Me! Me! Cosmo’s Ghost and Gundy, lissen up, cause I managed to get around the Temp’s Catch-22. I was in a never-ending hellish temp job, too; I had to quit this job before I had a nervous breakdown (not really exaggerating here - I still have nightmares about it), fully expecting to get another temp job within a couple of weeks. Then I managed to injure my foot so I couldn’t work (which my doctor signed off on for me), so Employment Insurance covered me! Hallelujah, and pass the potatoes! After my sick benefits ran out, I was able to convert my claim to regular Employment Insurance. So, all you have to do is break something, and you’re golden! The downside is that I’ve been away from temping for almost six months now, and I don’t think I can go back now. My soul shrivels at the very thought of it.
Through my “long term unemployed” eyes my country seems full of evil, networked, two-faced nepotists and “pretend feminists” intent on acting like 1950s sexists. A land where most people are employed above their level of competency and where the employers are pathologically greedy. I’ve begun to entertain myself by planning to starve myself to death on the net. Yes, you’ve heard of cutmylegsoff.com now it’s starvemyselftodeath.com. (I don’t know if that URL has been taken already until I press submit). There’s so much anorexia on the Internet now, though, that I don’t think people would be all that interested. Back to the drawing board.
By the way, does anyone know what happens if you put an active hyperlink in the subject line? I mean, does it activate and go to the designated website or does it just go to the OP frame?
Zuckuss, thank you for your sympathy.
I am checking in here as another member of the painfully unemployed. I graduated from university to discover that it is an arid wasteland out here. I am single and don’t own a car, so that adds desperation and fun to my search, and does nothing for the fact that I feel like an enormous loser. BTW, I am not on unemployment, I borrowed some money from my parents.
The thing I hate most is when people ask me what I’m doing, and I say I’m unemployed, and they say “Have you tried looking for a job?”, like I’m some kind of imbecile.
I’ve just started my 11th month of unemployment. Man, this sucks. I’ve applied to tons of jobs that I’m qualified for, and have only received a few responses. I never should’ve gotten into web development. I should have gone into the medical field. There’s always work in the medical field. My unemployment benefits ended over a month ago and now I’m running on fumes. I’ve resorted to selling off a few things to make ends meet for a little while. But I’d better get a job or two by January or else I’m really screwed. I don’t want to work retail, but if I have to, I guess that’s what I’ll do. Damn the Internet industry, damn the dot-com meltdown, damn me for getting involved in it all.
Corporate lawyer, unemployed since mid-August. Got a job offer in late August, subject to various bureaucratic niceties. As of September 9th, all but one had been completed.
The offer was for an assistant general counsel position with New York City Department of Buildings. On October 9 (my birthday!) the City officially imposed a hiring freeze.
Now the Department is doing all it can to get me through as an emergency hire, with some optimism that it’ll work. In the meantime I’m trying to find temp. work or interview, but there’s so little that it’s a bit frightening.
Last Sunday’s employment section in the NY Times was printed on two pieces of paper. (Folded, that meant it was 8 pages long.) Last year they had a full section on Thanksgiving weekend, and the other weekends they ran two sections.
But I’m laughing in the meantime. I know I’ll get through this, but god, I couldn’t have written this plotline if I’d gone on a four-day booze-coke-ex-k-crystal bender! 
Officially, since July 14th, unofficially add another month.
And like Icarus, I’m behind the technology curve, which hurts.
And I’m single, no backup income.
I’m OK for now, but this sucks.
FWIW I empathize with the unemployed. Been there too many times. But thought I’d throw out that I keep seeing TV ads and reading news articles about the teacher shortage nationwide, and all the incentives for people to switch careers and enter teaching professions. It seems there are some emergency credentials while the person gets the extra required classes. I think they pay regular teaching salaries and some places even pay for the classes. The min. requirements are a 4-year degree and passing some state test. Probably web sites for each state or area. Good luck with the job hunt, everyone.