The US economy continues to suffer as several large companies announced on Monday that they would be cutting 75,000 jobs. Sprint/Nextel and Home Depot are only two of at least eleven companies that have cut jobs as well.
First the mortage companies and real estate industry began to feel the affects of the recession, along with the financial institutions. Now retailers and IT companies are beginning to suffer as well. Last week, Microsoft announced "its first significant job cuts ever".
Just a few quick statistics on the number of layoffs since the recession began:
Number of job cuts since Dec. 2008: 2.55 million
Bureau of Labor Statistics
More than 66,600 retail jobs were lost in December (the worst since the 1930s)
As the United States economy continuously falls, the graduating college students, who have spent their entire educational career planning for their future in the "real world", have been pitched a curve ball. Before the recession, an undergraduate degree was golden, whereas now, it doesn't seem to gaurantee the job security that we hoped it would.
So what should we do? Some of us have opted to stay in school and either get another Bachelor's degree or pursue a Master's degree. While others have taken the leap of faith and began their careers in this fluctuating economy.
Although the recession seems to be at its worst, I've always been told that things have to get worse before they can get better. The executives of these companies have to learn their lessons as to what could be done differently to continue a prosperous business, and unfortunately WE have to suffer for it. But if we continue to save and spend wisely, the economy will eventually rise again.
Sources:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/27/business/economy/27layoffs.html?_r=1&scp=2&sq=layoffs&st=cse
Layoffs Spread to More Sectors of the Economy, Catherine Rampell. January 26, 2009
Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
