Where's the fkn recession?..

[valryte]

I swear, every dam restaurant around me had 20+ minutes wait. Streets are packed full of cars. Has anyone actually noticed a difference in people out shopping and spending money? Ok, maybe not on big ticket items like cars (I do know that even the dealers around here have cars piling up, well atleast Acura, but then again Acura fkd themselves in designing a butt ugly car, glad I have an '05 TL), but with a "recession" going on, you'd think more people would stay home and cook.

[Xyun]

I live in a vacation resort area with hotels up and down the beach. Near me two of my favorite places (Bennigan's and Boston Market) have closed down. In addition, several other restaurants that I never went to have closed. Those that have stayed open have raised their prices, I noticed at Chick Fil A they changed the number of chicken strips they give you and raised the price.

Last year the Superbowl ads had all sold out by the end of November, this year they still had 4- 30 second spots for sale in mid January. Of course, if you want like a graph or something...



Just because you don't personally feel it, doesn't mean it's not happening. Kinda like the Iraq war. Trust me, it's happening.

[sarlen]

My wife works at a local hotel restaurant and business is so slow they cut everyones hours in half and they were told if it continues at this pace they will most likely lay off half the staff and close 2 nights a week.

The company I worked for, for the last 10 years folded up shop and sold their brand names because of the recession.

Every major employer in the area I live in has cut back staff or reduced hours, one place has even gone as far as only working 3 weeks a month.

The only place that doesn't seem effected so far is Wal-Mart but when you have more cash flow then Jesus you can loose money hand over fist for months on end and not make adjustments.

[Spang]

Wal-Mart is ruining America.

[Fairweather Pure]

I did not receive my annual cost of living increase this year and I voluntarily gave up my shift differential (1.50$ and hour) in order to save jobs in my department. Furthermore, one of our coders was recently let go (for reasons that have nothing to do with the current crisis) and her work was divided between the remaining 3 outpatient coders. Her job will not be filled this year. The hospital I work at has also cut retirement contributions by 2% for the year and raised the cost and contribution of our health insurance. W had a 3rd party company that was scanning all of our health records so we could be 100% electronic. These 3 women have worked in our department for almost 4 years and they were all let go last week. All scanning is going on hold and we are taking a step backwards and going back to a paper system for at least the next year.

My wife says her contact list in the finiancial loan industry is pretty much non-existant. One year ago she had over 40-50 friends and competitors here in Michigan. Now she has less than 20, and the list keeps shrinking. Her company shut down branches and let people go from several key loan divisions: Housing, automotive, and debt consolidation. Thankfully, student lending escaped the brunt of the layoffs. More people than ever cannot afford college and are forced to get loans to pay for thier education.

Also, within 1 year my wife and I have lost over 25,000$ from our combined retirement.

Yeah, we're feeling it. I see it every single day from multiple circles of friends and co-workers.

Personally, I'm not buying shit right now. I'm 100% focused on debt. Our 5 year plan was fast tracked to a 3 year plan. I only hope my wife keeps her job that long.

[Canoe]

My Company has laid of almost 1,000 people.

They cut everyone's increases for the year, + got rid of the 401k match to try and save further jobs.

In addition, restaurants are closing left and right, car dealerships are going under, and unemployment is hitting a high in my lifetime.

Like fairweather, I have lost almost 30k in my retirement funds.

My wife works at a kitchen cabinet outfit as a kitchen designer, and her company commission has been been about 1/2 of what it was last year at this time due to the cut back in houses being built, and people spending money on remodeling.

So while this "region" of the country is actually doing better than most, yes we have felt the recession and felt it hard.

[Winnow]

I see signs of this recession daily in the news. All major companies laying off 1000's including the successful companies, not just the car companies. Where are all these unemployed people going? It's going to get uglier before it gets better.

I can see it daily when people comment about something as small as 50.00 making a difference and they immediately mention the economy or "in these times", every cent counts, etc.

I'm with a company that is more recession proof than most but still don't take it for granted that I'll keep my job. Thankfully, I've lived debt free for the past 12 years. That's nice and all but 401Ks have been screwed for everyone for the near future. I don't feel confident about any stocks and only daytrade to make a buck.

Nevada is having huge problems. Big Casino projects are dead with half built sky scrapers sitting there with the cranes still present because they aren't needed anywhere else so it's cheaper just to leave them there. The Nevada stage government is looking to lay off a large # of employees. Arizona's state budget is in a huge hole and looking to make cuts....again, where are all of these people being laid off going?

As I write this, Yahoo's business headline news reads:

Refinery talks extended, strike delayed
GlaxoSmithkline to cut 6,000 jobs: report
Economy, bank woes drag market to worst January ever
Panasonic to post $3.9 billion annual net loss: Yomiuri
General Mills says more people eating at home

And it's like that every day.

Go check the Tech Layoff tracker:

http://www.techcrunch.com/layoffs/

nasty.

Here's an article from the IndiaTimes:

Sunday, February 1, 2009
9,000 jobs lost every day

More and more people are becoming unemployed this year, with nearly 9,000 jobs vanishing worldwide on an average each day in January.

As the financial turmoil continues to rattle world economies, layoffs so far this year have crossed the 2,77,000 -mark with a stunning 80,000 job cuts announced January 26.

Right from electronics to telecom to pharma sectors, about 9,000 jobs were lost on an average every day this month.

Among the entities, construction machinery manufacturer Caterpillar, Japanese electronics major NEC and pharma giant Pfizer have announced over 20,000 job cuts each.

Dutch entities - electronics firm Philips and financial services company ING - together would be axing 13,000 jobs in the coming months.

Caterpillar, Pfizer, telecom firm Sprint Nextel Corp and home improvement retailer Home Depot together accounted for 61,000 lay-off announcements on January 26. The total job cuts announced on that day worldwide had crossed 80,000.

The bankruptcy of American electronics retailer Circuit City is expected to affect 30,000 employees whereas aluminium manufacturer Alcoa would be laying off 13,500 people.

Further, Indian conglomerate Tatas-owned UK steel maker Corus would be reducing its workforce by 3,500.

Other entities which unveiled plans to bring down headcount in January include TDK (8,000), BHP Billiton (6,000), Ericsson (5,000), Corning (4,900), Motorola (4,000), Texas Instruments (3,400), Honda (3,100), Kodak (3,000), Ford Motor (1,200) and Harley-Davidson (1,100).

Companies worldwide are bringing down their workforce as they explore ways to battle the dire economic situation. With consumer and business spending being crimped, many of the developed nations have already entered into recession.

Source: Indiatimes

[Aslanna]

There's a lot more factors involved in a recession other than how many people are out at restaurants. More people should probably be staying home but in general people are stupid and like to stick their head in the sand. And I'm sure most of those people just paid with a credit card and added it to their existing debt. Which hey is actually good for the economy so it works out... Spend more, people!

[Keverian FireCry]

I lost my job in construction and no one in that field is hiring these days, so yeah I notice the recession. Also I'm having trouble finding a loan anywhere. I was going through Citi Mortgage since before the recession really hit them and they've been just stringing me along for about 6 months now.

[laneela]

I know seven people (myself included) that have been laid off and have yet to find a job. I know a handful of people with small businesses that are struggling to make ends meet. I'm going to agree that the volume of people at a restaurant is in no way indicative of what's actually going on - especially with the cost of food. I don't know if it's that the cost of groceries has risen or if restaurants are lowering their prices but it seems to me that eating at home is almost as expensive as eating out nowadays (though this may have to do with the quality of food I buy).

[Bubba Grizz]

Yup. Wife is losing her job with in the next few months. We're dipping into the kids savings in order to pay bills now. We are considering pulling the kids out of daycare to save money as well. Luckily my wife's parents live in town and can watch them. I feel a bit more secure in my job but I never take it for granted. Deep down I'm hoping for a light at the end of the tunnel around June, not just for us but for the nation as a whole.

[Canoe]

. Deep down I'm hoping for a light at the end of the tunnel around June, not just for us but for the nation as a whole.

I'll take it one step further and say the world as a whole.

[sarlen]

Food is really the last thing I change when reducing monthly costs. Its one of my guilty pleasures to have steak a few times a week and the price difference isn't that much. When we went through our budget last week to see what overhead we could reduce, food and gas were the two we didn't touch....yet. Some how its easier to reduce my internet speed, take a few things off the cell bill like internet access and drop the second cars insurance to liability only (doesn't see enough miles to justify it) then stop eating the way I want to. I know if this keeps up I will eventually accept it and reduce my food costs but for now, until I really feel the pinch more it stays as is.

[Funkmasterr]

You know, I understand this is no indication of what is going on right now, or at least shouldn't be, but I found myself thinking the same thing a week ago. My girlfriend and I brought our parents out to dinner at Benihana, and it was the busiest I had ever seen that place. It's always busy, but this time I had to sit in the parking lot for 20 minutes to wait for someone to leave so I could even park, and once we did get inside we ended up waiting over 2 hours for a table.

I sat there and wondered how if things are so bad, why the hell are people not only eating out, but eating out at a pretty spendy place. On top of that since everyone had to wait so long, everyone was in the bar - which was so busy it took us 25 minutes to get served. I was really confused.

[Bubba Grizz]

It could be that the clientele has shifted as well. Those who would normally eat a ritzy place are now eating at Benihana's and those who would normally eat at Benihana's are eating at Applebees and the Applebees people are eating off the dollar menu. (dollar menu is where my family is at now)

[Gzette]

after the initial panic, things appear to have gotten back normal at my work place. advertising dollars were way way down when it first hit. things have gotten better, and we've even added 2 employees. I got a raise. I even put my first dollars into the stock market and am now beginning to chip away at debt that has persisted for years. But I think news media may be one of the few industries where a recession boost sales (no news like bad news!). It's very visible outside my workplace. My friends with sales driven jobs and commission-based income are struggling. Or their hours have been cut severely (from 50+ to 30ish). My GF luckily locked in her pay raise a few weeks prior to her employer freezing new hires and raises. We've been very lucky so far, and it appears both our jobs are secure.

Central Texas (actually the whole state for the most part) remains relatively impervious to the downturn. A few miles down the road a 50-year-old Alcoa plant ceased operations, likely dooming an entire town of 10,000+ people. In Austin, several high-rise residential buildings that were planned have had their construction delayed indefinitely. And in other news, we survived a zombie attack.

[Ashur]

Thank heavens on surviving the zombies. I was worried they would spread to Ohio.

[cid]

It has not affected me until recently. I work for an IT shop and we are the only people in town. Three months ago companies started to lay off their IT staff and use us. We are there when they need us and don’t take benefits so we are cheaper in the long run. Now many of those companies are on a spending freeze. So, we have slowed down a lot. I don't think I will lose my job, but I am still nervous. I actually did something smart with my tax refund this year. Went to the local meat locker and packed my freezer full of food!

[Soreali]

Thank heavens on surviving the zombies. I was worried they would spread to Ohio.

Its the Raptors you have to worry about..
http://www.theindychannel.com/news/18620871/detail.html

[Gzette]

My heart goes out to all those in Indiana as they handle their raptor crisis. Hopefully they are not white supremacist dinosaurs.

[Xyun]

Deep down I'm hoping for a light at the end of the tunnel around June, not just for us but for the nation as a whole.

I think summer of this year may be a little bit too optimistic. I've seen economists predict it to continue until the middle of next year, but Bill Gates is quoted as saying it will continue for 3-4 years.

I personally have enough money to get me through the end of February, then if I still don't have a job, I will need to sacrifice my car to get through my lease. I'm guaranteed a job this summer at the World Series of Poker, starting in mid-May and ending in mid-July, and it pays pretty well so that's something I can look forward to. In the meantime, I have an interview tomorrow with a hotel for a front desk position. This is the first interview I've been offered after a month of putting out resumes and applications. I'm a little excited, even though it's probably just an $8-9 an hour job. If I get it, I may not have to sell my car.

[rhyae]

Three of my friends have just been laid off.
Our company initiated a hiring freeze, wage freeze, and cut out all overtime. The rest of us in my office are minding our P's and Q's, except for net surfing apparently =/


Up to four friends laid off now.

[Fash]

My company is as big as it's ever been, constantly hiring more staff, and is taking on new clients during this year. It's one of the biggest employers in the area, and it's success is not tied to the stock market in any way. I've never felt more secure, nor have I ever been paid this well. Other than my brother who works in mortgages being impacted, I'm not seeing it either... The happening social spots are as crowded as ever.

[miir]

Thankfully, I have been unaffected.

[Ashur]

I'm not worried about Raptors. They should all die due to the cold before Spring.

[Soreali]

I'm not worried about Raptors. They should all die due to the cold before Spring.

Oh yeah? and what are you going to do when the die and turn into ZOMBIE RAPTORS! What will you do then I ask you?!

[Ashur]

Hrm, Zombie Raptors... well, they will sure cut down on the 20 minute wait when I'm trying to get a table at a fucking restaurant on a Friday night I can tell you!

[Sargeras]

Air Force Material Command told my company to cut $900k from the IT budget, and because of that I lost my entire Tier 1 and 2 staff, leaving myself and someone who was Tier 1 to do Tier 1-3 work. No one was laid off, just "reorganized". I won't be getting a raise this year, they nicked the 401k's and "pooled" out vacation time and sick leave together.

I admit that I am much better off than a lot of people, but I take a personal insult to "breaking even" every paycheck despite the fact that I have 2 jobs. I have an interview tomorrow with Cryptic Studios, and if everything works out I'll be getting a very nice salary increase out of it. I believe you guys would have a better understanding than most that the MMO industry isn't going to take a dump anytime soon. I just hope CS stays afloat through this mess.

[masteen]

I'm back in Key West working a front desk jerb. I'm fairly glad to have work; the money is shit, but it keeps me from having to move into my mom's computer room.

I've decided to go hide in the ivory towers of academia for a couple years, so I'm applying to in-state law schools. Hopefully, my credit is good enough to get me student loans.

[Xyun]

I'm back in Key West working a front desk jerb. I'm fairly glad to have work; the money is shit, but it keeps me from having to move into my mom's computer room.

I've decided to go hide in the ivory towers of academia for a couple years, so I'm applying to in-state law schools. Hopefully, my credit is good enough to get me student loans.

Hey that's actually part of my plan as well. I have to wait for my new citizenship certificate from immigration, since I lost the most important document ever handed to me, and I need a new one to get financial aid. Then it's in state law school in Florida. Let me know if you end up in Stetson in Tampa. I'm hoping to go there so I don't have to relocate again.

[Lalanae]

I'm back in Key West working a front desk jerb. I'm fairly glad to have work; the money is shit, but it keeps me from having to move into my mom's computer room.

I've decided to go hide in the ivory towers of academia for a couple years, so I'm applying to in-state law schools. Hopefully, my credit is good enough to get me student loans.

Hey that's actually part of my plan as well. I have to wait for my new citizenship certificate from immigration, since I lost the most important document ever handed to me, and I need a new one to get financial aid. Then it's in state law school in Florida. Let me know if you end up in Stetson in Tampa. I'm hoping to go there so I don't have to relocate again.

I started grad school this past Fall (MBA), partially anticipating being out of work in the next year or so. Nothing like a little economic scare to get you to work on improving your marketability...

Law would be a good field for you. Seeing that you've been through trials of immigration first-hand, have you thought about getting into immigration law?

Re: the original question. I think going out to eat is one of the last things people cut, although I'd imagine people are making cheaper choices when they eat out. And I think Bubba is right about the clientele shift.