After 22 years on the job, Mr. Loftis, 44, was laid off from a company that produces air filters and (valves) in Sterling Heights, Mich., three years ago. Managers “looked me dead in the eye,” he (recalled), “and said, ‘We’re laying you off, but don’t worry, we’re calling you back.’ ”
He has heard nothing since. Despite applying for more than 100 jobs, he has been unable to find work. He has (drained) most of his 401k retirement fund, amassed credit card debt, and is about to sell his car, a 2006 Dodge Charger. “It’s looking (hopeless),” he said.
According to the Rutgers study, those with less education were the most ravaged by job loss during the recession. Even among those who (found) work, many made much less than before the downturn.
“The news is strikingly bad,” said Cliff Zukin, a (professor) of public policy and political science at Rutgers who compiled the study, which was based on surveys of a random sample of Americans who were (unemployed) at some point from August 2008 to August 2009. The numbers represent “a tremendous impression of dislocation and pain and wasted talent,” he said.
More than two years after the recovery officially began, American employers have reinstated less than a quarter of the jobs (lost) during the downturn, according to Labor Department figures. Of the 13.1 million people still (searching) for work, more than 42 percent have been unemployed for six months or longer. About 8.9 million more are working part time because they cannot find full-time work.
