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How is the 'recovery' going for you? We just laid off two more people--a traffic manager and a graphic designer. On the other hand, we just landed two new accounts. Still, the atmosphere here is pretty morbid.


Also, if you don't mind, what is your business and what do you do? (I work for an advertising agency as a writer/producer.)

who's managed to stay employed so far. We've picked up a little business lately, and may hire one or two people, but nothing major.

Unfortunately, our particular sector is one of the last to perk up during a recovery (as it is one of the first to be cut in a recession.) One of the drawbacks, I guess, to what is otherwise one of the best jobs a person can have.

I'm the only one left in my company (health care administration) with a graphic design background. I do more web design work than print, nowadays.

Yeah, our field has really taken a "hit" from this rotten economy, plus the dot-com disaster. I'd hate to be working for an advertising company these days!

I'm a freelance book designer/typesetter and we're (I have one full-time employee) overloaded with work. I think it's because so many people are being laid off by the publishers, but they're still trying to publish the same number of books. The ever-decreasing in-house staff can't handle it all.

We're so busy I'm considering hiring a part-timer to help out.

In the marketing dept of a very large corporation (in a dull and somewhat recession-proof industry). We have had a hiring freeze for some time now. No sign of layoffs for the time being. Think (hope?) they would chop management before come after us paeons.

Sometimes Senior Designer in Allston.

I would have to agree that it has been fairly morbid.

Work for a medium size agency on car business. We're growing like crazy. But the overall market stinks. I was unemployed for a year--all of 2002. So now I can say I've been unemployed under two Bushes.

and it's a respected book in its field, not going anywhere, so my job, personally, is pretty safe, unless I spend too much time on DU and get fired.

That said, we've lost a few ad-sales people, and one publication we put out closed up a year ago. (Its very good editors were transferred to other publications, and less-competent people were laid off.) Ad pages have been pretty miserable, but things are starting to look up. Maybe. I said that last year, too.

I do PR for a small school district, also free-lance writing, and have small desktop publishing business. The school PR job pays the bills but with budget cuts, I'll be lucky if I stay employed!
LuLu

for government agency. Three-person shop, which means I do a little bit of everything, including writing and design. I also videotape and edit programs for distribution. Lost one person last year, who was never replaced, but since I'm the departmental administrator, my position is pretty safe -- even if it means I have to do everything myself.

even though I hate hunting, but it's a job. At this time, I have job security, but who knows what tomorrow will bring.
A very large corporation owns our publications, so I think the company will be around for quite a while.

Instructional Designer, Editor, Multimedia Course Developer, and Advertising Copy Artist here...

I used to have only one title... but everyone else is GONE!

The model for the new American worker economy. Do four jobs, get paid for half of one.

We were, only 18 months ago, a strong 240 person company with 25 people in my ID group.

Now we are a struggling 24 person company with two and a half people in my group (one is half time).

With 35% paycuts across the board over the last year to add insult to injury.

They just cancelled our 100% employee funded IRA too... Think about that... 100% employee funded...

Another 15% pre-tax paycut on top of the existing 35%.

I make less now than I did when I was hired 4 years ago.

Two years ago at this time, they had over 100 employees and two major government contracts. If you didn't get to the office by 7:30 AM, good luck trying to find a place to park.

Well, today they have one major project and a few smaller jobs, with not much coming down the pipe. They have fewer than 30 employees, and the folks still working there have their choice of parking spots.

This is her last week at her current job- she quit it to take another job(with a 25% pay increase) that she was offered out of the blue. She's a graphic + web designer- The job she's leaving is as a web-designer for a large health insurance company, and she's going to a job as a Graphic Designer for a large services company. She was offered the job by someone she interviewed with on a 'cold call' at a different company while she was unemployed last year.

I'm a technical writer and I was laid off for the third time in the last 12 months this past May. While the job market is a little better than it was last year, it certainly is not what it was before Dumbya was selected.