According to the news

**pollypurebred39** · 03-02-2011, 07:41 PM

My State on the news tonight.

Pa has lost 40% of it manufacturing.

1/3 of Reading Pa. lives in poverty. (Reading Pa. is a rather short distance from me) I wonder how many are JUST above the poverty line.

12% unemployment rate.

It went on to say a lot of small Pa towns are in the same predicament.

The good news?

PA Expected To Gain 60 Thousand Jobs - WeAreCentralPA.com

Local schools are advertising degrees for careers that they say will bring in around $25,000 a year! Which is just under the poverty 2011 guidelines for a family of 4, $22,350.

Yesterday's world news

Certain manufacturing companies have restructured, and are hiring young workers to work and get a degree to be able to work in their plants.

Lets keep in mind pay scale is way down, and according to the world news, men over 56 have very little chance of ever again finding employment. That is where they are not asking people if they want fries with that?

Employment Situation Summary

Sites that employment is up in health care jobs. We have loads of schools around here pumping out these students. My cousin even did it, she now is working at Lowes to be able to pay back the school loan. The jobs in the medical fields they are hiring for around here pay less then Lowes! What The Heck?

I'm trying to remain optimistic, but this newest report again, sites construction down. Still. My husband is 53, very close to the age 56 sited on the world news yesterday. Goodness, is his future filled with plastic trays & shamrock shakes, despite years and years and years of education in construction? And years and years of being a construction supervisor?

I'm freaking out here, someone talk me down off these ledge.

**nodmicks** · 03-02-2011, 08:00 PM

That does read quite bad but I always try to remember that bad sensational news sells and gets more viewers than good news.

hang in there!

**shoiji** · 03-03-2011, 12:44 PM

I did see this yesterday. Thought it was upsetting since the same situation is probably going on all over the US.

Have to say though that it seems as if there is a movement once again change what Reading will be know for. Also that there is a never say die spirit with Reading.

**nuisance26** · 03-03-2011, 01:19 PM

~I'm not going to read the articles because I'm in South Jersey and hubby is in manufacturing. His company just laid off 1/5 of their workers. That's the 4th round in 2 years. It looks scary here too. I don't want to join you on the ledge!
The over 56 thing is mostly sensationalism. My 65yo FIL has been offered several jobs(he retired 5 years ago). It really depends mostly on skills, health and work history. And of course, there's always "who you know".
We hope that DH knows enough people from his work travels to assist us in relocating if that becomes necessary. I think that's a strong possibility within the next 4 years.~

**Momto5RN** · 03-03-2011, 09:38 PM

watching the news i hear about alot more crime in reading the past year too

**photogal06** · 03-04-2011, 07:53 AM

That's scary and sad and sounds an awful lot like Detroit and what the auto companies have gone through. We know many engineers in their mid-40s to 50s who are still jobless, 2-3 years after the big auto cuts here. Some of them are finally being hired back----as contract workers, so no benefits, no job security, but at least a paycheck (though smaller than it used to be.)

**frugalfriend** · 03-04-2011, 11:40 AM

[QUOTE=nuisance26;1492446We hope that DH knows enough people from his work travels to assist us in relocating if that becomes necessary. I think that's a strong possibility within the next 4 years.~[/QUOTE]

It seems more and more that people are relocating to where they can find a job in their field. I've been reading this a lot lately. Wonder if that will be the only way to survive for many.

**pollypurebred39** · 03-04-2011, 01:29 PM

nuisance,

I really hope that your DH's job is secure. It does help that he has connections, sometimes it is who you know.

**pollypurebred39** · 03-04-2011, 01:39 PM

Originally Posted by Momto5RN

watching the news i hear about alot more crime in reading the past year too

There's a lot more crime in my own backyard too.

But, I don't live such a big as town as Reading. We are on the edge of a VERY small, one stop light town, where the farmland is.

That said, more homes have had break ins. We've had our car gas siphoned twice. And the poachers are alive and well around us. Within the past two months I've seen & heard several shooting deer on our property. The last one HAD TO BE standing right outside our back door. The shotgun blast was so loud it scared me half out of my wits. I was afraid to even look outside in the event it was some lunatic out there. We've even found live traps down at the hedge row where someone is trapping animals for food.

Things have been pretty dismal in our neck of the woods. Where I live I'd say probably 80% of the people USED to work at the factories or in construction. The rest were farmers or service workers.

**pollypurebred39** · 03-04-2011, 01:48 PM

Originally Posted by photogal06

That's scary and sad and sounds an awful lot like Detroit and what the auto companies have gone through. We know many engineers in their mid-40s to 50s who are still jobless, 2-3 years after the big auto cuts here. Some of them are finally being hired back----as contract workers, so no benefits, no job security, but at least a paycheck (though smaller than it used to be.)

Yeah, it's rough. But I'm so glad to hear that some are hiring back. NOT SO HAPPY to hear that it's at such a cut in pay, security or benefits.

My husband works in construction. In the last almost 3 and a 1/2 years now he's had two small jobs. One lasted a few weeks, the other a few months. When the building is built the job is over, and not much building going on.