In response to Deanna

"Do you know anyone who has been unemployed?"

The declining job market of 2009 hit many homes in the United States. Millions lost their jobs, and hundreds of thousands lost their homes. There were very little businesses that were looking for people to hire and when an organization was hiring, the line of applicants stretched around the block. The unemployment problem did not affect myself personally but one of my good friends family has suffered tremendously.

My friends Mom used to work at one of the local factories in my hometown. It employed hundreds of people, but once the recession began to erupt they had to lay off a great deal of employees. This organization was only able to keep the employees that were absolutely essential in running the business. Unfortunately my friends mother was not one of them. She had only been working at the factory for a couple of years, so the people with seniority kept their jobs and she was out. She previously hadn't needed to have a job because her husband was the sole breadwinner in the family, but my friends grandmother got sick and her Mom ended up having to go to work to help pay the medical bills.

Since she has lost her job she has been unable to find another one. Her husbands job has also been slowing down a great deal and he isn't working as many hours as he used to receive. He also works in a local factory, but was luckily one of the employees who didn't get laid off due to his seniority with the company. Her family has had to downsize from their two story home, to a smaller one story home. They have also had to cut back tremendously on their spending, where they only buy what is absolutely necessary. My friends mother was laid off last year and is still struggling to find a job. Hopefully, now that the economy seems to be recovering, jobs will open up and they will be able to get back to where their family used to be.

Do you think that the job market will grow now that it seems the economy is making a recovery? If so, how long do you think it will take to get the unemployment rate back down to where it was before the recession?