The nation's unemployment rate remained unchanged at 9.7 percent for the month of February, but Americans continued to lose jobs, according to figures released by the Bureau of Labor and Statistics. The agency reported 36,000 jobs were lost during February, up from the revised figure of 26,000 in January.
The construction and transportation industries, which employ a significant amount of people in the New York City region, continued to shed jobs. Losses also affected temporary and health care jobs.
Four out of 10 Americans who are unemployed are considered to be long-term unemployed, which means they have been without work for at least 27 weeks. During February, 6.1 million people fell into this category.
Long Island Labor Market
The private sector job count on Long Island continued to decline during January.
While employment grew in leisure/hospitality and educational/health services, jobs were lost in manufacturing, natural resources/mining/construction, trade/ transportation/utilities, financial/other services and the information sector. About 1,000 new hires occurred in government.
February data for Long Island is scheduled to be announced on March 25.
The Effect on Relationships
With so many people on Long Island unemployed or worried about losing their jobs, individual and family stress have increased and placed a huge strain on relationships. While looking for a new job, or trying to protect a current one, is full-time work, this also is a critical time for people to ensure that their personal partnerships remain strong.
“One could say that the quality of your life is determined one percent by what happens and 99 percent by how you react to what happens,” said David Cunningham, a communication expert with Landmark Education. “While we can’t control everything that happens in life, we have a lot to say about how we react to what happens.”
Cunningham leads a course (“The Landmark Forum” that is offered by Landmark Education, an international training and development company) that helps people create breakthroughs in their performance, communication, relationships and overall satisfaction in life.
Cunningham advised that anyone facing tough job prospects and financial difficulty should look at what this means specifically to a relationship. Look at the specific worries, concerns, thoughts and feelings. While a person will have certain interpretations about the situation and what all of it means, the opinions, thoughts and interpretations are totally distinct from the events.
One example of this, cited by Cunningham, involves retirement plans. A 401(k) may have dropped 50 percent from a year earlier. That is the event, or occurrence, but he said that is not where the event ends. Interpretations are added to what has happened, he added, and this includes concern that money will not be available for retirement or that the decline will cause huge financial trouble. The thought of this can start to become real and color thoughts, feelings and actions.
Individuals and couples can be strengthened, said Cunningham, by separating the overall event from the personal story. Then, advised Cunningham, choose to deal with what’s actually happened and create a powerful plan for moving forward.
Landmark Education Exercise
Here is an exercise from "The Landmark Forum" weekend course that will help couples invest in their relationships so that they remain strong and healthy during any economy:
- Sit down together and become clear about the facts. Place all information on paper so the situation is clear and the basic facts are understood.
- Notice and share what has been added to the basic facts. While a 401(k) may have decreased 50 percent, all the conclusions about the situation may not be true. These could include concern over retirement and the inability to pay for college for the children. Not only could these interpretations be incorrect, they can be destructive by impairing power and limiting action.
- Create solutions together. After separating what actually happened from the personal story, work together to create solutions. This could include creating a new goal or project, or a promise to make an appointment with a financial planner to talk about options. Other possibilities include using the financial situation as an opportunity to teach children about budgeting and credit, or how to deal head-on with financial matters. Be creative and operate as a team.
- Once the action has started, include a reward such as a nice dinner or a family game night. Little rewards and rituals build intimacy and a sense of common purpose.
This is not a one-time exercise, according to Cunningham. When faced with challenging circumstances, he said people tend to hold things in, not listen with an open mind and look for someone or something to blame. Blame can be cast on oneself or a partner. When this occurs, Cunningham advised to make time for regular conversations with a partner and keep the lines of communication open.
“While nothing can take away the fact that sometimes life includes difficult circumstances, there’s no more important time to have power and clarity than when you’re dealing with challenges,” said Cunningham. “Working together as a team, you’ll reap the rewards of the kind of close, intimate partnership that money can’t buy.”
Comments
My husband and I lost our jobs within a month of each other. It's all about rolling with the punches and accepting the hand that has been dealt to you and making the most of that hand. Good article Mike! Here's to keeping spirits up and marriages sane during these tough times!
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