News

One Quick Look Back at a Tough Year

Did you ever think you’d talk so much about “sub-prime” and “stimulus”? Learn so many new, made-up terms, from “funemployment” to “collateralized debt obligations”? No doubt about it, 2009 was The Year of the Recession.

We dropped into the technical range for “recession” in December 2007, but it took months for all of the pieces to fall. In September 2008, Wall Street came to a standstill, and by the new year, it was still recovering. Layoffs spread through every sector of the economy at a rapid pace. For the first time since the Depression, no one no matter how rich or established was immune to the creeping clutch of joblessness, portfolio deflation, or even homelessness.

The headlines in our daily Recession Briefing, along with the personal experiences tracked on Recessionwire, revealed a new world en recession:

College students suffered in the job market:

This could be the worst year ever to be a college graduate looking for work. “The sudden collapse of the financial sector has devalued MBAs that were still prized only six months ago, and Ivy League grads … are fighting over jeans-folding gigs at Forever 21.”

“I’ve spent no small amount of time thinking about how my life could have been different if I had graduated in another year.”

Some summa cum laude grads left the country in search of work, but found similar circumstances:

Other recession refugees took the last boat to Europe and are working as waitresses or nannies in Milan, London, and Paris. I am now working as an au pair to finance Deutsch classes, writing dreams and an apple strudel addiction.

Food stamps moved up the socioeconomic ladder:

Food stamps felt like a whole different game. First, could I actually qualify, with two master’s degrees, an expensive sofa, and a Roth IRA (albeit sorely reduced)? And should I? I’m far from starving—wouldn’t I be wrongly siphoning resources away from truly needy people?

Fiftysomethings with solid reputations and established careers faced an unexpected—and unwanted—life turn:

When you lose your job and income at fifty-eight-and-a-half in our culture, even if you are relatively wealthy, you have a problem. At least you do if you realize that what we generally call “retirement” should be an accounting term, not a life term.

Thirtysomethings and fortysomethings moved back in with their parents:

Faced with tough economic realities, more adult children are moving back into their parents’ homes. The AARP found that 11% of adults between 35 and 44 were living with their parents or in-laws.

The government talked big but acted small when it came to small business:

Small businesses have accounted for employing about 70 percent of the workforce, yet stimulus and chummy big-brother efforts seem to have been more focused on Detroit and Wall Street. The loan program America’s Recovery Capital has sent but a trickle of funds to businesses in need.

Bankers were not immune to recession:

February 11th is our fourth He-Man’s Unemployment Club meeting. As usual, TJ, Roberto and Hal are present. They are still looking for finance jobs and aren’t getting any love either.

Bankers were actually totally immune to recession:

“You guys are drawing down $10, $20 million bonuses after America went through the worst economic year that it’s gone through in — in decades, and you guys caused the problem.”

But this year is closing, and the signs—more than “green shoots”—have us believing the worst is behind us: the unemployment rate seems to have hit a ceiling; GDP is humming along; Wall Street has repaid its debt (a dubious indicator); Detroit didn’t collapse; the Dow is healthy; and some companies are even rehiring. So, let’s put it all behind us. Ready?

Tags: 2009, college grads, family, financial crisis, food stamps, jobs, Small Business, The Unemployed Life, Wall Street