MY COMMENT:
http://jobs.aol.com/articles/2010/11/17/my-unemployed-life-the-forgotten-woman/?ncid=webmail
I came at this from a different perspective. After a 33 year career, the last 30 years night shift I retired at the end of 2007. Good solid pension, good medical, paid off house and zero debt. I was am and set pretty well.
The first year after retirement I worked in the construction field and was very busy. A lot was my office and computer skills but I was also a "gopher" with a four cylinder "stick" mini-pickup when gas was $4 per gallon. The extra money was nice and but I also got the meet a lot of people who worked in construction.
After the late 2008 economic crash the construction business totally collapsed. I was involved the the non-union remodeling, garage building ect.
part but across the board new work decreased by 75% or more after that.
My work is down to very near zero. People who have worked a long time in the field need the work and the money and I have my pension. Yes, these people will do almost anything legal for money. I got some going in Craigslist repair and resale but even this is crowded.
Even there, the secret is to specialize, know the specific material and market and act very quickly when some lists something at a good price "just to get rid of it" or when it needs certain repairs. I have the time, money and truck so I can jump on these. Even these are becoming more scarce lately.
http://fifthestate.net
