Posted by ME/NJ on 8/23/07 2:06pm
Msg #207268

At least Tuesday was busy for me..lol

4 on the books this week.. This is bad. At my prime I avg 3-4/day. Guess I need to hit the want ads hard now. I did take a part time job 2 weeks ago, but now I am forced to put my efforts into a full time gig now.

Read an MSN article saying almost 40K workers have lost there job this year in this industry. Only the airline industry was hit harder 9/11 they lost 100K jobs.

Now here is the big question - If we lost 40K in finance part of the industry and the building sector and home sales have crapped out. Why have unemployment figures not gone through the roof?

9/11 unemployment went up, guess it shows that we hire alot of illegal aliens.

Reply by BetsyMI on 8/23/07 2:12pm
Msg #207269

It must be ME!

I was in the airline industry for 34 years and was affected by 9/11. I retired shortly thereafter.

Now THIS business is affected....better watch out for what I get into next!

Reply by ME/NJ on 8/23/07 2:18pm
Msg #207273

It will bounce back

Just like the airline industry did, Only the ones with the most money will remain in the game. Now as for our end of the industry I hate to say it. $50-60 will be the norm fee by the end of the year.

Reply by Dorothy_MI on 8/23/07 7:39pm
Msg #207324

Betsy check your email n/m

Reply by Todd/OH on 8/23/07 2:41pm
Msg #207281

People have to actually apply for unemployment for it to count.

Reply by MelissaCT on 8/23/07 9:22pm
Msg #207346

Re: and doesn't unemployment roles stop recording

after bene's run out? So for those who used up their bene's & are still unemployed, I suspect they are not counted in the numbers either.

Reply by Lisa Prestegard on 8/23/07 6:49pm
Msg #207317

Why unemployment rates haven't skyrocketed...

Unlike the airline industry, most people in the real estate and related fields are self-employed or ind. contractors... construction trade workers (subs), Realtors, NSA's, many loan officers... and do not qualify for benefits as such.
The numbers are skewed by this, no doubt. I am seeing evidence of a VERY different unemployment rate in my area (we had a growth explosion the past 5 years). I have friends that have been Realtors for more than 20 years in the same area calling me asking if I have work for them. Sadly, the answer is "no". And I cannot count the number of foreclosures on any given 5 mile stretch of suburbia.

Reply by JanetK_CA on 8/23/07 11:16pm
Msg #207375

Re: Why unemployment rates haven't skyrocketed...

What you said makes a lot of sense to me. What doesn't make sense to me is hearing that our economy is basically sound and that real estate is such a small part of the overall picture. (But I hope I'm wrong!) I have long felt that looking solely at numbers of people applying for unemployment doesn't give a realistic picture. It also doesn't count the under-employed -- those industrious folks who can't imagine themselves collecting unemployment, so they find SOME kind of work to keep being productive and making SOME money, or perhaps now work two jobs to try to make ends meet. (Perhaps lots of US!)

The other thing that doesn't appear to be factored into the equation when measuring how solid our economy is or isn't, is the amount of spending that took place over the last several years by people pulling out equity from their homes. I really hope they're right that these numbers are insignificant in the overall scheme of things, but I can't help but feel that we haven't yet seen the full impact of these changes.

(BTW, to the original poster, I don't think too many of these jobs are being filled by illegal aliens. Seems to me a bit of a stretch to co-mingle that issue with the real estate situation... jmho.)