The Job Market Is In Shambles
The experts painting rosy pictures are leveraging ignorance and misinformation.
"Unemployed" is a brutal word. It's embarrassing. It's demoralizing.
... but we're all there at some point in our life.
At the start of our career, we can brush it off as "I haven't started working yet" or "I haven't found my calling" and roll with it.
The older you get, the more it's an indication that you're "less than" and that you're not providing value.
The “powers that be” have spoken
Last week, RFK Jr. made some horrible, inaccurate statements about Autistic people, but curiously he led with "never hold a job, never pay taxes." At least to HIM, that's the greatest offense.
That whole message from him was horrific, but it emphasizes something that is culturally true... we're not people if we're not holding a job or paying taxes.
While I’ve got some theories about why he’s trying to ‘unperson’ whole swaths of people, and they’re alarming, that’s another post. Right now, he, as a government official, is making it clear “who matters” in our society.
This is also reflected in the mass deportations of a widely recognized workforce that is handling physical labor, and jobs that most deem beneath them.
If you’re not paying into “the system” they want you out of it.
Involuntary unemployment is a traumatic experience
If you've ever been let go, fired, laid off or been involuntarily dismissed, you know there is an ego blow that regularly circles back to kick you while you're down.
I can only speak for myself, but I know that I quickly felt the need to move from ever using "the U word" to saying things like:
I'm figuring things out.
I'm self-employed.
I'm "skilling up."
I’m freelancing.
I’m doing some gig work.
To say “I’m unemployed” is to admit defeat, it’s indicating that you’re lazy or incapable. While I don’t think those are true statements, they’re an employment ableism going on that says, anyone that wants a job can have one.
It’s just not that simple.
My point is, we're a world that needs to be collecting a paycheck to be valuable. To be an artist is to be derided.
What's the answer?
There isn't one. There are too many players in the game to say, "We should take it back."
Go to the bastion of employment networking, LinkedIn, and mum’s the word. You can’t go there and say, “employment is a swear word.” Your options are to pick the ‘empowerment label’ of your choosing, and stay optimistic.
Don’t worry, there are plenty of people on LinkedIn who can tell you exactly how to turn your experience into a newsletter, or consulting business and be clearing 5 or 6 figures a month in no time… just by following their system.
You can find reports that will say it, but most people are ignoring the fact that we're on the cusp of record-breaking levels of unemployment.
Most people are slow to notice, because:
Companies are still posting job listings, even when they're not actually hiring, all so that they look healthy (Go read about "Ghost Jobs.")
The Government is only really aware of your job status while you're collecting unemployment, so after 6 months, you're effectively "employed" again.
Some people are working multiple jobs to make ends meet, so 1 person looks like 2+ jobs that are filled.
Small business loans, historically an indicator of a strong economy, are increasing because people are starting their own business simply because they can't find work.
Quarterly Jobs Reports are deliberately misleading to maintain consumer or investor optimism.
It's coming, though. Whether it's robots, AI, recession/depression, general employee apathy, or corporations prioritizing ‘shareholder value’, jobs are going to continue to evaporate.
Nobody “at the top” is coming to save you
All of that is to say, it's your responsibility to find the word that works for you, that empowers you, to push through.
If you're wearing the "Scarlet U" and feel like a pariah when showing up to events with friends, remember that you're not as unique in your employment status as you think.
Most importantly, use the time in this state to change your relationship with money, with consumption, with corporate or employment culture.
"Doing more with less" isn't just the mantra for managers wanting to increase shareholder value, it's the reality of the depressed job market.
“mindfullish” is where I can explore and share the things that have been on my mind recently, it has sections where I may wonder into my business “Channeling Chaos” or my community “Chaos Cooperative”, I might talk about coaching, I might talk about Substack.
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