The Unemployed

I was watching the evening news and I caught an ABS-CBN clip showing a job fair. In view of the whole republic, the lady behind the desk asks a man,

"Okay lang ba sa inyo maging janitor?" (Do you want to work as a janitor?)

Tears slowly trickling down his eyes, the man weepingly replies, "Opo maam, basta lang matulungan ko ang nanay ko. May diabetes siya, wala kasi siyang pambili ng gamot."(Yes maam so that I can help my mother buy medicines for her diabetes.)

I find that so disconcerting that I still can't think straight about the Waves of Philippines Business I'm supposed to blog about. According to news, the country expects about 800,000 in LOST jobs this year. Let's make a tally of the reported losses to date -

FEDEX - 500 jobs cut
Intel - 1,800 jobs (It's a small small world, probably as small as the current job market. I recently found out that a friend's sister worked there, and she was one of those who lost their jobs)
Accenture - 500 jobs (I scoured the internet and found this from Yugatech.)

Anybody else who has their own tallies, please share. It is estimated that there will be 60,000 people who'll be out of work in the IT sector.

60,000 out of 800,000 is how many? 7 and a half percent. It makes you wonder where the other 92% of job cuts will be coming from. This coupled with the ominous return of displaced OFWs and people who have lost money to pyramiding rural banks and unscrupulous preneed firms make for a grim picture doesn't it? I can't help becoming a Yogi bearish person.

So amidst this, what can we do? What CAN we do?

I don't want to be like Dr. Doom, who today in CNBC proclaimed GE (the company that owns CNBC) and the United States as JUNK BONDS, live and within ear shot of those who watched the show this morning. He also states that the US could follow the Zimbabwean road, and that is 200% inflation rate. He isn't called Dr. Doom for nothing. Heh.

Manage your paycheck now. Control your spending. While it's good to spend (it boosts the economy), you don't want to overdo it. The next thing you will be holding might not be a paycheck but a pink slip. Stay safe.