We're 30% of the way to our goal of 2,500 donations by Friday! Help us catch up ⏩ Give Now
Fallout: The Financial Crisis

Laid-off workers feel seasonal chill

Marketplace Staff Nov 7, 2008
HTML EMBED:
COPY
Fallout: The Financial Crisis

Laid-off workers feel seasonal chill

Marketplace Staff Nov 7, 2008
HTML EMBED:
COPY

TEXT OF INTERVIEW

Steve Chiotakis: Add Tanja Beshear to the ranks of the unemployed. Today’s her last day on the job as engineer for JDSU, a fiber optics company in Colorado. She’d been there for three-plus years, and obviously the timing stinks.

Tanja Beshear: Yeah, you know it’s always a tough time if you get laid off, but before the holidays it’s a little bit extra critical, because a lot of companies also don’t really hire. You know, November and December are traditionally slow months for hiring, and especially with the economy right now I’m a little bit concerned that it’s a bit tough to find a job very quickly.

Chiotakis: Your husband, your family, other family members, is there supplemental income?

Beshear: No, my husband is also not working. He is self-employed and doing contract work for other companies. But contract work — he’s an electrical engineer — also has quite dwindled down over the last year and a half already. So that put a lot of pressure on me, I was the only bread-winner right now.

Chiotakis: What’s your gut feeling right now — anxiety, nervousness, hopeful?

Beshear: Part of me is a little anxious to see where things going, how quickly we can find a job. There’s also some anxiety because if we want to go back to California, where there are jobs right now, or some jobs, we are a little bit tied to the house — it’s not a great time to sell the house and move, so we’re a little bit tied down here in Colorado. We would also like to stay in Colorado if we can. You know, we have always, my husband and I, we’re pretty resourceful and smart, and we will find a way to make it work.

Chiotakis: Well Tanja Beshear from Colorado, thank you, good luck to you.

Beshear: Thank you very much.

There’s a lot happening in the world.  Through it all, Marketplace is here for you. 

You rely on Marketplace to break down the world’s events and tell you how it affects you in a fact-based, approachable way. We rely on your financial support to keep making that possible. 

Your donation today powers the independent journalism that you rely on. For just $5/month, you can help sustain Marketplace so we can keep reporting on the things that matter to you.