FAIRFIELD, Conn. - A sign on the cinder-block wall at Holy Cross Roman Catholic Church reads: "It's All a Matter of ATTITUDE." But the white-collar workers gathered here at a monthly support group for the unemployed know that's not true.
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Fewer firms can still say, 'No layoffs'
Nov. 8, 1990
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William Baker, 47, has spent most of his adult life on an assembly line. His job at Lincoln Electric Co. is grueling, noisy and not what most people would consider intellectually stimulating. But the manufacturer of arc welders and electric motors has one thing most companies in the Western world wouldn't dare offer employees: guaranteed employment.
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Out of work, and scared; Fears often lead to tears for hot-line callers; Best advice is plan now for 'what if'
Nov. 15, 1990
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Behind the statistics the government spews out every month are real people swept up in a worsening economy.
And they're hurting.
The numbers can't describe what it feels like to lose a job, to roll out of bed in the morning with nowhere to go.
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Boom to bust; Unemployed endure lines of questions
Dec. 28, 1990
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WOBURN, Mass. - Here, on the front lines of unemployment, every day begins with a question.
"Did you work this week?" "Have you filed a claim?"
The lines at the unemployment office in this middle-class suburb of Boston get a little longer every month. The faces get more drawn, the stories more desperate. Doors open at 8:30 a.m., and by the time they close at 4:30 p.m., about 300 people have filed through with a litany of woes. "Other than feeling bad for them, there's not much we can do," says Betty Zschokke, a job-service representative.
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Out of work, not hope; Autoworkers build a new future
Apr. 8, 1991
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FENTON, Mo. - You'd think Steve McClurg would be really uptight right now. He's been laid off for a year from Chrysler Corp.'s St. Louis No. 1 car plant, where he's worked for 17 years. And there's little chance he'll get called back soon; Chrysler says it plans to close the plant for good on May 23.
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Graduating into recession; Class of '91 finds hunt for first job tough
Apr. 23, 1991
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CHAPEL HILL, N.C. - Gray suit. Check.
Grade point average over 3.0. Check.
Personable, sense of humor. Check.
Summer internship. Check.
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Lawyers facing layoffs; Slump puts profession on trial
June 3, 1991
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New Yorker Susan Spar was a hot commodity in 1986, when the law firm of Gibson, Dunn && Crutcher lured her to Los Angeles. The firm flew her out, wined and dined her at the Bel-Air Bay Club and put her up at the Sheraton Grand.
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Job cuts belie recovery; Companies shifting to thinner ranks
Aug. 6, 1991
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If this is a recovery, why are so many people losing their jobs?
Economists say the recession started in July 1990 and ended sometime in the spring, yet in recent weeks Atlantic Richfield Co. said it will cut 1,500 jobs, Digital Equipment Corp. announced 9,000 layoffs and Citicorp said 10,000 workers will go.
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Pink-slip pileup; Layoffs mount as companies look for profits
Oct. 4, 1991
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Did every CEO in the USA come back from summer vacation and start laying off workers? It seems so.
Since Labor Day, there has been an avalanche of pink slips.
Among this week's layoff announcements:
- Pacific Telesis Group will cut 3,000 jobs.
- Du Pont Co. will cut 1,085 on top of the 2,200 announced earlier.
- Sun Co. will cut 900.
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Long line of job cuts; Labor force is changing permanently
Dec. 20, 1991
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The Age of Reason. The Industrial Age. The Post-Industrial Age.
And now, the Age of Uncertainty.
With a resounding boom, General Motors Corp. has declared the end of an era and the beginning of a new one.
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Job seekers' wild-goose chase; Thousands of good jobs gone for good
Aug. 21, 1992
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For two years, workers have watched with alarm as the unemployment rate has climbed steadily, from 5.2% in summer 1990 to 7.7% this summer.
Yet many economists and politicians look at today's jobless level and scoff. What's the big deal? It's nothing like a decade ago, when unemployment hit 10.8%. But today's level hides the fact that the nation's workforce has fundamentally and irrevocably changed the past two years. Recessions usually crush the ranks of blue-collar workers. Then the economy rebounds and the unemployed return to work.
