5,000 received applications in one day for 1,200 jobs...

[TMMT]

5,000 seek VW jobs on Day 1

Application period runs through Nov. 15

CHATTANOOGA — Joe Benton of Chattanooga said he's been unemployed for six months and really wants one of the production jobs for which Volkswagen started taking applications online Monday.

"It's not all about the money. I want benefits," he said at the Tennessee Career Center at Eastgate Town Center in Chattanooga.

Benton was among thousands of people who applied for the 1,200 production jobs at VW's Chattanooga plant on the day the automaker opened a three-week application period. Some applicants showed up in person at state career centers to file for jobs, although the same paperwork can be submitted electronically from a person's home computer.

The VW plant is under construction and is slated to open in 2011.

As of late Monday afternoon, more than 5,000 people had applied for the jobs, which will start at $14.50 an hour and grow to $19.50 an hour over 36 months, according to officials. Benefits will include medical, dental, life insurance and retirement savings.

5,000 seek VW jobs on Day 1 | tennessean.com | The Tennessean

[TMMT]

This along with this...

10,000 apply for 90 factory jobs (Louisville, KY.)

10,000 apply for 90 factory jobs | courier-journal.com | The Courier-Journal

I think really shows just how bad the economy and the job situation is. According to Forbes.com its just going to get worse. They are now saying the jobs that have been lost recently and the ones that we continue to lose are actually gone forever.

[TMMT]

Experts see rebounding economy shedding jobs

San Francisco Chronicle ^ | Carolyn Lochhead

Posted on October 27, 2009

Experts see rebounding economy shedding jobs

Forget a jobless recovery. The economy may be entering a recovery with job losses.

Third-quarter estimates this week are expected to show that the economy grew for the first time since the quarter ending in June 2008. Despite the estimated 3 percent expansion and a stock market that has been on a tear since March, hundreds of thousands of people are still being laid off each month.

Eight million jobs have been lost nationwide since the recession began two years ago, and by some measures workers face the worst job market since the Depression. The average laid-off worker has been without a job for 61/2 months, a post-World War II record. Many of those workers will never recover financially.

California's hole, deepened by a state budget mess and volatile tax system, is far worse: Unemployment is at

12.2 percent, third highest in the nation; and adding discouraged and part-time workers puts it over 20 percent.

"It's not even a jobless recovery; it's a recovery with more job losses," said UCLA economist Lee Ohanian. "The idea of having essentially no net job creation after a remarkably severe recession is a real pathology for the U.S. economy."

(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...

[Semiauto]

No doubt the Card Check legislation will improve the employment numbers.

1. Require small business owners to pay for healthcare or pay a huge fine

2. Allow union organization by open ballot, whereby employees can be threatened

3. Watch more jobs go offshore.

Brilliant!!

[Guest HexHead]

The job crisis will only get extended if 0bama goes ahead and raises taxes "on the rich". The great majority of these people are the small business owners, the people that create jobs.

He won't even have to do it in the light of day. The Bush tax cuts of 2001 and 2003 are set to expire on 12/31/1010. Then everyone's tax rates go back to where they were in 2000 (the lowest 10% rate will revert to 15%). A lot of other stuff like IRA and 401k contribution rates will reset to 2000 levels too.

Some highlights were...

-Reduced income tax rates for most taxpayers by a few points.

-Created a new, retroactive 10% tax bracket, which resulted in refund checks being mailed to most taxpayers.

-Increased tax credits for those with children.

-Eliminated the “marriage penalty” by making exemptions for married couples equivalent to what they would have had if they were single.

-Provided greater tax deductions for education expenses and savings.

-Increased the amount of tax-deductible contributions taxpayers could make to their IRA accounts.

-Repealed estate and gift taxes.

All that is scheduled to go away 01/01/11.

Edited October 27, 2009 by HexHead

[TGO David]

Excellent rays of sunshine for a dreary October morning! The current economy blows and the job market isn't much better. In January I struck out on my own after having been downsized after 10 years of loyal service. Lately I've started toying with the idea of going back to the corporate world.

Sadly I now find myself competing for jobs against thousands of hacks who are willing to work for peanuts; a factor which has contributed to the debasing of the pay rate for my line of work. Companies are enjoying a "buyer's market" when it comes to hiring help right now. You know it's bad when you find a skilled professional (accountant, service technician, etc.) working at Kroger bagging groceries just to make ends meet.

My son turns 16 this year and has high hopes of getting a part time job and eventually buying a car. He has no concept of what the job market looks like, or the fact that he's going to have to compete against dozens of hungry adults for that job at Chuck E Cheese.

[lowbud]

David those hacks have always been there. I've had to clean up after way too many over the years thinking how the hell can these people command such a rate. It was quite stunning to see these people collecting 100-200/hr for making a mess of things.

I use to think the grass was greener on the other side.. now i'm not so sure. way too many so called consultants out there these AND everyone's a computer expert now days which adds to the pile of idiots competing for work.

One thing for sure tho.. if your good, likeable, and reliable, the gig's will come.. and once you get them.. you'll have em for a while.

It just may take a little bit for clients to weed thru the bafoons!

[TripleDigitRide]

Excellent rays of sunshine for a dreary October morning! The current economy blows and the job market isn't much better. In January I struck out on my own after having been downsized after 10 years of loyal service. Lately I've started toying with the idea of going back to the corporate world.

Sadly I now find myself competing for jobs against thousands of hacks who are willing to work for peanuts; a factor which has contributed to the debasing of the pay rate for my line of work. Companies are enjoying a "buyer's market" when it comes to hiring help right now. You know it's bad when you find a skilled professional (accountant, service technician, etc.) working at Kroger bagging groceries just to make ends meet.

My son turns 16 this year and has high hopes of getting a part time job and eventually buying a car. He has no concept of what the job market looks like, or the fact that he's going to have to compete against dozens of hungry adults for that job at Chuck E Cheese.

My stepfather is in the same boat. He was the CIO for a large company in the Chicagoland area. After nearly 20 years of loyal service, he was abruptly let go due to the downsizing of America.

When booted out the door, his salary was well over 200K. He later found out the company hired someone half his age, with far less experience, for less than half the money.

Since then, even with rave reviews from his previous employer, he has had a very difficult time finding stable employment, much less anything near his previous salary. Other than some consulting work here and there, he's had no real luck finding anything.

[Guest Arko]

It's definitely tough out there. And you are correct about the buyer's market principle. Cost cutting has gone way too far at some companies. Me for example: Industry standard dictates you use a degreed and multi year experienced person for compliance management, BUT there is no legal requirement to do so, so I, as many others, were replaced by "awareness level" bodies at a third of the cost. Will it catch up to them? You bet. They may coast along for awhile without issues, but as soon as something complex or emergent comes up, they'll be over their heads, and all involved wil be in trouble. But for now...they coast, fingers crossed.

I'm fortunate I just found a job in my field again (after unsuccessfully fighting for the Check-e-cheese jobs) at almost what I was making before, but I'm still unsettled, wondering if it's REALLY going to be long term.

[TGO David]

but I'm still unsettled, wondering if it's REALLY going to be long term.

I'd eliminate every bit of debt that you possibly can and for the next year live like you're working that Chuck E Cheese job while setting aside as big of a nut as you can in savings. Not investments; savings. Good safety next for the next time.

[Guest Arko]

Yeah, that's the plan. I'm buying an old beater as our second vehicle, and aside from doing a nice Christmas for my deserving wife, we're going to try to sock away at least half of our income for quite awhile. We got pretty good at living on next to nothing, and learned the savings we had before, which we considered substantial was a pittance when Murphy's law came into play.