Some unemployment stats

According to a recent study, the number of people out of work for longer than two years has soared to more than 400,000, the highest figure since 1997 – the total has more than doubled since the recession in 2008.

Of the 100,000 people over 50 who lost their jobs at the start of the economic crisis, (100,000!) many are now running the risk of being forced to retire earlier than they planned, and with a lower/ possibly much reduced pension.
It doesn’t look any rosier for the younger element either! The number of 18 to 24-year-olds who have been jobless for more than two years has almost trebled since 2008, from 36,000 to 95,000. Frightening statistics for any reader to accept.

When employers take on more workers they will (no doubt) offer the lowest they can get away with, and surprise surprise, that includes all age groups, not just teenagers and not just over 50s.
At the lowest end of the pay scale, the likelihood is that the lowest paid jobs will go to those who are frankly the most desperate for money and a job. (Not just Eastern Europeans) They’ll possibly also be required to work longer hours, with increased responsibility and of course will be expendable.

But, the tide will turn… When the job market improves, disgruntled staff will eventually move on to better jobs. Unfair bosses will see their workforce temporarily depleted and the jobless thousands of today will see the emergence of more jobs offering genuine opportunities…

107

¹ Give thanks to the LORD, for he is good;
his love endures forever.

² Let the redeemed of the LORD tell their story—
those he redeemed from the hand of the foe,

³ those he gathered from the lands,
from east and west, from north and south.

⁴ Some wandered in desert wastelands,
finding no way to a city where they could settle.

⁵ They were hungry and thirsty,
and their lives ebbed away.

⁶ Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble,
and he delivered them from their distress.

⁷ He led them by a straight way
to a city where they could settle.

⁸ Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love
and his wonderful deeds for humankind,

⁹ for he satisfies the thirsty
and fills the hungry with good things.

¹⁰ Some sat in darkness, in utter darkness,
prisoners suffering in iron chains,

¹¹ because they rebelled against God’s commands
and despised the plans of the Most High.

¹² So he subjected them to bitter labor;
they stumbled, and there was no one to help.

¹³ Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,
and he saved them from their distress.

¹⁴ He brought them out of darkness, the utter darkness,
and broke away their chains.

¹⁵ Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love
and his wonderful deeds for humankind,

¹⁶ for he breaks down gates of bronze
and cuts through bars of iron.

¹⁷ Some became fools through their rebellious ways
and suffered affliction because of their iniquities.

¹⁸ They loathed all food
and drew near the gates of death.

¹⁹ Then they cried to the LORD in their trouble,
and he saved them from their distress.

²⁰ He sent out his word and healed them;
he rescued them from the grave.

²¹ Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love
and his wonderful deeds for humankind.

²² Let them sacrifice thank offerings
and tell of his works with songs of joy.

²³ Some went out on the sea in ships;
they were merchants on the mighty waters.

²⁴ They saw the works of the LORD,
his wonderful deeds in the deep.

²⁵ For he spoke and stirred up a tempest
that lifted high the waves.

²⁶ They mounted up to the heavens and went down to the depths;
in their peril their courage melted away.

²⁷ They reeled and staggered like drunkards;
they were at their wits’ end.

²⁸ Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble,
and he brought them out of their distress.

²⁹ He stilled the storm to a whisper;
the waves of the sea were hushed.

³⁰ They were glad when it grew calm,
and he guided them to their desired haven.

³¹ Let them give thanks to the LORD for his unfailing love
and his wonderful deeds for humankind.

³² Let them exalt him in the assembly of the people
and praise him in the council of the elders.

³³ He turned rivers into a desert,
flowing springs into thirsty ground,

³⁴ and fruitful land into a salt waste,
because of the wickedness of those who lived there.

³⁵ He turned the desert into pools of water
and the parched ground into flowing springs;

³⁶ there he brought the hungry to live,
and they founded a city where they could settle.

³⁷ They sowed fields and planted vineyards
that yielded a fruitful harvest;

³⁸ he blessed them, and their numbers greatly increased,
and he did not let their herds diminish.

³⁹ Then their numbers decreased, and they were humbled
by oppression, calamity and sorrow;

⁴⁰ he who pours contempt on nobles
made them wander in a trackless waste.

⁴¹ But he lifted the needy out of their affliction
and increased their families like flocks.

⁴² The upright see and rejoice,
but all the wicked shut their mouths.

⁴³ Let all who are wise heed these things
and ponder the loving deeds of the LORD.

Ask God

I’ve often got questions, from the simple to the simply frustrating, and I don’t always get the answers I’m expecting. Like, why am I working where I’m working? What is the point of the local Job Centre? Why do I moan so much when I should be grateful for a job? Why do so many people watch rubbish television like Big Brother when Britain’s Got Talent is equally awful?

Generating extra cash

Although I’m now working again and earning something, we really need to supplement our income to stay afloat. Obvious it may be, one way to do this is to sell things, possessions. If you’re unemployed or on a low income, I would say it’s worth giving it some serious thought.

We’ve taken to rummaging through the boxes in our loft, the shed and with our childrens’ knowledge we’ve been able to make a few quid selling possessions either at car boots or