concerned about his position, as his company is in a proxy fight and we're not sure where that will end up. So for now we're paying things off and saving up, just in case of a layoff. If it doesn't happen, we'll be that much more ahead.
Well, my job seems stable enough (at an economic development non-profit), but three people quit recently and nobody's been hired to fill their place. Raises usually happen in June, so we'll see how that goes. I have been looking for a new job, though, something more international, and that's been going very slowly. I've gotten to the interview process several times only to find out that the organization wasn't able to get the funding it thought it had for the position.
Here in the middle of Iowa things are strong, though I have friends in the middle of Illinois who have reported two local plant closings near them.
Gigi | Apr 15, 2008
Engineering is hiring like mad. Buildings are still getting built and there only seems to be more demand, especially overseas. So in Chicago we're doing good.
Everywhere that I've been recently (SW burbs) has had signs in the window looking for help.
I was laid off from a publishing company in January, and am having a terrible time finding a job. I was an editor there, and have found something temporary, but I'm hoping it will turn permanent.
I'm in Colorado. I hear rumors of the company I work for closing down some its branches. (Two were closed 6 months ago) I'm savings extra money in case my branch is next. It seems like a lot of stores are closing. Is it just me?
Maria @ Financial-Tip | Apr 17, 2008
My husband is a partner in a construction company, but they are specialized enough that they haven't been affected yet. I am a freelance writer and just landed a new gig writing health articles that pays me more than any previous writing job. So far, so good. But since we're both self-employed, we have to be careful.
MsTek | Apr 26, 2008
I have been on the bench for three weeks. I work for an IT consulting firm. I fear they will let me go soon because we aren't booking any new projects and there doesn't seem to be a project for me going on currently. I know they won't pay me for sitting on my couch forever. =(
Becky@FamilyandFinances | Apr 10, 2008
My husband's company is also hiring right now (engineers). My job is very safe as it's just my boss and me and he can't operate an office without an assistant (legally).
I live in Wisconsin where there are lots of paper mills and even around here I haven't heard of many layoffs.
Maybe other parts of the country are affected more???
Reply to this comment