The New Freedom Fifty-Five?

Downsizing just got a little easier.

Until last week, companies may have hesitated to lay off their older, likely more expensive workers, and not just because they’re the ones with more experience and perhaps better equipped to manage business through a downturn. They probably also considered the lawsuits that could come their way.

Under current civil-rights laws, which were amended in 1991, U.S. employers have increasingly been subject to anti-discrimination lawsuits based on age. Since the recession took hold last year, the number of age-bias claims has grown by 30 percent, nearly surpassing the number of race discrimination claims, according the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission.

But last week, in a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court modified those laws, saying it’s up to fired or laid off workers to prove that age was a key factor in losing their jobs, rather than their employers…

Resume Fictions: Be More Than You Can Be

So you’ve never operated a forklift before. How hard can it be?

If you’re like most jobseekers in today’s shrinking and increasingly competitive labor market, you can’t afford to limit your qualifications to, well, your qualifications.

According to a recent workplace survey, the few employers out there looking for new hires are reporting a sharp increase in trumped up or outright fraudulent resumes. That’s hardly surprising, perhaps, given the dwindling job opportunities now available. This month unemployment hit a 30-year high, while sites like Monster say job postings are down 30 percent in the past year.

For their part, HR managers and other workplace gatekeepers say they can spot fantastical resumes a mile off …

Screwed: 1,000 at Hypo Real Estate

A daily review of the employment fallout around the country and the world.

Today’s partial total: 2,024

German Bank Hypo Real Estate will lay off 1,000 employees by 2013… United Airlines will be reducing its flight attendant work force by 600… MySpace plans 300 international layoffs… The Metropolitan Museum of Art has laid off 74 employees in the past few weeks… Chesapeake Energy Corp. has laid off 50 employees at its corporate office… The digital ad agency Razorfish laid off 10 percent of it’s New York City staff…

Screwed: 1,660 at Lloyds Banking Group

A daily review of the employment fallout around the country and the world.

Today’s partial total: 3,793

Lloyds Banking Group Plc. plans to lay off 1,660 employees and close 164 branches… General Motors will cut 887 workers at its Wentzville, Missouri, plant. … Chicago Public Schools plans to lay off 500 administrative staff. … Ford Motor may commence with its 350 employee layoffs at its Louisville Assembly Plant early next month… Swedish cell phone company Ericsson is laying off 167 workers at its North Carolina plant… Capital Group lays off 94 employees in San Antonio… Irish construction company The McAvoy Group has temporarily laid off 35 employees.

Recessionwire Wants YOU

Well, it’s been nearly four months to the day, and Recessionwire has seen amazing growth and heard from amazing readers who have shared stories and helped us spread the word about the website. We’re thankful for all the help — and of course now we’re asking for more as we continue to chronicle these tough times.

Recessionwire is looking for contributors and interns to help with writing, design, production and PR and marketing. Not your skill? Got something better? Let us know—we may need that, too…

Recession Briefing 5.7

What you need to know today to survive and thrive in the recession.

Arkansas has launched a free iPhone application that can be used to track state projects funded through the federal economic stimulus package. (CNN/Money)

Get cozy with your co-workers: Companies of all sizes — including the likes of Microsoft and Pfizer — have begun requiring employees to share hotel rooms on business trips. (New York Times)

With the recession making restaurants seem like more of a luxury, more cookbooks are being sold and several major grocery stores have reported increased sales. (Associated Press)

Love in the Time of Layoff: Recession Killed My Romance

Twenty-three years after they broke up, Lesa and Ken embarked on a new romance from different corners of the country. On a whim, Ken had entered his college sweetheart’s name into Google – and discovered Lesa was living in Portland, Oregon. He was living in Avon Park, Florida. Between the two of them, they had lived through divorce, spousal death, children and heart attack. Despite the distance, the sparks were still there.

As their relationship grew stronger over two years of visiting, talking, emailing and Skyping, they made plans to move in together – in December 2008, he was to pack up and join her in Oregon.

At the same time, the economic clouds were moving in. The job market was getting worse in a hurry. Meanwhile, Lesa’s ten years as a social worker for the state of Oregon gave her security and stability there (somewhat – Oregon’s unemployment rate is 12.5% and states are not exactly guaranteeing employment…

Graduation to Nowhere

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

From the first day of senior year in the fall of 2007, (like all seniors) we avoided mentioning the “G word” and cringed when anyone asked what our plans were for the next year. We were still safely ensconced inside the safe, dependable collegiate bubble. The outside world, where concerns over subprime mortgages were slowly mounting, hardly penetrated. Besides, people we knew had graduated and gone to get jobs. Just as we expected we would.

When I did finally graduate in May 2008, Bear Stearns had already collapsed, but I couldn’t see how my experience could fold in on me: I was a double major, graduated magna cum laude, had put in my time as an unpaid intern, and was an editor of a campus magazine at Syracuse University. I expected success and moved to New York so I would be here to interview at a moment’s notice. I signed a one-year lease on an apartment and waited for the interviews and offers to roll in…

Recession Briefing: 3.6

What you need to know today to survive and thrive in the recession.

The jobless rate jumped to 8.1%, with 651,000 workers slashed by companies in February. Revisions to past months’ numbers show that December recorded the single largest month of job reductions since October 1949. (Bloomberg)

A new bill would let the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation temporarily borrow as much as $500 billion from the Treasury. Such a “mechanism would allow the FDIC to respond expeditiously to emergency situations,” said Fed Chair Ben Bernanke. (Wall Street Journal)

A new report finds that retail sales aren’t as bad as many had feared, but some experts warn that the sector could be hit harder as the year progresses. (New York Post)