Left in the ditch...

"Then the reality of our "new economy" set in. $70K a year jobs for someone 52 years old are as scarce as hen's teeth."

Saw an editorial this morning which really hit home. For quite a while now, I have been telling folks (as have many) not to be fooled by the unemployment numbers. The U3 number is meaningless. The "jobs created" number is just about as meaningless. Even the U6 number does not tell the entire story. But the editorial this morning did manage to tell a part of a very sad tale concerning our economy.

It was written by a 52 year old man. A man of some accomplishments in this career. He was in middle management, and comfortably floating down this river called life. Then all of a sudden it happened. A downsize in his company. And he was let go. It came like a bolt out of the blue. His job, along with his $70K annual salary, was gone. So he set out to find another job. Then the reality of our "new economy" set in. $70K a year jobs for someone 52 years old are as scarce as hen's teeth.

Unlike so many others who are coming into this country right now, there was no life line for this man. All the taxes he has paid, all the work he has done - gone and forgotten. He had to sell his house and downsize his lifestyle. He did manage to find work at one of the "new jobs" in our "new community" - about $15/hour. And those jobs only utilize a fraction of the skill set he could bring to the table. $15/hour is about $30K annually - less than half of what he had been making at his old job. 

Why do I tell this story? Like many my age, this is an all too familiar tale. Seen it happen many times in my career. Years ago when it happened, often times the laid off person could just make a career change and find another job almost as good. Not any more. It is possible to still do so, but the chances get slimmer every year. 

Where is this man now in all of our meaningless employment statistics? Somewhere between the underemployed and "left the work force". That is the stat we have been hearing of more and more from the economists. Our dismal work place participation rate. How bad is it? About 1/3 of our population in not in the work force right now. Some of that number are kids, some are retired folks, some are people who are disabled and can't work. Yet many are like this 52 year old man. Who want to work, but can't find decent employment.

This story should be a wake up call to all of us. We can go through life assuming something like this only happens to other people. And then it happens to us. All of a sudden, we realize the reality of the situation. We have been left in the ditch.

Even though Janet Yellen recently talked about how "robust" our economy is becoming because of our strong labor market, it is not. Not so long as we leave people with skills and who want to work, lying in the ditch. And many in the ditch are wondering what has happened to America and the American dream they thought they knew.