Out of work on Labor Day

From the US Department of Labor:

Labor Day: How it Came About; What it Means

Labor Day, the first Monday in September, is a creation of the labor movement and is dedicated to the social and economic achievements of American workers. It constitutes a yearly national tribute to the contributions workers have made to the strength, prosperity, and well-being of our country.

 Today as the US "celebrates" Labor Day there are many who aren't celebrating, who find this day is merely are reminder of what has been lost. As one of the millions still unemployed and still applying for the same jobs...today is depressing. As a kid I hated Labor Day because our mom and dad made us do "fall cleaning" saying that labor day was a day to work hard and clean up things. Once I learned the truth as an adult, I made sure that I never did yard work or anything but play on Labor Day. After all, I had worked 3 and sometimes 4 jobs at a time in my work life. A day to abstain from Labor was good right?

 In today's NYTimes, Michael Luo tells us in his article "Out of Work, Too Down to Search" of a new type of unemployed who aren't counted in the statistics because they have given up on looking for a job. The statistics only count people who have applied for a job in the past 4 weeks. In that group of the unemployed, there are at least 4 of my family members counted with 3 of us being over 45. 

 The unidentified writer at Kansascity.com states it succinctly by saying:

The arrival of Labor Day 2009 makes the love-hate relationship with work especially poignant. Since the current recession began in late 2007, seven million jobs have vanished. Industrial production has fallen by nearly 17 percent.

Those numbers can’t capture the human toll. Most jobless workers would quickly trade today’s idleness for the aggravations that once drew their ire. Messy colleagues, stress-filled commutes and long days now pale to insignificance.

 I knew I was a workaholic in the past and have sought to balance my life fully through the years. Being unemployed for 11 months takes its toll on anybody. May we all find a way to make it through the coming days.