Financial Reflections

We all know the economy is bad, but when people start keeping score, you know it’s gotten out of hand.  We’re like a bunch of motorists passing a wreck: as much as we try to resist, we just have to rubberneck a little bit. I have rounded up some sites that have been keeping score and they don’t paint a pretty picture.

• The IT Layoff Tracker: People questioned me when I picked software as one of the industries that’s hiring now, and maybe they were right.  Computer World was inspired to chart the layouts in spreadsheet form.  The upside is that I keep an eye on the IT market and it seems there are still jobs to be had, although not like there were in other years.  Microsoft, who announced layoffs earlier this year, still has 195 software development jobs open as of this writing.
• Sizing up the downsizing: CNN Money decided to keep their own tally, but of layoffs this year overall.  Over 300,000 layoffs everywhere from AOL to World Wrestling Entertainment.  It’s the worst job cuts for over 30 years.
• The Misery Index: MSN Money decided to spread the cheer by calculating the “Misery Index” – a chart of how unemployment rates have hurt just about every city in the US.  The only city that’s gained is Jonesboro, Arkansas (0.1 percent) and if you live in Elkhart-Goshen, Indiana or Dalton, Georgia, you’ve seen rates jump dramatically due to cuts in manufacturing.
• Miserable Cities: Rather than calculating an index, Forbes decided to pick the 10 most Miserable cities to live in, with unemployment being a key factor.  You probably didn’t need anyone to tell you Detroit made the top, or rather, bottom 10, but who would have picked Miami?

So how much harder will the layoffs hit?  No one knows, but it’s probably not going to get better much faster.  I look forward to the day when we start posting stories about how companies can’t find enough good people again.  Until then, the rubbernecking will continue.

Know of a layoff story?  Let me know in the comments below…