Imagine if everyone in the St. Joseph area lost their job.
If the entire work force in Andrew, Buchanan, Doniphan and DeKalb counties — and then some — were out of work.
It happened on Monday, so to speak.
The first day of this week was introduced with a wave of layoff announcements by some of the nation’s largest employers. Sprint Nextel, just down the road in Overland Park, said it would cut 8,000 jobs. Caterpillar will be eliminating 20,000 positions; Home Depot another 7,000; Pfizer about 26,000 after its merger.
One media report added up the carnage to 71,000 job losses in a day single.
The work force in the St. Joseph metro area, which includes four counties, is nearly 68,000. About 63,000 of those people are currently employed.
The blow of these job losses to the national economy is hard to comprehend. We can be thankful that 95 percent of the area’s work force is earning wages, but it’s nearly impossible to find someone who has not been personally offended by this recession. Either they’ve lost a job, or a spouse or family member has, or they are having to work longer hours in a leaner, meaner workplace.
And nearly everyone is worried that even if they escaped this week, their job is next on the chopping block.
Power in the job market has shifted from employees to employers who have their pick of willing workers. One man laid off from Snorkel has discovered as many as 500 people competing for the jobs where he has applied.
The transition is revealed in a number of ways. Trends show up first in the e-mail inbox, where spammers seem to have their finger on the pulse beat of the American economy.
Used to be, junk e-mail promised big lottery winners. Last fall, spammers picked up on the credit crisis by sending out e-mails trying to lure victims with the amazing news that they’d been approved for a loan.
In the latest scam, e-mails promise an almost unbelievable offer — a job. The American dream no longer encompasses an SUV, credit card and adjustable rate mortgage, but just the chance to clock in every day.
The raw edge of the recession has altered even that most basic worker right to complain about your job. It’s still a common practice, especially as companies know they can demand more and more and offer less, but any whining these days is followed up by the statement, “but it’s a job and I’m thankful to have it.”
It’s a different workplace than it was a few months ago. Perhaps a new sense of appreciation, from both employers and employees, may be one good thing to come out of the recession.
