With all this talk about the economy and how awful it is, I' m curious, how are all of you doing?
I just haven' t seen it. I don' t know if it' s because I work for a large insurance company and that sector hasn' t been hit as hard, but I' m doing better than ever.
I just got a 19% raise last year, and our company blew away 2 of the 3 criteria we use for distributing bonuses. None of my friends or acquaintences have lost their jobs.
Maybe I' m sheltered from all the " misery" . Hit me with it.
Same here. Times have never been better for me. Having three kids out on their own helps but still, I can' t complain. This area is still booming, gloom & doom not evident. Unemployment, the economy, inflation, etc. not discussed....just hear left wingers talk about it on TV.
Let' s see, the previous republican govenor bankrupt the DOT, resulting in over $4 million worth of jobs being pulled from our company alone, over $90 million statewide. The current republican president refuses to push any kind of infrastructure funding through, leaving the industry as a whole high and dry. Our office is scheduled to close in September, 5 - 10 other transportation offices in town have pulled up stakes. Construction industry is at an all time low with people laid off across the state. Things stink.
Carp, I sell to the manufacturing sector. We got hit real hard last year (2002). I think my sales were down about 30%. When you are pon straight commission, thats a real bite !!!! This year (2003) the sales are ok, up to normal....of course, normal for 2000 !!!
They say it should turn around pretty good this fall, lets hope so.
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It' s a dog eat dog world, and I' m wearing Milkbone underwear
I see it to a limited very degree. My wife works for an airline and unless one has had their head in the sand they know that the airline industry has been struggling for about 5 years now. So that is old news. Because her compnay was struggling she got in contact with a head hunter. She has turned down numerous jobs because they don' t fit her criteria or within her paramters (sp). That tells me there are plenty of jobs out there if you' re willing to look for them and willing to accept them. She can be very picky if she wants.
As for myself, Im retired and have turned down several job offers that pay very well. I didn' t work for the first 2 years of retirement because I wanted the time off. Now I have found I want a limited amount of work to keep me busy a few days a week. I had absolutely no problem getting a job. I doesn' t pay much but it offers me the flexibility to have the off time I want and the limited amount of work time to keep my mind active and supply the social contact that come from the work place. I could make much more money elsewhere but I' d have to give up to much time. I don' t need the money so it serves no purpose.
I see the thing as there for those wanting and willing to go after them.
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Now you have to picture a combination of PeeWEE Herman and Wally Cox but with less muscle tone, trying to be intimidating None of this is funny! Message edited by Cougar Mag -- 1/7/2005 1:16:42 AM >/b]
I work for Intel. Most other high tech companies have had massive layoffs but Intel hasn' t. They are the best at what they do and have hung on remarkably well.
I have been due a %20 raise for 2 years now and as soon as the market turns around I should get at least %10-15. Maybe this year they will give some good raises again. My summer bonus was decent in size this year.
I lost $30,000 in the stock market, funny thing is is that I was debating on which way to invest my money. Aggressive growth or very extreme ultra aggresive growth. I went with the more " conservative" approach. If I went the more aggresive approach I would have about $350,000 in my account rather than $0!!
Oh well. I guess I can feel lucky to have only been 24 when it happened, and to have been able to have it to lose at such a young age(try swallowing that reasoning).[X(].
But now have two kids and a good job that I have virtually no chance of losing. So I say things are pretty good.
I help run a personal service and I put alot of people to work at manufactoring facilities. My customers had massive layoffs in February and we feel the effect from it just as much as they did. Our payroll is back up but not where quite where it should be. We all had to give ourselves a paycut in mid-March and I' m still sitting on it.
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*****The liberty we prize is not America' s gift to the world, it is God' s gift to humanity*****
I think the media has it all wrong. When we hear about the economy, there is usually some mention of the decline starting during the clinton years, or a stab at how Bush is failing miserably in his handling of the situation.
What we DON' T hear is any mention of Sept.11 or how the two are related.
Prior to Sept.11 my business was pretty well " booked" for about a year and a half in advance. Those advances were for conferences, weddings, family reunions ect.
Starting on the 12th of september, the phone started ringing with cancelations.
Things are somewhat better now, but it would be safe to say that I am operating at less than 50% of my pre-9-11 occupancy levels.
The construction crews are not here because stuffs not getting built, the conferences are not happening and folks are just generally not traveling to recreational and leisure destinations.
So to sum it up...The answer to your question is;...It Sucks.
How you doin?
[X(]
