No Longer Jobless, But Still Struggling

(CBS)  When Chuck Dettman was downsized in the last recession, he launched a support group for the jobless.

That was eight years ago.

CBS News correspondent Mark Strassmann got the group together to gauge their progress.

"Can anyone here say they have recovered yet?" Strassmann asked.

The collective response: "Absolutely not. No."

New jobs were only the start of their recovery.

"The earning power's not there. The salaries aren't there," Dettman said.

"I never had a thought I would go out and do anything else," said group member David Himmelheber said.

But Himmelheber had to after being let go as a graphic artist making $54,000.

His next job paid him half that.

He now teaches high both school and college. But he still makes less than he used to.

In fact, one recent study found most people who lose a job are still earning less 15 or 20 years later.

"Every day I go to work thinking, this could be my last day," said Bill Sankey.

Sankey is anxious -- with good reason. Analysts say workers laid off once are more at risk to be laid off again.

Sankey was laid off as a computer programmer earning $55,000.

He has lost a job twice since. Only now is he back earning roughly what he once did. But has spent all his savings.

"I used to be optimistic," says Karen Carron. "But I'm no longer optimistic."

After some hard times, Carron is the group's success story.

After losing a $69,000 job as a computer programmer, she also lost her house. Today she's back programming computers - but earns more.

And yet she's still insecure.

"I don't know if it will be a full time job for me for the next ten years," she says.

They all still rely on their support group to network and stay positive.

"Never give up," Himmelheber says. "That's the key."

Especially now - for every job opening, there are six people looking to fill it.

[RalphPetrillo]

So many people in Florida voted for former President George Bush and he left the country in financial ruin. Talk about a bunch of cry babies. Next time vote for Democrats. President Bush made every effort possible not to help labor unions. So guess what wages are lower, and exports are declining. Did I forget to mention the large deficit. Oh remember those days when PResident Clinton was President, and the economy was booming, we had a surplus of funds, and the Floridians were angry for he ad an affair. Would you rather have a President that has a booming economy but made the mistake of having an affair or would you rather have former President Bush who didn't have an affair but bankrupted the country. Where are you Bill, and can we change the constitution to let him run for a third term just like Mayor Bloomberg in NYC!

[rightbehind]

Stop contract labor and end the cash funnels "kickbacks" out of the companies for upper management.

[mary-miami]

Increase the minimum wage to no less than 10 dollars an hour. Why? Because the minimum of 7 dollars an hour is not a livable wage. There are thousands of people who are supporting their families on a minimum wage and if you do the math...It is not enough to pay everything needed in a household. They end up asking for food stamps. A salary that a person earns should be enough to pay everything a human being needs to live decently. That is not the case now.

[brianbwb-2009]

You have a point. If it is illegal to be nude in public, then there should be a way of ensuring people can afford clothes.

[hungry1968-16]

"He now teaches high both school and college."





Beautiful English lesson CBS.

[hungry1968-16]

by the_majesty August 7, 2009 8:20 PM EDT
hennighg --- Ignorance , total ignorance. As long as you keep the rich and large companies down. Where are the jobs going to come from ???
People that think like you are the problem............................






Yeah - we've really got our foot on their throats, don't we?

Forcing them to make 8 figure paychecks while they bankrupt their companies.

Allowing them to create all sorts of fake financial products like "credit default swaps" and CDO's, and then not regulating them as they turn into ponzi schemes.

Allowing them to decide who gets covered by the medical insurance that the people bought and paid for, and who doesn't.

Yeah, we're really holding them back, aren't we?

[ksmit2]

Bull. I worked for almost thirty years before i was making "median income".
Unless you are in a profession of some sort, you wont have many options.
You are a slave to "bi weekly". But hey, if it wasn't like that, it
wouldn't be capitalism would it?

[rightbehind]

The contract employment needs to be shut down. Some of these companies are set up as way to funnel money out of companies for the upper management. The management in some cases collects payment for contracting workers within a company. These employees are basically pack mules and have no benefits or rights. I've even heard that in some cases the upper management will set up a contract company and farm work out to the contractors replacing the full time employees that once done those jobs.

[rightbehind]

Conservatives are big on freedum. They freedum from good dependable jobs. They freedum from any chance at the American Dream. They freedum from accountable government. All while waiving their bibles and hiding behind the flag. It's enough to make a person choke on their freedom fries.

[azure13]

We've replaced about 50% of our fulltime workforce at my company with temp agency people. They make 8 to 10 dollars per hour.

[kindrox]

I though both dems and repubs said we could export all our jobs and walmart junk would be so cheap that life would get better. One big lie huh?

[jetranger7]

I remember back in 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008, thousands of people were losing their jobs, because of outsourcing, or down sizing, I definetly remember the On Line giant who was at once the giant - AOL- laying off thousands of American Workers, and shipping / Outsourcing those jobs to INDIA, then AT&T followed, and several more companies, 2005 Whirlpool closed down their factory here and outsourced jobs to MEXICO,, and the other thousands of jobs that have been lost to CHINA !! Then again if you watched Lou Dobbs, and watched his report Outsourcing America, and did a little research, you might know that !

[brianbwb-2009]

To jetranger7

My memory goes back even further, I remember the mid '70s when detroit laid off thousands of employees weekly. I also remember Reagan's "jobless recovery" where he would quote the rise in the NYSE and lie that it was proof that America was in the midst of an "historic expansion". Those people who lost their jobs never found employment which brought them back to their former standard of living.

America has been in economic contraction ever since Nixon sold off the gold in the US treasury, and all succeeding presidents would lie and point to temporary slowdowns in the contraction, and call it an "expansion".

Yet another silver lining about the current administration is that the racist neos, in their efforts to reject a "Black" president, will call the next "jobless recovery" closer to what it really is, even if their motives for doing so are the exact opposite of honorable.