If you get laid off do not start work until you exhaust your unemployment benefits...

Part time work is shielding the severity of the recession from us.

An employee who used to make 54K a year working full time, might now be working part time for a fraction of that, but because he's still technically "employed", his situation is one of those not factored it an at all when considering unemployment statistics.

I know a lot of people, myself included, that have been forced to "downgrade" (pay and benefits wise) their jobs due to the recession.

Part time work is of course better than nothing, but most part timers get no health or vacation benefits and even in a circumstance where two people are working part time (say 22 hours a week), it'll be tricky to keep the bills paid.

Yep. Be careful about taking a part-time job immediately after being laid off. Depending on your situation, you will receive more from unemployment than you will through a part-time job.

@econobiker: This is the thinking that causes people to be unemployed much longer than they expected. It looks bad on a resume if you are unemployed for 9 months (or however long your unemployment lasts) after your last job. It makes you look lazy because you might not have been looking, or maybe there is something about you that is scaring off hiring bosses. You should try and immediately find work since the job market is poor and it could take longer than expected to find a suitable job. You can also be more selective in the positions you apply for because you do have the option of staying on unemployment.

@econobiker: What's the reasoning behind that advice?

In these parts, you can get partial unemployment to make up the difference. This spreads your unemployment bounty out. (http://www.esd.wa.gov/uibenefits/faq/faq-ui.php search for 'part-time').

Unemployment benefits in NY would pay me approximately $430 a week from what I've researched.

If I work a full 40 hour week somewhere I would have to earn about $11 to break even.

But then I would be working a full 40 hours as opposed to having full time off.

Then you have to factor in taxes for money you make above that and how it would knock you down at least an extra 30 cents per dollar.

To be perfectly honest, going back to work wouldn't even be a debate for less than $18 an hour.

@dragonfire81: yup. My mom got laid off from her job of 18 years, and now she has to work at a bank for literally half her old paycheck.

OK, I'll put on the apron. But there is no way I'm wearing that smile!

@hollywood2590: Good point, but as said above, long stretches of unemployment look bad on a resume.

@econobiker: That makes no sense. When I got laid off, I started my job hunt but took a paid internship (minimum wage) and didn't apply for unemployment at all. I wasn't making the same level of money, definitely not, but I also wasn't sitting around on my butt waiting for the government to hand me money, especially with the long lines and the delays in processing. I went out and did something during my unemployed time.

@12-Inch Idongivafuck Sandwich: But it might reflect on you in a much better manner..."what did you do for that six months?" "Worked part-time at (insert store name here)" sounds better than "Collect unemployment." It shows you have work ethic, and you're willing to take any work that comes your way to make ends meet. Potential employers look at things like that when they take into account how much they're paying you, and how much effort they think you'll put into the job.

@econobiker: How does that work? If you're unemployed, you better be looking for work constantly. If not, suddenly ... your benefits will run out and you'll be unemployed with no benefits. Besides, most part-time work pays better than unemployment, and if you are working part-time, you can continue to look for full-time work, and if you don't run out of unemployment benefits, you still have them to fall back on if you lose that part-time job (seasonal, whatever).

@econobiker:

That may not always be the case, but always do the math. I was laid off last year and I was offered 4 jobs that would pay less than what I was making on unemployment. I turned each down and kept on collecting unemployment/doing odd jobs/ebaying things and when I was asked about my unemployment in an interview I would tell them that it paid better than some of the jobs I had been offered. Out of 20 or so interviews, only one guy had a problem with that. Employers tend to like people that can make informed monetary decisions.

@Coles_Law: But there are many other things you can do with your "free" time when unemployed - volunteer, write or speak on topics of interest to your profession, take classes and learn new skills, and network, network, network. If you're working full-time at a low wage, low skill job, you're not going to have time to do any of that.

@hollywood2590: Depending on what the part-time job is, you could still come out ahead. Working somewhere part time is a great way to get a foot in the door for a full-time position down the road.

@dragonfire81: I'm at the same job (10 years now) but at a 40% pay cut. Actually, it's twice the work now for 40% less pay, because I've taken on the responsibilities of a co-worker who was laid off.

It's stressful and awful. But I guess it could have been worse. I could have been the one laid off. Everyone keeps telling me over and over and over how lucky I am to still have a job. Meanwhile I'm a basket case trying to do both jobs, and having a hard time with bills due to the large pay cut. I'm sick over it, anxious and have a knot in my stomach of worry all day, but yes, I am still grateful to have any job at all.

I'm an ASU graduate. As if it wasn't difficult enough to convince people that I didn't major in barfing, now there's this crap.

Wait, was that articulate?

@idx: Yeah but the amount of money you make on a job doesn't necessarily equate to the level of impact it may have on your career or resume.

@pecan 3.14159265: Some people can't make ends meet with a "paid internship." This is why unemployment exists. If you've been laid off, take unemployment. You pay for it with your taxes. You're entitled to it.

@pecan 3.14159265: um.... unemployment is not a government handout. You pay into a pool and you get your money back from that pool.

@dragonfire81: exactly! i just got laid off at my place of work. does that mean i'm going to start applying to starbucks and lowes? no! i need a position in my field to stay valid in these times.

@hollywood2590

Also remember that unemployment benefits are taxable income, so factor that in.

Quite simply - if you're collecting unemployment, do what you must to pay the bills, but I don't think that there's a real problem with long stretches of unemployment in a period widely known as one of the worst bouts of national unemployment is that big a deal.

Given that I'm postign here under my real name and all that, I won't be able to go into some of the known tactics to keep your bills paid while you're not making enough on unemployment, suffice it to say that there's a lot of stuff going on right now that can help. Lots of people are unemployed but working.

@Gene Gemperline: I couldn't make ends meet on what I made, but it was much easier than waiting for that check to arrive (I was told it would be at least a month before they would finish processing my request)...I admit that in my case, I took the internship to meet people in my field, and to network, and that money was secondary since I had savings. If you have no savings, and no second income, yeah I get why unemployment is the best option. But to assume it's the only option isn't right.

@ryatziv: I use the phrase "waiting for the government to hand me money" plainly, as to say that the government is giving unemployment checks, not saying that anyone is getting a handout.

@ncpeters: I could not have said it better myself. When I was laid off in December I used my unemployment benefits as they are intended - to support me while I looked for a new job. I applied for jobs every day, did not leave my city at all in case a last-minute interview came through, went on many interviews and finally landed a job in February. It took so much effort just to get that one offer in this economy; I can't imagine how hard it would be if I only tried to get a job around when my benefits were up and I had been unemployed for a year. You lose your relevance as time goes on.

@pecan 3.14159265: You could also take classes, work on a project of some sort, etc. Part-time employment isn't the only option. I had lawyer friends laid off who spent 6 weeks or so in a shame spiral before starting to look for work again, and then while looking for work, a lot of them picked up a couple pro-bono cases through legal services (their insurance covers you) or researched and wrote articles for law journals.

Many of them were in situations where taking part-time work would cut their pay too drastically (vs. collecting unemployment) ... but they didn't want the giant hole on their resume. So they turned to community volunteering and skills polishing. Something to show for the time they weren't working, but without having to take a part-time job until unemployment benefits ran out.

I have an unemployed friend right now who's an architect. He's doing major renovations on his own home and documenting the process, which he's going to turn into a portfolio of some sort to show what he was doing during his unemployment. (Again, part-time work will cut his pay compared to unemployment benefits.) He intends to highlight how much hands-on experience he got with the home's systems and with things like landscaping. (It sounds more persuasive when he explains it.)

@pecan 3.14159265: i have a some savings. i don't assume that unemployment is the only option. obviously if you can find a part time job in your field then that would be preferable to collecting unemployment. however i will not let myself go down the "lowe's / starbucks" path because what is that going to do for my career? i can guarantee you that if i went to an interview and somebody asked me what i've been doing and i said "working at lowes," they'd ask my why i haven't been putting all my time and effort into improving my reel (i'm a motion graphics designer).

i plan on applying for jobs in my field, jobs that i would actually be happy with, and working on independent projects so that i have something to show for myself. i also don't plan on applying for positions below me, because i'm not willing to let myself move backwards.

@Eyebrows McGee (popping ~May 29): I think that in most fields, this is a good option. In my field...you can be a professional journalist, but you can't exactly volunteer that. And I have been volunteering my writing and editing skills for years now, and there's only so much time that I can give to volunteering those skills. I would've taken an internship whether it was paid or not, because I wanted to meet new people, but I also had to gauge how I was spending my time. I gained a lot of extremely valuable experience doing what I did, so maybe the advice should be "be creative in finding work in your field" with the ultimate goal of maintaining your relevancy whilst looking for a permanent position.

I'm really curious about the Lowe's gig offering health insurance to part time employees. Does anyone know if they pull a Walmart on them ie; you have to work x number of hours for x consecutive weeks and then the month before you are ready to get insurance suddenly you are only needed 10 hours that week?

@Martin Focazio: I did, that's why I said "above that".

This is why I've saved enough to be able to get by for ~6mo - 1yr if I become unemployed... I'd rather wait to find a job in my field than take a $10/hr retail job...

@Gene Gemperline:

You had me with the first 85% of your posting, but to suggest that any income-generating work is "below you" is karmic suicide IMHO.

I was lucky. I had a contentious dismissal from an employer in early 2007. MD denied my request for unemployment benefits and I lost interest in the appeals process, as they pretty much have you over a barrell if the initial claim is denied.

I ate Chipotle every day for three weeks, drank a ton of PBR, and reconnected with my then-fiance over daily lunches near her job. I took a part-time job with suck hours that was "beneath me", while coming up with a master plan to change fields and go back to school. That job was worthwhile on so many levels. There is something about doing work, however simple, that gets you functioning again.

I understand there are many big money types that feel like they can "consult" their way from month to month, but that attitude of stigmatizing work as being "beneath" you will only mess you up worse.

@Coles_Law:
I don't think a stint working the cash register is going to look any better on the resume if you're in a professional field.

@GildaKorn: The reasoning is the unemployment benefits lost (you don't get to claim longer when you get partial if you quality for the full 26 weeks in NC) reduces the effective wage of the job. That $10 job might you might only be working it once you take it the real costs of work for an effective monetary gain of $1/hr.

Your time is worth more then that even if you are unemployed.

As someone who's been on unemployment before, I know how it is. (It took me about 1.5 years to get a decent job after leaving the AF- I used my GI Bill+unemployment+savings to cover the gap in the meantime, and pulled out OK)

@pecan 3.14159265: Good for you, but paid internships aren't everywhere. In fact, here in the Midwest they're nowhere.

Also, stop assuming people on unemployment are lazy or not looking for work. For some of us it is a last resort. I collected unemployment because I had no options left and had no pride to salvage.

@Gene Gemperline: I thought about working at a clothing store to supplement the money I was making in my field during my unemployment phase because it's where I get a lot of my work clothes and the employee discounts were tempting. I didn't only because I figured that they wouldn't let employees use their discounts for sale items, and that made the temptation of working there moot because then I wouldn't even get a discount.

But that said, bravo to you for not assuming anything...certainly my post was not directed to you specifically with the intent to infer that you didn't have savings or whatnot. I was simply replying to you.

@pecan 3.14159265:
I think if you have been actively looking for a job in your field, being unemployed for a stretch (especially in this economy) won't look worse than working 20 hrs a week in retail, etc...

@cc82:

How much experience do you have in making hiring/firing decisions?

Not to mock, but damn if people don't understand how important it is your new employer see that you have hustle! See above, but I took a pt position that was in my old field and was up front and honest with the employer about my short and long term goals. He respected that effort enough that he took me on, and gave me as many hours as possible (at opposite times of days, in at 6am, home at 10am, back at 4pm, out at 9pm). When I left, he mentioned how much he respected my desire to just get it in.

@aftercancer:

Pretty much. Every employer I've had that offers benefits to PT'ers does something like this, although there usually are a few superstars that are just so valuable that it helps to get them the benefits.

On the opposite end, I was at a position with a hotel during all of 2008. Turns out the big boss, the houskeeping manager, and our controller didn't realize that nearly have the people earning benefits, vacation time, etc. weren't working the required full-time hours. That waste in spending led to nearly 85% of hourly employees losing their jobs, me losing 40% of my wages and all of my benefits.

It may be easier to find an articulate Arizona State University graduate than a job these days, but TheStreet has you covered, so long as you only want to work part time and don't mind wearing a dopey apron and/or smile.

BOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!! Go back to Tucson!
Actually, I used to live there and subscribed to the Daily (Red) Star. It's nice to see you writing on the Consumerist Phil!

@cc82:

Not to thread-stalk, but seriously, the current economy isn't THAT

@DollaValueLIFO:

Learn to type quickfingers!

To finish the thought, it isn't so bad out there that employer's are all of a sudden understanding about gaps in work. If you live within 30 miles of a mid to major sized city, you better have a damn good reason why you didn't take a job and get hustling! The talent pool is deep, and using benefits as some sort of safety net until things change is just as consumer-friendly as looking at that line of credit as being real cash

@dragonfire81: Yup. Politicians have relaxed laws regarding part time employees in the past to lower unemployment. It works very well.

Problem is it's falsely manipulating the unemployment index and doesn't accurately reflect the state of the economy.

In Florida, you are required to show you have been searching for employment weekly to receive unemployment. There are online and phone reporting systems, but you have to list the employers every week. If you were offered employment, but did not accept it, you are no longer eligible for unemployment.

How would someone circumvent that requirement in order to collect unemployment while not accepting unappealing offers?

This really has a bunch of other elements to it for example if your old job had any package containing healthcare, it normally ends when you take another job. It's pretty rare for a part time gig to include healthcare... as a result this can get pretty costly very quickly.

If your new job doesn't have healthcare, you might actually be better off unemployed and relying on state benefits. As sad as that is... people with sick children often find that to be the reality. It's more cost effective to not work than to work.

Just shows how broken our system really. It should really reward those who work... but it often doesn't.

@Gina M Clifton: Vandelay Industries to the rescue!

@idx: So only one was honest, but for the places that are self insured, I bet you they filed your resume in the round filing cabinet the moment you left.

@DollaValueLIFO: I'm a corporate recruiter and there is no pat answer on this. Watch a highly-paid professional who has to resort to working at Lowes within 3 months of unemployment and some hiring managers see someone who didn't manage his money well. Another manager sees that as hustle. Depending on the field and the level, time to job hunt and network and get up-to-date on the field isn't a bad thing.

If you are only a couple of years into your career, then the J-O-B is more important. If you are more seasoned, keeping close to your field is vital.

Working part time, or for a much lower paying job vs. unemployment may also depend on other economic factors like child care. When I got laid off in my profession, my kids stopped going to daycare (since clearly no income = no money for daycare). To accept a new position, I had to make a certain amount which equaled unemployment plus daycare costs. No point in working for less.

I did continue to look for the work the entire time I was unemployed and was able to arrange for babysitting on days I had interviews. I eventually did find work, but it took six months.