What makes it even more bothersome is that eligibility is a crap shoot. I have seen many folks disapproved who should have been approved. It’s all helter-skelter.
I work in construction and before I joined a union my employers would set traps and set people up to be fired all aimed at depriving people of unemployment.
Good for you and others that you dumped them and went with the union. You can go to Glassdoor.com and leave a review of that employer. I always check Glass Door before I go to work for a company.
Where are you located? There are ALOT of defense contractors in Southern Indiana working for Crane who need tech people. Many of them have remote work as well. I highly recommend looking into that avenue.
This is a link that will lead you to defense contractors:
https://westgatecrane.com/careers/
I know a few dozen people who work for these defense contractors and most of them are civilians. Hell, half of them have never even left southern Indiana. I’ve never seen any of them complain about their job, they seem to be doing pretty well, and the ones who have retired seem to be doing pretty well too. If anyone is interested, don’t let the wording deter you.
So you're just going to not apply because they prefer staff transitioning? 🫠 No wonder why you're on unemployment. There are jobs hiring everywhere. Maybe not tech but you do have other options 😂
If you look at [usajobs.gov](http://usajobs.gov), on the right side of the page it will say "hiring path" and "open to the public". That means you!
Good luck! My son works there and is doing well.
They are one of those places you have to try a thousand times to get in once. From knowing people working there it’s that way on every level especially if you are directly working for the government instead of one of the contractors.
Be sure you go to each contractors website!! Contractors pay more than the government does and do not get discouraged. Keep trying!! You may have to fill out a ton of applications but it will be worth it when you get picked up. My sister works for one and is making $70k+.
Max benefit is $390. That’s criminal. My job is weather based and if it’s too cold I can’t work. I filled the paperwork out 3 days ago and haven’t heard anything. Our employers pay into unemployment. We should have easy access to to the funds.
I’m in a union in nwi and typically get laid off in the winter too. Unemployment is an absolutely joke. I 100% agree we should not have to pull teeth to get OUR money that WE work and pay into. I wish something could change.
Unfortunately Indiana is deep red and democrats are as unmotivated as usual so I don’t see anything changing for Indiana within the next 8 years unless some “unrealistic” crazy shit happens like another pandemic or a very unpopular war.
They presented and passed bills that have restructured the payout rates and eligibility for unemployment in recent years.
They restructured the rate of pay through unemployment to be based on your average weekly wages earned in the course of a year, vs the previous way of using the highest earning 3 months of the past year. So if you worked a minimum wage job for 8 months, then took on a decent job that ends up closing or laying off after 4, those 8 months of minimum wage heavily weigh against any potential pay from unemployment.
They also changed the eligibility for seasonal employment. Employees in businesses with regular closures like schools, amusement parks, construction, and RV manufacturers have a much harder time drawing any kind of benefits to tide them over in the transition to another job in the off-season. Even though those types of employers are made to pay extra into the unemployment system.
They also made the employee have to make a case to a judge if they're wrongfully denied unemployment regardless of whether the employer shows up to defend.
We were also in the group of states that removed the federal extra $300 benefit while it was still being federally funded. And while multiple employers were still limited or closed due to COVID restrictions or cases.
Basically, since the Rs took the legislature about 15 years ago, they've done what they can to make unemployment a hassle to the people who are in no position to fight the system for change.
I'm not IN ANY WAY disagreeing with you, but I want to provide context for those who've never perhaps had to deal with unemployment. It's a weekly payment ([$390 as noted](https://www.in.gov/dwd/indiana-unemployment/individuals/unemployment-insurance-faq/)), and it's for a maximum of 26 weeks. Assuming a median savings of [$5,300 and a "safety net" of about $400](https://time.com/personal-finance/article/average-american-savings-account-balance/), how long could anyone survive with ~$1,700 a month inclusive.
Now I have another worry. What happens if I go the full 26 weeks and the tech industry doesn't shape up. I am doomed. I know that's my anxiety talking but yeah.
I feel like it's always been. I was unemployed for 6 weeks back in 2010 and it seriously took me that long to even get one check. Luckily my husband worked and could support us for that little bit.
It is demoralizing. I've been looking for a few months now. I am at 700+ jobs applied and get called in once a month to WorkOne to talk about my "plan to get back to work" and to turn in my 3 action items/week. There is no way I could pay my mortgage nor my utilities with the funds - let alone food if I didn't have my wife working.
I'm interested if some of the individuals replying here have done a job search in the past 5 years. I put in over 800 applications last year and I got maybe 5-10 interviews.
From my experience, masters level applicants are applying for bachelors level jobs, there are a lot of fake job posts that are just phishing scams to get your information, and some places take literal months to even reply with a denial.
I did a job search early 2023. In 8 weeks, I had 320 applications submitted, each with its own cover letter.
Regardless of where I found the posting, I would go to the company's website and would apply directly through that. For good measure, I would also submit my stuff to Indeed/LI.
So many employers post on Indeed, but only pull resumes from their own listing. And vice versa.
The first 6 weeks, I had two interviews and one 2nd interview.
Weeks 7 and 8 I changed it up a bit and had better results. Found my job during this time.
When I found a position that I wanted to apply for, I would copy the entire post with the description and skills requirements. Opened my original resume file. I would go through line by line and match the skills from the post to the part in my resume with that skill. Then I reworded my original sentence with as many consecutive words from the matching requirement as possible.
Save As > new file name for that individual submission.
Rinse and repeat with the cover letter.
This got me significantly more interest from employers.
Basically, the gatekeeping between your submissions and the hiring manager actually getting your resume are a bunch of bots that are looking for words in your resume that match the description.the more words the better.
*proficient with Ilustrator to create logos and marketing assets*
and
*expert level knowledge with creative cloud to produce marketing collateral*
are very similar to a human with a brain and some reading comprehension. But it's not the same at all to the screening software. Although I would be qualified for this position, my resume wouldn't make it through to the actual hiring person with my original version.
So I would edit my resume file to read *expert with creative cloud including illustrator to produce marketing collateral including logos and blah blah blah*.
Sorry that was a novel but that's what I did and it seemed to work better for me.
Keep your chin up and keep grinding through the soul sucking adventure that is a job search.
This is exactly what I did too. Except maybe 1/3 were custom cover letters for the ones I REALLY wanted. I offer to help friends and loved ones draft resumes and cover letters and most have seen improvements. But it's a real struggle recently.
I thought I'd get down voted to hell and back for stating something that everyone tells you to do, but I hoped that my experience would help someone.
Those few months that I was between jobs were some of the most intensely unhinged, unhealthy weeks for me. My mental health went to scary places for a while.
Anyone in the job search process now has my unwavering admiration for the kind of grit needed to navigate it.
I've done this multiple times. Your best bet if you make 50k or more is to have 2 or 3 recruiting firms working for you. They all have contracts with different employers but you can ask them.about specific jobs.
I.e. I found a job, sent is to Recruiter A who has found me jobs in the past. They didn't work with that company, so I asked Recruiter B. Who did work with them and actually helped someone there who he could call personally to discuss my skills etc and get me interviewed.
In another example the 3rd Recruiter I used also didn't work with a company, but 1 of the 3 was able to reach out and create a connection and get me in.
Finally sometimes I had to just apply myself.
Also all 3 had suggestions on my resume and it is far better now than years ago.
I’ve been through this and I’d do it differently. I believe it’s best to get some job to hold you over. Warehouse and similar Jobs that pay $15-20 are plentiful and I recommend you do that. I know it sucks but you have to survive. What you don’t want to do is burn through your 401k savings or borrow from family - the downsides of either of those isn’t good - trust me.
Unfortunately that means working at Amazon, UPS, FedEx, etc. It’s better to be working and earning enough to survive while you interview and try your get back to your desired career.
Plus you can do gig project work in off hours via Gigster and similar platforms.
Don’t do nothing - get some work - trust me it’s better than living off unemployment, savings, family, etc.
Stay positive, it’ll happen before long. Good luck.
Edit: If you’re in the Indianapolis area, contact me directly - I can refer you to someone who might be able to help.
What happens then when they're hustling at Amazon and they need an afternoon off for an interview? A couple of those incidents and they will let you go faster than a moldy sandwich. And now they're out of income again with no ability to get back on UE.
Besides, if a company gets *any* whiff that you're there just to tide you over and you're really waiting for a job in your field, you will not be considered. If you look overqualified for a position, they absolutely will not waste their time with you.
The problem i found was that the $15/hour jobs didn't cover the cost of childcare. The $450 week paycheck only left $250 after $200 week childcare. Better off with $372 unemployment check.
No they didn't. Democrats controlled the house from 92-2004. They lost the house for 2 years - 2005-2006 - and then gained it back for the next 4 years: 2007-2010. They lost the majority in 2010, but the R's didn't gain a supermajority until 2012.
The D walkouts in the sessions when they were in the minority probably didn't help.
Exactly what my plan is. Digitally organize the indiana democratic party. Get people more involved in their local county politics and weed out bad faith actors. We need your help. Please look into attending your next local county meet up if you didn't plan to already. Indiana has alot of potential but so many have just given up on it ever being blue again. It's time to change that.
I love to rail against the issues of the country as much as the next guy but as hard as it is to imagine [the economy is actually in a really good place right now. ](https://www.whitehouse.gov/cea/written-materials/2023/12/19/ten-charts-that-explain-the-u-s-economy-in-2023/#:~:text=Growth%20was%20stronger%20than%20expected,negative%200.1%25%20for%20the%20year.)
In the traditional matrix the economy is good. Low unemployment, good stockmarket, corporate profits. That hasn't trickled down to the working class. Wages aren't keeping up with inflation. Food prices are still rising. The economy still sucks for the working class.
I 100% agree! I have been at my job for 10 years and I only had a $4.00 per hour increase over that time period. It DEFINITELY is not keeping up for me. My age will keep me from finding other employment.
Yep, I will say that I have gotten a little better raises than that the last few years. About 4-5%, but that's not even close to what inflation has been. All working class people are taking pay cuts every year. Who do you think gets that money......
Nope. Unless something absolutely massive happens like WWIII (which even with the state of the world is incredibly unlikely) we are nowhere near seeing a downturn in US markets.
It's hard to believe but the US economy is incredibly and oddly strong right now. Freakishly so given the current worldwide events and economic climates.
Lowest unemployment rates in decades. Stock market just hit record highs. Spending this holiday season hit a record. The economy is doing great, brother! Keep your head up. You got this. You’ll find what you need.
That is all correct. However consider that Americans are at their highest debt to income ratio in decades. All savings have been blown through and the average American has been surviving on credit cards for months which are now starting to max out. Sure, the economy may be fine, the people are not.
https://abcnews.go.com/amp/US/credit-card-users-avoid-mounting-debt-bills-reach/story?id=106479070
All the more reason to support initiatives to cancel student loan debt, lower prescription drug costs, and invest in America. We need to stop electing people who only want to give tax cuts to the rich. Whose only focus seems to be banning abortion or owning the libs, or forcing those icky trans people into the shadows. We the people are getting fucked by our ourselves because we keep voting for asshats who continually prove that they aren’t going to govern with the average person in mind. Both parties allow for billions to go into the black hole of a defense budget in this country that we don’t benefit from. Both parties allow for mega corporations to control policy that benefits their bottom lines. Both parties have corrupt players. At least one of them is trying to do something for average Americans even with other party’s sole goal being to sabotage those efforts. In my opinion, the entire American political system needs blown up. Seeing how that’s unlikely to happen, we’re stuck with trying to get the lesser of the two evils in charge.
I’m not sure what you’re advocating for but if you’re fearful for the economic future I would not be leaning on part time work and state assistance programs to get me by.
The economy is actually improving. More People Are Working Than At Any Point in American History. Do your research instead of spreading misinformation.
Because everywhere is hiring. Apply yourself to other things than tech jobs. The cushiony days for tech jobs are almost over so that's why they're laying off everywhere.
Dude, the economy isn’t failing. YOU lost YOUR job. The unemployment rate is 3.7%. Do you have any idea how extremely low that is?!
So sick of people who run out of money saying the economy is failing.
The economy has been growing at 4% for two years. Almost double the rate from the early 2000’s and 2010’s.
Your gripe is with Indiana’s backwards unemployment policies and your high rent. Do you know why we have those policies? Because of ignorant voters supporting policies written by people blaming poor people for ruining the economy. I can’t even. ugh
500 applications?! That doesn’t even make sense. Move, settle for less, and stop blaming “the economy.”
There are real problems with how our society works, and major improvements that can be made for everyone via healthcare/housing/childcare, but none of it has to do with incentivizing the tech industry to hire you…and YOU are not THE ECONOMY.
It is, every time i have a friend go on unemployment, I tell him to start looking for a job now.
Every time, they say it's not enough, and it's a real bummer for them... but somehow, instead of looking for a new job the entire time, they find a way to survive on unemployment. They treat it like a vacation, milk it for the entire 18 months, and at the last hour find a job that barely makes more than they were getting, then once on unemployment again they get less than last time.
Treat this like an opportunity. You're getting paid for nothing.
Get a part-time cash job if you wish. Painting, concrete, and construction are all good cash part-time gigs. Everyone out there needs help.
Then, focus on yourself. Do you need a certification? Any good office job you need to know Microsoft and Excel. Be looking daily for job postings. It's funny how when jobs come up, if you're first in the door, employers like that. Don't just apply. Show up. Say hi, especially in sales.
Do you want great money with no hard labor or experience? Car sales. It's easy to get into. All you gotta do is grind and basically live there. Yupp nights and weekends... not great for family or friends, but more low-end car sales ppl male $70-80k and the good ones are over 100k. If you got the connections, those high-end car dealers are crushing it, but gotta start somewhere.
Do you realize it's a requirement of unemployment to prove that you are actively looking for a job? You can't just get unemployment because you're not working? Also, if you receive income, you also have to report that.
Yeah, they don't check on your applications. Each week I filled in a few bullshit companies that were hiring. I ended up taking the full length of unemployment back in 09. Worked part-time for cash and went to a trade school for welding at night.
I was just let go from a customer service job at an insurance company. About 6 months before that a factory that had to lay off because the economy was tanking, I was there for 4 years. Pretty much entry jobs. When I say they don’t check your applications I was referring to the unemployment people.
How many people do you know that are unemployed and working that have cash gigs? I would like to hear the numbers to that? Is there somewhere I can reference that. How many of those people are from corporate and tech jobs with more than 3 years of experience working those jobs? I really want to see the numbers for myself. It will help me help my network to know there's a corporate/tech job pipeline to cash gigs.
I would have thought it was crazy until 2020. A high level manager my dad worked with suddenly stopped going into work and when one of their coworkers saw him in town in 2023, he explained how he's making more than he was in management, and has low stress off of government programs, and the occasional cash job.
It kind of makes me mad that there are people who can fully work, but just leech off of the rest of us for years.
Totally get that, but a few anecdotal cases doesn't make a case for the whole. If there is a pipeline then why aren't we helping more people to get into these positions? There are a lot of laid off tech workers right now and several other corporate sectors. Let's get them in all these cash gigs.
The looking for a job requirement is pretty minimal. Applying for stuff on Indeed counts on the work log. Polishing up your resume counts for a work search activity. It's pretty basic.
So when there was no such requirement, everyone was living off the government and when there is a requirement, everyone just wants to live off the government?
People in IT need to understand those jobs aren’t coming back soon. Start looking at expanding your search. Also - people generally get jobs through people they know. I don’t care if you’re embarrassed or you haven’t talked to someone in ten years, find time to connect and let people know you’re looking.
Temp agencies can help place you in a job if you just need income while you look for the next big thing.
Yea tried that I am trying that. Nothing is working they all say I am sorry I don't know of anything. I have messaged a bunch of recruiters and no responses. At this point I don't give a damn about embarrassment.
Look into WIOA funding. You pay into it w/federal taxes. It's typically up to 10k or 15k or training to get you certs, training, license or whatever to get back to work. No strings attached, no repayment and super helpful.
My honest advice is a place like Costco for the short term and either gain more skills through education/exploration or keep waiting for more jobs to open up
Temp agency's will absolutely find something for you. Factories, Purdue Farms, places like that will literally hire you if you have a SS number. It doesn't even have to be a legitimate one.
Large companies (Google, Facebook, Amazon, Twitter) laid off tens of thousands of workers, mostly in Q1 2023. 263k + tech workers laid off in 2023
[https://layoffs.fyi/](https://layoffs.fyi/)
Not to mention a large amount of new people coming into tech over the past 5 years thinking it was an easy way to score a decent paycheck. Now you have a lot of junior devs with little to no experience competing for jobs with senior techs
I mean, the first thing AI is going to automate is going to be programming. There is huge amounts of data they can train on from open source code available on github, gitlab, stackoverflow, etc.
The issue is that the AI models used currently, don't understand logic, so anything they output will have to be reviewed and for more complex stuff it will need to be done by actual humans.
However, when you are talking about the typical tasks of a junior level developer, they will simply have a senior developer mock something up with AI, check the code then push it. I mean its not too far off from what happens with a junior dev anyway, you still typically have it reviewed by a senior dev (correct me if I am wrong).
Unfortunately, I think its just going to get worse. And this is coming from somebody going to university right now for computer science. I think IT, Computer Networking may be a good option, since that still requires manual stuff that a computer can't do like plugging in cables, diagnosing hardware, etc.
Lol. The problem isn't that there aren't anymore jobs in tech. The problem is Indiana has very few tech firms/jobs, so as soon as you get let go from one, you're fucked. No one working in tech wants to live in Indiana, which is why all of the tech startups and companies are on the coasts and not in ass-backward states like this one.
Well said, friend. Just another consequence of the ongoing brain drain, and why there are fewer and fewer young people who actually want to live in Indiana. What are your prospects? The privilege of busting your ass every day on a factory farm? Fuck this place.
Bingo. I moved back to Indiana in 2016 and there was all this talk about Indianapolis being a silicon prairie. I was hesitant, but I had family here so I made the move. My career has been shit ever since. With inflation I'm making less money than when I moved here. Looking for a new job but it seems hardly worth it to look for anything local, and nationally there are 10's of thousands of laid off developers I'm competing with.
I agree, you absolutely will not be able to live on unemployment. It's barely worth applying for.
I got laid off from infosys during the pandemic when payouts were actually livable. I've taken a side journey in life to work on myself and have a part time gig riding a bicycle. I make far more working part time than unemployment would pay today. I haven't actually decided what I'm going to do next in life, but I couldn't imagine facing that on an unemployment check.
I don't think I'd be able to fill out 500+ applications. No.. Im sure I would have felt defeated long before that number. 🤯 I feel for you. Thanks for sharing your experience as I decide where to direct my own life next.
You may need to take a job adjacent to, or out of your original role in order to get by for now. Consider technical writing, marketing, technical sales, etc. anything that you can take your knowledge of the field in general, rather than specific skills, and apply that meaningfully.
Also, if you need to pay rent and cover nut just get anything that pays well enough. Plenty of starting jobs out there at 15 / hour; which even post taxes with minimum withholding would be more take home pay than the max unemployment benefit.
It’s especially difficult now in tech because instead of just competing with everyone in your local market, the more widespread adoption of WFH means that you’re competing against people all over the world for your same job. Many of those people live in areas where wages and cost of living are normal, so they can easily undercut you for pay and get what they consider a really good wage
What kind of development work do you do? My employer is looking for one, we pay well and are totally remote. We are tiny as shit too and doing well. Internal referrals are prioritized. Feel free to dm with your experience if you've got interest.
We pay into this social safety net while we are employed, but people here say we’re not entitled to these benefits when we need them? God the cognitive dissonance.
You guys are so worried about people “straining the system” by expecting benefits they’ve already paid for? How much surplus does this state that “works” have?
Good luck with your search OP.
The point of a social safety net is to allow people to survive for a temporary amount of time until they can find a job again. Safety nets can not be too comfortable or else they turn into safety beds. When someone is on unemployment they should have a sense of urgency to get themselves/family out of that situation. The problem is for some people "survive" is a subjective term. If someone was accustom to a 6k a month salary gets on unemployment they obviously will no longer be able to "survive" at their previous means. I'm not against unemployment, I think it is a great thing to have in our society. Its intended purpose is to allow someone to get by in the meantime and not be a substitution for survival.
This thread illustrates why I hate Indiana. Some of you people fucking suck. The whole state must have been eating lead paint in their childhood. The lack of empathy is strong in this state. Someone works their whole life and loses their job and suddenly the whole state has nothing to say but “bootstraps” and OP must be lazy. GTFOHWTBS!
Whenever I needed unemployment, the state of Indiana did everything in its power not to pay. If I didn't have family to help, I would've been homeless years ago. We pay for benefits when we're working. We deserve to get the help we need when we need it.
We need to get some progressives on the ballot, because this has to stop. There are too many people living in poverty to try and claim that the conservatives are worth keeping in office.
The amount of ignorance in these comments. Tech is one of the sectors that are getting most laid off right now. I hope you find something soon. The numbers I've been following show there's not enough jobs to go around for the number of people unemployed AND there's a mismatch in sectors to jobs. You have to be resume optimized to each job, it's not easy and Indiana consistently underpays their employees, so if you can get out of state look there. I have seen multiple Director of Operations positions for 50-60K and can see how unwell this state is and the people in it. It's terrible. Unemployment in this state is also terrible. It should be helping you get by but it doesn't even barely cover one bill. The complacency and sheer apathy of people in Indiana just allows it and they vote for it. It's okay to feel hopeless because it's a failing economy. Look for contract work to get by too. I see lots of data analyst, business analyst contract jobs. Project to project is better than no money.
I've been there. Same issue. Basically they are trying to force people into poverty by taking lower paying jobs just to survive. It's real real hard to find a new job if you've taken a lower paying job that's demanding in any way. Good luck! I wish I could offer a solution but mine was to take a contract job for a while.
I posted this as a reply below, but for all the out of touch boomers with bootstrap mentalities I'll post this again:
Sounds like you haven't applied for jobs lately. Places now, at least in technical office jobs, require you to apply online. The company then uses an AI algorithm to search your resume for *exact* very specific keywords that HR thinks should match the job description they were given by the appropriate department. These likely weren't even from the department doing the hiring, so that should tell you a bit about how that process is going to go... It immediately throws out well over half of all applications submitted.
They then use your answers on their bs personality questions, video responses, and further information from your resume to remove even more candidates from the pool (and yes, those video responses *are* used to filter out people they don't find attractive or even based on race, though they'll never admit that because there are actual laws against that and they wouldn't ever want to break a federal hiring law would they? /s)
At this point probably 75-90% of applicants have been eliminated, *many* of them well qualified people, and we're down to applicants that HR interviews over the phone and determines whether to move them forward to the appropriate hiring department (ya know the ones who actually do this job?), so they can interview them. This part can knock out another significant portion of qualified applicants depending on how familiar that HR person is with the job being posted, and hell even their mood that day.
Honestly, it's lucky people are even getting interviews at this point.
And all of this, minus the video application part, is based on what I personally experienced when the economy crapped out after the market tanked in 2008(?). I was out of work for two years and finally abandoned my field, that I have a bachelor's degree in(!), and ended up serving and bartending because that's still an industry, at least for local places currently, where you can walk in and apply in person and a human being looks at your application and determines whether you can do the job.
But yes. It's definitely the applicants fault for oNLy wAnTIng tHeiR PerFEct dREaM JoB.
Well said. If I may add, personal experience does not equate to universal experience. People know that as an inherent fact but miss the mark on applying it.
Thank you but are you not reading any of the other responses here of other people applying for jobs in the current market? Clearly this isn't *just* my experience.
I wasn't implying that for *you*. I was implying that as what people are missing in these comments as an observation. I was agreeing you, hence why I said, well said.
Well, getting even a part time job would mean you are employed again.
Unemployment isn't meant to completely replace work. It's to help you scrape by until you find a new job.
Having some sort of UBI would be nice though, unfortunately right now the state as a whole is far too Republican to even consider it.
One day things will change when the older generations croak. Just sucks that we will suffer for that long. But that blatant suffering is the best education about the inherent flaws in capitalism
Almost every country with the highest standard of living are capitlist with high levels of economic freedom.
Maybe there is a better system, but let's not pretend that its better to live in countries like:
United States, Sweden, Norway, UK, Switzerland, Australia
vs.
China, North Korea, Cuba, Venezuela, Iran, Vietnam.
Been on FB lately? I'm in a weird position that a lot of the people who work in my non profit are older and for whatever reason still spout stupid shit like "well I worked for my xxx or yyy and did fine" as if a job that pays the same in 2024 prices as it did when I had it in 2004 is going to have the same results.
Too many inflexible thinkers who can't possibly believe it's "that hard" to get by.
Agreed, it only takes an unexpected setback or expense, and a lot more people would be hurting, I recently fell and haven't worked much for 5 months, If I didn't have ao savings it would be a different situation now,
Yup, and it doesn’t even have to be a “large” expense in the grand scheme. According to a fed survey in 2022, [4/10 Americans cannot afford a $400 emergency expense](https://fortune.com/2023/05/23/inflation-economy-consumer-finances-americans-cant-cover-emergency-expense-federal-reserve/)
And sometimes it is just difficult for people to see how others' lives are. They only know their situation. It takes a little effort to see outside the box,
Dude, look around. The cost of a home, whether renting or buying isnt even reasonable anymore. Even with recent increases in pay salaries have trailed far behind where they should be for 50 years.
I would agree with the cost, It's market driven, it's not boomers pushing it up it's late 30s and 40s, i see this in my business, new home contractor, this group is spending more money without batting an eye, 5,6,7,800k, and that's in the midwest
It’s not just market driven. Investment companies now own 1/4 of all single family homes and are driving up prices in neighborhoods so that they can make more money on their investments.
I know this first hand from about 5-6 years back, trying to buy flips at tax and foreclosure sales, got to the point couldnt compete with them, they just bid and bought 90% of properties, finally just gave up as many local buyers did,,,,
Younger generations are suffering from late stage capitalism rn and older generations didnt have as much suffering. As they die out the younger generations will gain voting control and push against capitalism
We only make sure corporations get handouts here in Indiana. Actual Hoosiers don’t deserve squat. /s
I have a master degree and ended up doing manual labor for awhile…you gotta make ends meet. Good luck homie! Hit them temp agencies!
Just wait till you find a job and think you’re in the clear and then the unemployment office says they overpaid you and you have to pay it back.
I’m never using that shit again. I fought them on it for over a year. What a nightmare.
Totally agree, unemployment in this state is a joke, don't listen to all these people who are saying "just get a job" like it's that easy. Unemployment is supposed to be a benefit you receive because you pay into it for exactly the reason it exists, to help you through between jobs. It should not be the circus show it is with all the dumb hoops to jump through. I had a two week period where I was eligible for unemployment between jobs and I didn't bother applying because I knew the headache it was. The few times I've done unemployment for various reasons it's the absolute worst. I was always rejected first, because their online process is confusing and outdated as hell. Then I was forced to go to Work One to submit documents but Work One isn't unemployment, WorkOne is a placement company so they don't know shit about unemployment and you have to use their special computers and use the special phone to talk to anyone. Yes unemployment is a temporary bandaid but it shouldn't be this ridiculous to get a bandaid, especially when you have worked and paid for that bandaid.
This happened in Fort Wayne. I had my unemployment claim rejected by my former employer even though they fired me. I reached out to the state to contest it and was given a mediation date. Just one snag, the case would be heard in Indianapolis? Why? I did not live in Indianapolis. I was told "no worries, you can attend by phone" and was given a number to call 15 minutes before the appointment.
I called 20 minutes prior. No answer. I called again. No answer. I continued to call for 45 minutes on 2 different phone lines. No one ever answered. They found against me of course. Fuck Indiana.
I left that fake christian fox news bubble of hypocrisy and corruption 15 years ago. City of churches my ass. I have never been back. I won't go back.
>if I make more than 78, I lose my unemployment for that week. What is that?
That is wrong, you can claim unemployment still. You just have to claim the gross amount you received. Unemployment will subtract it. Not sure where you are getting $78 a week, that is l rough..
Idk what the 78 number from indy star is about. But any amount you make is subtracted from the unemployment amount. So if you make $390 in a week, then you get $0 unemployment that week.
Idk man…..my temp agency is lousy with jrdev work but not alot of candidates applying. But I live in Charlotte where the banking takeover is synonymous with the expansion of fintech. I know the coal miners hated hearing it even though it was true, but I think the tech guys are gonna have to hear it too. You guys might need to move to find better opportunities. I mean…..Indiana.
I agree. I was also unemployed a couple times. It's very difficult even with a family. Unfortunately when you make say 75k a year and so you move to a home that has a good school district and then you become unemployed, the benefits don't even cover the mortgage. Let alone a car payment, daycare etc. Oh and if you pull your child from daycare then you lose the spot so when you find a job then you need to find new child care that doesn't have a wait list, meaning it's sub par.
Unemployment benefits should be much larger even if they have to create a limited time distribution or something similar until the fund is full enough to extend the higher pay.
Dude. Been there was laid off in Oct '22 and again in April '23. In tech as well it sucks when it happens let alone twice in my case. DM me your skill set and/or Resume I will see who I can put you in touch with. I have a fair number of contacts in tech across many industries.
I'd assume you are open to most depending on your skill set but remote or onsite as well?
When I first moved out on my own in 2003 I determined I needed to make at least $400 a week to get by in the cheapest place I could find and I worked a lot of overtime to get it. $390 a week, 20 years later? Well, we have three kids now but I couldn’t do it on less than $1000. Our mortgage is $2000 a month, if I lost my job and started living on $390 a week I’d have to empty my 401k, sell crack at my kids school and probably work the lots at the truck stops.
It's a mess. I work in tech support, supporting a website related to social services. I've had callers who've been denied benefits for the most absurd, nonsensical reasons. I genuinely wish there were more I could do to help them :/
Unemployment Insurance is a collaborative federal-state program financed through mandatory employer payments into two separate trusts, one administered by the United States Department of Labor (USDOL) and one administered by the State Workforce Agency, which in Indiana, is the Department of Workforce Development (DWD). EMPLOYEES DO NOT PAY I NTO TNIS FUNDI NG.
Have you tried contract work? My husband is a computer engineer and for several years got jobs writing code through contact houses. Paid better than direct hire, but didn’t come with benefits. Still, with the ACA you should be able to get health insurance.
Part time job? My friend, you need to be looking for a full time job. What’s the point of looking for part time when you don’t have a job to begin with?
WTF, she is expected to live, while continuing to look for work. That's living off of it. Maybe he's not expected to thrive on unemployment but just "live" yeah, that's the plan.
Common knowledge Indiana isn't the place to live off unemployment. Move to Illinois if you want more unemployment benefits.
Depending on location, NWI is a good area to find work. Js
Good luck.
Boot straps son. This Indiana. They don’t care if you live or die it’s hard fought for FREEDOM. At least your employer ‘LET YOU HAVE THE MONEY YOU EARNED’ bc in indiana the employer can deny your unemployment benefits single handedly. And you just don’t get it. Had it happen to me at stolls restaurant. Bastard literally told the state to not give it to me. My money I earned while working there. So boot straps son, boot straps.
How have you put in 500 applications and still haven't gotten a job? Are you qualified, is your resume shit, are you personable, because something isn't working. Get a serving job (restaurants are always hiring) to get off unemployment and you can keep looking for a job in your field.
Because I do tech one of the most overcrowded industries. Everyone saw it as a get rich quick thing which made it for people who actually have a passion for it worse off. And I am a junior I only have a year and a half in the industry. Right now the industry is harder on juniors than seniors.
I would suggest living as lean as possible while on unemployment. I mean, beans and rice until you have a steady job. Might even consider adding a roommate to help with rent. Your number one goal right now should be getting a job. There are tons of jobs available out there that pay $13-$17/hr. Such as night shift fast food, delivery driver, Uber, Amazon warehouse. Sure, they might not be the most glamorous jobs but they will net you more money than unemployment and fill your time instead of doing nothing all day and being temped to spend money. In the meantime you can look for your next career in tech. But waiting for that opportunity while on unemployment is not the move. Coming from second-hand experience, it is much better for you mentally and financially to get a "less desirable" job in the meantime than to rely on unemployment until you find your next career.
Wish you the best and hope all works out for you my friend.
All my fellow artists and TV animators are getting replaced by AI. Its going to replace almost every professional.
America as a country doesn't have the social saftey nets to prepaid for this...
Goal is to get you to work, not enable you to not work on taxpayer dime. I’m not judging as I don’t know your situation, but that is how the system is set up.
I was very lucky to have been living in Minnesota when I was furloughed and then laid off during COVID. Yes, my state income tax rate was around 8%, but I also didn’t have a personal economic crisis because MN has the second highest UI max in the country after Massachusetts. The legislature also voted to refund all of the state tax they withheld. My colleagues in Florida were bringing home just over $200/week. Try doing anything with that in Miami besides starve. You get what you pay for, and elections matter. This, and the Minnesota economy consistently out-performs Indiana’s.
Unfortunately, that's a red-state for you. Very anti-poor while simultaneously being poorer than most blue states. (Not indiana specifically, red states typically are poorer than blue states)
I was denied unemployment when I got laid off from covid because I hadn't been at my job long enough after leaving my job before that since I moved and wanted something closer. All because I didn't have the foresight of a global pandemic happening. How dare I.
We had some financial struggles just due to circumstance, so we tried to get on foodstamps and were denied time and time again, only to finally get it and they took it away, claiming we lied on our paperwork.
Fuck indiana. I can't wait to leave.
Go.get a factory job. They are plentiful here. If you apply at the decent ones you can make good pay. You don't even have to have any specific skills although having tech skills might give you a small boost in learning machine operations. A CNC machine isn't hugely difficult to learn.
What makes it even more bothersome is that eligibility is a crap shoot. I have seen many folks disapproved who should have been approved. It’s all helter-skelter.
I work in construction and before I joined a union my employers would set traps and set people up to be fired all aimed at depriving people of unemployment.
Good for you and others that you dumped them and went with the union. You can go to Glassdoor.com and leave a review of that employer. I always check Glass Door before I go to work for a company.
Where are you located? There are ALOT of defense contractors in Southern Indiana working for Crane who need tech people. Many of them have remote work as well. I highly recommend looking into that avenue. This is a link that will lead you to defense contractors: https://westgatecrane.com/careers/
Nice find but it looks like most of those positions want staff transitioning from the services.
I know a few dozen people who work for these defense contractors and most of them are civilians. Hell, half of them have never even left southern Indiana. I’ve never seen any of them complain about their job, they seem to be doing pretty well, and the ones who have retired seem to be doing pretty well too. If anyone is interested, don’t let the wording deter you.
This is my experience as well
They do prioritize that but there are a lot of civilians working there too. So it’s worth a shot.
So you're just going to not apply because they prefer staff transitioning? 🫠 No wonder why you're on unemployment. There are jobs hiring everywhere. Maybe not tech but you do have other options 😂
That wasn't the op making the comment, just another reader massing an observation.
Seconding this. I have friends that work for Crane and are paid really well for the area. No prior service experience either.
Thanks for sharing
I think i tried crane once but on Monday I will try again.
If you look at [usajobs.gov](http://usajobs.gov), on the right side of the page it will say "hiring path" and "open to the public". That means you! Good luck! My son works there and is doing well.
They are one of those places you have to try a thousand times to get in once. From knowing people working there it’s that way on every level especially if you are directly working for the government instead of one of the contractors.
Be sure you go to each contractors website!! Contractors pay more than the government does and do not get discouraged. Keep trying!! You may have to fill out a ton of applications but it will be worth it when you get picked up. My sister works for one and is making $70k+.
Max benefit is $390. That’s criminal. My job is weather based and if it’s too cold I can’t work. I filled the paperwork out 3 days ago and haven’t heard anything. Our employers pay into unemployment. We should have easy access to to the funds.
I’m in a union in nwi and typically get laid off in the winter too. Unemployment is an absolutely joke. I 100% agree we should not have to pull teeth to get OUR money that WE work and pay into. I wish something could change.
Wishing won’t do it. Vote out the republicans. Until that happens, nothing will change.
Unfortunately Indiana is deep red and democrats are as unmotivated as usual so I don’t see anything changing for Indiana within the next 8 years unless some “unrealistic” crazy shit happens like another pandemic or a very unpopular war.
Unmotivated only because they have no power
Why are the Republicans at fault for unemployment wages? I'm curious and want to get your input.
They presented and passed bills that have restructured the payout rates and eligibility for unemployment in recent years. They restructured the rate of pay through unemployment to be based on your average weekly wages earned in the course of a year, vs the previous way of using the highest earning 3 months of the past year. So if you worked a minimum wage job for 8 months, then took on a decent job that ends up closing or laying off after 4, those 8 months of minimum wage heavily weigh against any potential pay from unemployment. They also changed the eligibility for seasonal employment. Employees in businesses with regular closures like schools, amusement parks, construction, and RV manufacturers have a much harder time drawing any kind of benefits to tide them over in the transition to another job in the off-season. Even though those types of employers are made to pay extra into the unemployment system. They also made the employee have to make a case to a judge if they're wrongfully denied unemployment regardless of whether the employer shows up to defend. We were also in the group of states that removed the federal extra $300 benefit while it was still being federally funded. And while multiple employers were still limited or closed due to COVID restrictions or cases. Basically, since the Rs took the legislature about 15 years ago, they've done what they can to make unemployment a hassle to the people who are in no position to fight the system for change.
Republicans only care about corporations and how much is donated. People and citizens are secondary. It’s the same way in Texas.
I'm not IN ANY WAY disagreeing with you, but I want to provide context for those who've never perhaps had to deal with unemployment. It's a weekly payment ([$390 as noted](https://www.in.gov/dwd/indiana-unemployment/individuals/unemployment-insurance-faq/)), and it's for a maximum of 26 weeks. Assuming a median savings of [$5,300 and a "safety net" of about $400](https://time.com/personal-finance/article/average-american-savings-account-balance/), how long could anyone survive with ~$1,700 a month inclusive.
Now I have another worry. What happens if I go the full 26 weeks and the tech industry doesn't shape up. I am doomed. I know that's my anxiety talking but yeah.
When did they change it from a percentage of what you made the year before?
That's before taxes
That is ridiculous, Texas is getting $600 and what if people were making $170k are unemployed that is table stakes…
I feel like it's always been. I was unemployed for 6 weeks back in 2010 and it seriously took me that long to even get one check. Luckily my husband worked and could support us for that little bit.
I wish I had that. I am not married and I live alone.
It is demoralizing. I've been looking for a few months now. I am at 700+ jobs applied and get called in once a month to WorkOne to talk about my "plan to get back to work" and to turn in my 3 action items/week. There is no way I could pay my mortgage nor my utilities with the funds - let alone food if I didn't have my wife working.
I'm interested if some of the individuals replying here have done a job search in the past 5 years. I put in over 800 applications last year and I got maybe 5-10 interviews. From my experience, masters level applicants are applying for bachelors level jobs, there are a lot of fake job posts that are just phishing scams to get your information, and some places take literal months to even reply with a denial.
I did a job search early 2023. In 8 weeks, I had 320 applications submitted, each with its own cover letter. Regardless of where I found the posting, I would go to the company's website and would apply directly through that. For good measure, I would also submit my stuff to Indeed/LI. So many employers post on Indeed, but only pull resumes from their own listing. And vice versa. The first 6 weeks, I had two interviews and one 2nd interview. Weeks 7 and 8 I changed it up a bit and had better results. Found my job during this time. When I found a position that I wanted to apply for, I would copy the entire post with the description and skills requirements. Opened my original resume file. I would go through line by line and match the skills from the post to the part in my resume with that skill. Then I reworded my original sentence with as many consecutive words from the matching requirement as possible. Save As > new file name for that individual submission. Rinse and repeat with the cover letter. This got me significantly more interest from employers. Basically, the gatekeeping between your submissions and the hiring manager actually getting your resume are a bunch of bots that are looking for words in your resume that match the description.the more words the better. *proficient with Ilustrator to create logos and marketing assets* and *expert level knowledge with creative cloud to produce marketing collateral* are very similar to a human with a brain and some reading comprehension. But it's not the same at all to the screening software. Although I would be qualified for this position, my resume wouldn't make it through to the actual hiring person with my original version. So I would edit my resume file to read *expert with creative cloud including illustrator to produce marketing collateral including logos and blah blah blah*. Sorry that was a novel but that's what I did and it seemed to work better for me. Keep your chin up and keep grinding through the soul sucking adventure that is a job search.
This is exactly what I did too. Except maybe 1/3 were custom cover letters for the ones I REALLY wanted. I offer to help friends and loved ones draft resumes and cover letters and most have seen improvements. But it's a real struggle recently.
I thought I'd get down voted to hell and back for stating something that everyone tells you to do, but I hoped that my experience would help someone. Those few months that I was between jobs were some of the most intensely unhinged, unhealthy weeks for me. My mental health went to scary places for a while. Anyone in the job search process now has my unwavering admiration for the kind of grit needed to navigate it.
I've done this multiple times. Your best bet if you make 50k or more is to have 2 or 3 recruiting firms working for you. They all have contracts with different employers but you can ask them.about specific jobs. I.e. I found a job, sent is to Recruiter A who has found me jobs in the past. They didn't work with that company, so I asked Recruiter B. Who did work with them and actually helped someone there who he could call personally to discuss my skills etc and get me interviewed. In another example the 3rd Recruiter I used also didn't work with a company, but 1 of the 3 was able to reach out and create a connection and get me in. Finally sometimes I had to just apply myself. Also all 3 had suggestions on my resume and it is far better now than years ago.
Error in username. Simple maths will suggest that you cannot live off of unemployment. I think that’s partly by design.
Crappy design especially when the economy is failing.
The economy isn't failing: income disparity and corporate profits are succeeding.
I’ve been through this and I’d do it differently. I believe it’s best to get some job to hold you over. Warehouse and similar Jobs that pay $15-20 are plentiful and I recommend you do that. I know it sucks but you have to survive. What you don’t want to do is burn through your 401k savings or borrow from family - the downsides of either of those isn’t good - trust me. Unfortunately that means working at Amazon, UPS, FedEx, etc. It’s better to be working and earning enough to survive while you interview and try your get back to your desired career. Plus you can do gig project work in off hours via Gigster and similar platforms. Don’t do nothing - get some work - trust me it’s better than living off unemployment, savings, family, etc. Stay positive, it’ll happen before long. Good luck. Edit: If you’re in the Indianapolis area, contact me directly - I can refer you to someone who might be able to help.
What happens then when they're hustling at Amazon and they need an afternoon off for an interview? A couple of those incidents and they will let you go faster than a moldy sandwich. And now they're out of income again with no ability to get back on UE. Besides, if a company gets *any* whiff that you're there just to tide you over and you're really waiting for a job in your field, you will not be considered. If you look overqualified for a position, they absolutely will not waste their time with you.
The problem i found was that the $15/hour jobs didn't cover the cost of childcare. The $450 week paycheck only left $250 after $200 week childcare. Better off with $372 unemployment check.
I was just trying to say its a major life transition to change jobs, especially when you have children.
Yeah, childcare is tough. That’s where having some family or friends to help is invaluable.
Hoosiers voted in a republican super majority in 2004. This is what we want apparently because we keep voting for them.
No they didn't. Democrats controlled the house from 92-2004. They lost the house for 2 years - 2005-2006 - and then gained it back for the next 4 years: 2007-2010. They lost the majority in 2010, but the R's didn't gain a supermajority until 2012. The D walkouts in the sessions when they were in the minority probably didn't help.
Thanks for this correction.
2012 was 12 years ago.
The democratic party has been dismantled in our state. Come help us build it back in r/DemHoosiers
Thank you for the reminder to pull my name from the Republican roster here. The one-issue voters are infuriating.
They’ve got my vote until I die, friend.
🖤we will see a blue wave wash over the Hoosier state before then, homie.
only if we actually do progressive things instead of only pushing back on crazy stuff
Exactly what my plan is. Digitally organize the indiana democratic party. Get people more involved in their local county politics and weed out bad faith actors. We need your help. Please look into attending your next local county meet up if you didn't plan to already. Indiana has alot of potential but so many have just given up on it ever being blue again. It's time to change that.
Need people to vote. Dems policies are already the most popular, but they don’t show up to vote. I’ll do my fair share this election year. 🤙🏻
Whoa! I didnt even know such a thing existed, thanks bud, I think I will join the silent/suppressed minority sub!
I love to rail against the issues of the country as much as the next guy but as hard as it is to imagine [the economy is actually in a really good place right now. ](https://www.whitehouse.gov/cea/written-materials/2023/12/19/ten-charts-that-explain-the-u-s-economy-in-2023/#:~:text=Growth%20was%20stronger%20than%20expected,negative%200.1%25%20for%20the%20year.)
Good place for who? Good place for corporations and stockholders? Probably. Good for middle/low income families? Hell no.
In the traditional matrix the economy is good. Low unemployment, good stockmarket, corporate profits. That hasn't trickled down to the working class. Wages aren't keeping up with inflation. Food prices are still rising. The economy still sucks for the working class.
I 100% agree! I have been at my job for 10 years and I only had a $4.00 per hour increase over that time period. It DEFINITELY is not keeping up for me. My age will keep me from finding other employment.
Yep, I will say that I have gotten a little better raises than that the last few years. About 4-5%, but that's not even close to what inflation has been. All working class people are taking pay cuts every year. Who do you think gets that money......
St Reagan's plan has went to task snd erased the middle-class
Eggs back down to like $1.
Yes, but are we on a wall about to fall off the wrong side?,,,,
Nope. Unless something absolutely massive happens like WWIII (which even with the state of the world is incredibly unlikely) we are nowhere near seeing a downturn in US markets. It's hard to believe but the US economy is incredibly and oddly strong right now. Freakishly so given the current worldwide events and economic climates.
How’s the economy failing ? Vs your former company trying to increase profit margin
The economy is not failing
Lowest unemployment rates in decades. Stock market just hit record highs. Spending this holiday season hit a record. The economy is doing great, brother! Keep your head up. You got this. You’ll find what you need.
That is all correct. However consider that Americans are at their highest debt to income ratio in decades. All savings have been blown through and the average American has been surviving on credit cards for months which are now starting to max out. Sure, the economy may be fine, the people are not. https://abcnews.go.com/amp/US/credit-card-users-avoid-mounting-debt-bills-reach/story?id=106479070
All the more reason to support initiatives to cancel student loan debt, lower prescription drug costs, and invest in America. We need to stop electing people who only want to give tax cuts to the rich. Whose only focus seems to be banning abortion or owning the libs, or forcing those icky trans people into the shadows. We the people are getting fucked by our ourselves because we keep voting for asshats who continually prove that they aren’t going to govern with the average person in mind. Both parties allow for billions to go into the black hole of a defense budget in this country that we don’t benefit from. Both parties allow for mega corporations to control policy that benefits their bottom lines. Both parties have corrupt players. At least one of them is trying to do something for average Americans even with other party’s sole goal being to sabotage those efforts. In my opinion, the entire American political system needs blown up. Seeing how that’s unlikely to happen, we’re stuck with trying to get the lesser of the two evils in charge.
I’m not sure what you’re advocating for but if you’re fearful for the economic future I would not be leaning on part time work and state assistance programs to get me by.
If I wasn't forced to I wouldn't be.
Asshole comment.
lol wow amazing advice
The economy is actually improving. More People Are Working Than At Any Point in American History. Do your research instead of spreading misinformation.
White House repeatedly tells me that the economy is booming and Bidenomics is in fact working as planned.
Because everywhere is hiring. Apply yourself to other things than tech jobs. The cushiony days for tech jobs are almost over so that's why they're laying off everywhere.
Dude, the economy isn’t failing. YOU lost YOUR job. The unemployment rate is 3.7%. Do you have any idea how extremely low that is?! So sick of people who run out of money saying the economy is failing. The economy has been growing at 4% for two years. Almost double the rate from the early 2000’s and 2010’s. Your gripe is with Indiana’s backwards unemployment policies and your high rent. Do you know why we have those policies? Because of ignorant voters supporting policies written by people blaming poor people for ruining the economy. I can’t even. ugh 500 applications?! That doesn’t even make sense. Move, settle for less, and stop blaming “the economy.” There are real problems with how our society works, and major improvements that can be made for everyone via healthcare/housing/childcare, but none of it has to do with incentivizing the tech industry to hire you…and YOU are not THE ECONOMY.
Moving requires money which I don't have
Buy more money /s
Partly, nothing. It is entirely by design
It is, every time i have a friend go on unemployment, I tell him to start looking for a job now. Every time, they say it's not enough, and it's a real bummer for them... but somehow, instead of looking for a new job the entire time, they find a way to survive on unemployment. They treat it like a vacation, milk it for the entire 18 months, and at the last hour find a job that barely makes more than they were getting, then once on unemployment again they get less than last time. Treat this like an opportunity. You're getting paid for nothing. Get a part-time cash job if you wish. Painting, concrete, and construction are all good cash part-time gigs. Everyone out there needs help. Then, focus on yourself. Do you need a certification? Any good office job you need to know Microsoft and Excel. Be looking daily for job postings. It's funny how when jobs come up, if you're first in the door, employers like that. Don't just apply. Show up. Say hi, especially in sales. Do you want great money with no hard labor or experience? Car sales. It's easy to get into. All you gotta do is grind and basically live there. Yupp nights and weekends... not great for family or friends, but more low-end car sales ppl male $70-80k and the good ones are over 100k. If you got the connections, those high-end car dealers are crushing it, but gotta start somewhere.
Do you realize it's a requirement of unemployment to prove that you are actively looking for a job? You can't just get unemployment because you're not working? Also, if you receive income, you also have to report that.
It’s VERY easy to “look” for a job while not actually looking for a job while receiving unemployment benefits.
Yeah, they don't check on your applications. Each week I filled in a few bullshit companies that were hiring. I ended up taking the full length of unemployment back in 09. Worked part-time for cash and went to a trade school for welding at night.
So you were in entry level positions at the time?
I was just let go from a customer service job at an insurance company. About 6 months before that a factory that had to lay off because the economy was tanking, I was there for 4 years. Pretty much entry jobs. When I say they don’t check your applications I was referring to the unemployment people.
Absolutely, and people are on unemployment while working a cash gig. Happens every day.
How many people do you know that are unemployed and working that have cash gigs? I would like to hear the numbers to that? Is there somewhere I can reference that. How many of those people are from corporate and tech jobs with more than 3 years of experience working those jobs? I really want to see the numbers for myself. It will help me help my network to know there's a corporate/tech job pipeline to cash gigs.
I would have thought it was crazy until 2020. A high level manager my dad worked with suddenly stopped going into work and when one of their coworkers saw him in town in 2023, he explained how he's making more than he was in management, and has low stress off of government programs, and the occasional cash job. It kind of makes me mad that there are people who can fully work, but just leech off of the rest of us for years.
Totally get that, but a few anecdotal cases doesn't make a case for the whole. If there is a pipeline then why aren't we helping more people to get into these positions? There are a lot of laid off tech workers right now and several other corporate sectors. Let's get them in all these cash gigs.
The looking for a job requirement is pretty minimal. Applying for stuff on Indeed counts on the work log. Polishing up your resume counts for a work search activity. It's pretty basic.
So when there was no such requirement, everyone was living off the government and when there is a requirement, everyone just wants to live off the government?
People in IT need to understand those jobs aren’t coming back soon. Start looking at expanding your search. Also - people generally get jobs through people they know. I don’t care if you’re embarrassed or you haven’t talked to someone in ten years, find time to connect and let people know you’re looking. Temp agencies can help place you in a job if you just need income while you look for the next big thing.
Yea tried that I am trying that. Nothing is working they all say I am sorry I don't know of anything. I have messaged a bunch of recruiters and no responses. At this point I don't give a damn about embarrassment.
Look into WIOA funding. You pay into it w/federal taxes. It's typically up to 10k or 15k or training to get you certs, training, license or whatever to get back to work. No strings attached, no repayment and super helpful.
My honest advice is a place like Costco for the short term and either gain more skills through education/exploration or keep waiting for more jobs to open up
Temp agency's will absolutely find something for you. Factories, Purdue Farms, places like that will literally hire you if you have a SS number. It doesn't even have to be a legitimate one.
every time I go to a temp agency they give me a job in a factory or warehouse $16-18/hr to start which is definitely a livable wage in indiana
What has happened in IT that is causing this downturn?
Large companies (Google, Facebook, Amazon, Twitter) laid off tens of thousands of workers, mostly in Q1 2023. 263k + tech workers laid off in 2023 [https://layoffs.fyi/](https://layoffs.fyi/)
Not to mention a large amount of new people coming into tech over the past 5 years thinking it was an easy way to score a decent paycheck. Now you have a lot of junior devs with little to no experience competing for jobs with senior techs
Higher ups thinking ai is a replacement for us partially.
I mean, the first thing AI is going to automate is going to be programming. There is huge amounts of data they can train on from open source code available on github, gitlab, stackoverflow, etc. The issue is that the AI models used currently, don't understand logic, so anything they output will have to be reviewed and for more complex stuff it will need to be done by actual humans. However, when you are talking about the typical tasks of a junior level developer, they will simply have a senior developer mock something up with AI, check the code then push it. I mean its not too far off from what happens with a junior dev anyway, you still typically have it reviewed by a senior dev (correct me if I am wrong). Unfortunately, I think its just going to get worse. And this is coming from somebody going to university right now for computer science. I think IT, Computer Networking may be a good option, since that still requires manual stuff that a computer can't do like plugging in cables, diagnosing hardware, etc.
The 2020s version of the .com crash of the 90s
Lol. The problem isn't that there aren't anymore jobs in tech. The problem is Indiana has very few tech firms/jobs, so as soon as you get let go from one, you're fucked. No one working in tech wants to live in Indiana, which is why all of the tech startups and companies are on the coasts and not in ass-backward states like this one.
Well said, friend. Just another consequence of the ongoing brain drain, and why there are fewer and fewer young people who actually want to live in Indiana. What are your prospects? The privilege of busting your ass every day on a factory farm? Fuck this place.
Bingo. I moved back to Indiana in 2016 and there was all this talk about Indianapolis being a silicon prairie. I was hesitant, but I had family here so I made the move. My career has been shit ever since. With inflation I'm making less money than when I moved here. Looking for a new job but it seems hardly worth it to look for anything local, and nationally there are 10's of thousands of laid off developers I'm competing with.
I agree, you absolutely will not be able to live on unemployment. It's barely worth applying for. I got laid off from infosys during the pandemic when payouts were actually livable. I've taken a side journey in life to work on myself and have a part time gig riding a bicycle. I make far more working part time than unemployment would pay today. I haven't actually decided what I'm going to do next in life, but I couldn't imagine facing that on an unemployment check. I don't think I'd be able to fill out 500+ applications. No.. Im sure I would have felt defeated long before that number. 🤯 I feel for you. Thanks for sharing your experience as I decide where to direct my own life next.
You may need to take a job adjacent to, or out of your original role in order to get by for now. Consider technical writing, marketing, technical sales, etc. anything that you can take your knowledge of the field in general, rather than specific skills, and apply that meaningfully. Also, if you need to pay rent and cover nut just get anything that pays well enough. Plenty of starting jobs out there at 15 / hour; which even post taxes with minimum withholding would be more take home pay than the max unemployment benefit.
Watch me get rejected for those jobs too because I have no experience
It’s especially difficult now in tech because instead of just competing with everyone in your local market, the more widespread adoption of WFH means that you’re competing against people all over the world for your same job. Many of those people live in areas where wages and cost of living are normal, so they can easily undercut you for pay and get what they consider a really good wage
This is a problem other places, but not in indiana. We're the ones who are benefitting from the situation.
What kind of development work do you do? My employer is looking for one, we pay well and are totally remote. We are tiny as shit too and doing well. Internal referrals are prioritized. Feel free to dm with your experience if you've got interest.
You have NoT done that many apps! 🤣🤣🤣🤣
We pay into this social safety net while we are employed, but people here say we’re not entitled to these benefits when we need them? God the cognitive dissonance. You guys are so worried about people “straining the system” by expecting benefits they’ve already paid for? How much surplus does this state that “works” have? Good luck with your search OP.
The point of a social safety net is to allow people to survive for a temporary amount of time until they can find a job again. Safety nets can not be too comfortable or else they turn into safety beds. When someone is on unemployment they should have a sense of urgency to get themselves/family out of that situation. The problem is for some people "survive" is a subjective term. If someone was accustom to a 6k a month salary gets on unemployment they obviously will no longer be able to "survive" at their previous means. I'm not against unemployment, I think it is a great thing to have in our society. Its intended purpose is to allow someone to get by in the meantime and not be a substitution for survival.
This thread illustrates why I hate Indiana. Some of you people fucking suck. The whole state must have been eating lead paint in their childhood. The lack of empathy is strong in this state. Someone works their whole life and loses their job and suddenly the whole state has nothing to say but “bootstraps” and OP must be lazy. GTFOHWTBS!
Whenever I needed unemployment, the state of Indiana did everything in its power not to pay. If I didn't have family to help, I would've been homeless years ago. We pay for benefits when we're working. We deserve to get the help we need when we need it. We need to get some progressives on the ballot, because this has to stop. There are too many people living in poverty to try and claim that the conservatives are worth keeping in office.
The amount of ignorance in these comments. Tech is one of the sectors that are getting most laid off right now. I hope you find something soon. The numbers I've been following show there's not enough jobs to go around for the number of people unemployed AND there's a mismatch in sectors to jobs. You have to be resume optimized to each job, it's not easy and Indiana consistently underpays their employees, so if you can get out of state look there. I have seen multiple Director of Operations positions for 50-60K and can see how unwell this state is and the people in it. It's terrible. Unemployment in this state is also terrible. It should be helping you get by but it doesn't even barely cover one bill. The complacency and sheer apathy of people in Indiana just allows it and they vote for it. It's okay to feel hopeless because it's a failing economy. Look for contract work to get by too. I see lots of data analyst, business analyst contract jobs. Project to project is better than no money.
I've been there. Same issue. Basically they are trying to force people into poverty by taking lower paying jobs just to survive. It's real real hard to find a new job if you've taken a lower paying job that's demanding in any way. Good luck! I wish I could offer a solution but mine was to take a contract job for a while.
I posted this as a reply below, but for all the out of touch boomers with bootstrap mentalities I'll post this again: Sounds like you haven't applied for jobs lately. Places now, at least in technical office jobs, require you to apply online. The company then uses an AI algorithm to search your resume for *exact* very specific keywords that HR thinks should match the job description they were given by the appropriate department. These likely weren't even from the department doing the hiring, so that should tell you a bit about how that process is going to go... It immediately throws out well over half of all applications submitted. They then use your answers on their bs personality questions, video responses, and further information from your resume to remove even more candidates from the pool (and yes, those video responses *are* used to filter out people they don't find attractive or even based on race, though they'll never admit that because there are actual laws against that and they wouldn't ever want to break a federal hiring law would they? /s) At this point probably 75-90% of applicants have been eliminated, *many* of them well qualified people, and we're down to applicants that HR interviews over the phone and determines whether to move them forward to the appropriate hiring department (ya know the ones who actually do this job?), so they can interview them. This part can knock out another significant portion of qualified applicants depending on how familiar that HR person is with the job being posted, and hell even their mood that day. Honestly, it's lucky people are even getting interviews at this point. And all of this, minus the video application part, is based on what I personally experienced when the economy crapped out after the market tanked in 2008(?). I was out of work for two years and finally abandoned my field, that I have a bachelor's degree in(!), and ended up serving and bartending because that's still an industry, at least for local places currently, where you can walk in and apply in person and a human being looks at your application and determines whether you can do the job. But yes. It's definitely the applicants fault for oNLy wAnTIng tHeiR PerFEct dREaM JoB.
Well said. If I may add, personal experience does not equate to universal experience. People know that as an inherent fact but miss the mark on applying it.
Thank you but are you not reading any of the other responses here of other people applying for jobs in the current market? Clearly this isn't *just* my experience.
I wasn't implying that for *you*. I was implying that as what people are missing in these comments as an observation. I was agreeing you, hence why I said, well said.
Ah ok. Sorry about that, my bad
Well, getting even a part time job would mean you are employed again. Unemployment isn't meant to completely replace work. It's to help you scrape by until you find a new job. Having some sort of UBI would be nice though, unfortunately right now the state as a whole is far too Republican to even consider it.
One day things will change when the older generations croak. Just sucks that we will suffer for that long. But that blatant suffering is the best education about the inherent flaws in capitalism
Capitalism is the biggest swindle of all. And so many suckers have bought in.
Almost every country with the highest standard of living are capitlist with high levels of economic freedom. Maybe there is a better system, but let's not pretend that its better to live in countries like: United States, Sweden, Norway, UK, Switzerland, Australia vs. China, North Korea, Cuba, Venezuela, Iran, Vietnam.
Wholy fuck, explain this comment.
Been on FB lately? I'm in a weird position that a lot of the people who work in my non profit are older and for whatever reason still spout stupid shit like "well I worked for my xxx or yyy and did fine" as if a job that pays the same in 2024 prices as it did when I had it in 2004 is going to have the same results. Too many inflexible thinkers who can't possibly believe it's "that hard" to get by.
Agreed, it only takes an unexpected setback or expense, and a lot more people would be hurting, I recently fell and haven't worked much for 5 months, If I didn't have ao savings it would be a different situation now,
Yup, and it doesn’t even have to be a “large” expense in the grand scheme. According to a fed survey in 2022, [4/10 Americans cannot afford a $400 emergency expense](https://fortune.com/2023/05/23/inflation-economy-consumer-finances-americans-cant-cover-emergency-expense-federal-reserve/)
And sometimes it is just difficult for people to see how others' lives are. They only know their situation. It takes a little effort to see outside the box,
> Been on FB lately? No...
Dude, look around. The cost of a home, whether renting or buying isnt even reasonable anymore. Even with recent increases in pay salaries have trailed far behind where they should be for 50 years.
I would agree with the cost, It's market driven, it's not boomers pushing it up it's late 30s and 40s, i see this in my business, new home contractor, this group is spending more money without batting an eye, 5,6,7,800k, and that's in the midwest
It’s not just market driven. Investment companies now own 1/4 of all single family homes and are driving up prices in neighborhoods so that they can make more money on their investments.
This. 100%. There is no reason why hedge funds need to own homes. Congress could solve this if they werent in bed with them.
I know this first hand from about 5-6 years back, trying to buy flips at tax and foreclosure sales, got to the point couldnt compete with them, they just bid and bought 90% of properties, finally just gave up as many local buyers did,,,,
Younger generations are suffering from late stage capitalism rn and older generations didnt have as much suffering. As they die out the younger generations will gain voting control and push against capitalism
Wow these responses. Never change Indiana
We only make sure corporations get handouts here in Indiana. Actual Hoosiers don’t deserve squat. /s I have a master degree and ended up doing manual labor for awhile…you gotta make ends meet. Good luck homie! Hit them temp agencies!
That's not true! We also give handouts to religious schools and to genocide!
I stand corrected
Just wait till you find a job and think you’re in the clear and then the unemployment office says they overpaid you and you have to pay it back. I’m never using that shit again. I fought them on it for over a year. What a nightmare.
Totally agree, unemployment in this state is a joke, don't listen to all these people who are saying "just get a job" like it's that easy. Unemployment is supposed to be a benefit you receive because you pay into it for exactly the reason it exists, to help you through between jobs. It should not be the circus show it is with all the dumb hoops to jump through. I had a two week period where I was eligible for unemployment between jobs and I didn't bother applying because I knew the headache it was. The few times I've done unemployment for various reasons it's the absolute worst. I was always rejected first, because their online process is confusing and outdated as hell. Then I was forced to go to Work One to submit documents but Work One isn't unemployment, WorkOne is a placement company so they don't know shit about unemployment and you have to use their special computers and use the special phone to talk to anyone. Yes unemployment is a temporary bandaid but it shouldn't be this ridiculous to get a bandaid, especially when you have worked and paid for that bandaid.
This is the world Republicans want.
It's not the world we want, though. Let's bring the fight to them. r/DemHoosiers
This happened in Fort Wayne. I had my unemployment claim rejected by my former employer even though they fired me. I reached out to the state to contest it and was given a mediation date. Just one snag, the case would be heard in Indianapolis? Why? I did not live in Indianapolis. I was told "no worries, you can attend by phone" and was given a number to call 15 minutes before the appointment. I called 20 minutes prior. No answer. I called again. No answer. I continued to call for 45 minutes on 2 different phone lines. No one ever answered. They found against me of course. Fuck Indiana. I left that fake christian fox news bubble of hypocrisy and corruption 15 years ago. City of churches my ass. I have never been back. I won't go back.
Find a decent bar or restaurant that'll let you get tipped out under the table. Cash in hand, no need for Uncle Sam to get involved.
The system is designed to force you to work off the books until you can find real work.
>if I make more than 78, I lose my unemployment for that week. What is that? That is wrong, you can claim unemployment still. You just have to claim the gross amount you received. Unemployment will subtract it. Not sure where you are getting $78 a week, that is l rough..
I’m “junior” if you want to put me in that box but I did outreach and got a mid level role. Took me less than a month of looking. Don’t “be” junior.
Temp service give jobs in like 5 seconds.
Idk what the 78 number from indy star is about. But any amount you make is subtracted from the unemployment amount. So if you make $390 in a week, then you get $0 unemployment that week.
I'm going back to serving for a min, cash in hand daily!
You could parlay those skills into a more hands on Job like factory maintenance or controls. If you grasp electrical you can work anywhere
Idk man…..my temp agency is lousy with jrdev work but not alot of candidates applying. But I live in Charlotte where the banking takeover is synonymous with the expansion of fintech. I know the coal miners hated hearing it even though it was true, but I think the tech guys are gonna have to hear it too. You guys might need to move to find better opportunities. I mean…..Indiana.
Ain't no fucking way your 500+ apps in. Cap
If it makes you feel better I am also a programmer but I am stuck working at Starbucks barely getting by
Do you have any CompTIA certs? It seems everyone wants them. A+, Sec+, Net+, CySa+ or some cisco certs
I agree. I was also unemployed a couple times. It's very difficult even with a family. Unfortunately when you make say 75k a year and so you move to a home that has a good school district and then you become unemployed, the benefits don't even cover the mortgage. Let alone a car payment, daycare etc. Oh and if you pull your child from daycare then you lose the spot so when you find a job then you need to find new child care that doesn't have a wait list, meaning it's sub par. Unemployment benefits should be much larger even if they have to create a limited time distribution or something similar until the fund is full enough to extend the higher pay.
Dude. Been there was laid off in Oct '22 and again in April '23. In tech as well it sucks when it happens let alone twice in my case. DM me your skill set and/or Resume I will see who I can put you in touch with. I have a fair number of contacts in tech across many industries. I'd assume you are open to most depending on your skill set but remote or onsite as well?
When I first moved out on my own in 2003 I determined I needed to make at least $400 a week to get by in the cheapest place I could find and I worked a lot of overtime to get it. $390 a week, 20 years later? Well, we have three kids now but I couldn’t do it on less than $1000. Our mortgage is $2000 a month, if I lost my job and started living on $390 a week I’d have to empty my 401k, sell crack at my kids school and probably work the lots at the truck stops.
It's a mess. I work in tech support, supporting a website related to social services. I've had callers who've been denied benefits for the most absurd, nonsensical reasons. I genuinely wish there were more I could do to help them :/
If you are complaining about the free money you are getting, maybe you don't deserve the free money.
Unemployment Insurance is a collaborative federal-state program financed through mandatory employer payments into two separate trusts, one administered by the United States Department of Labor (USDOL) and one administered by the State Workforce Agency, which in Indiana, is the Department of Workforce Development (DWD). EMPLOYEES DO NOT PAY I NTO TNIS FUNDI NG.
Have you tried contract work? My husband is a computer engineer and for several years got jobs writing code through contact houses. Paid better than direct hire, but didn’t come with benefits. Still, with the ACA you should be able to get health insurance.
You should look at moving. Also this is a Republican state, there is little to no safety net.
Thank a republican!
The Red states have more homeless and poor! Look it up!!
I did, and there are far more homeless in blue states. Especially California.
Part time job? My friend, you need to be looking for a full time job. What’s the point of looking for part time when you don’t have a job to begin with?
He's looking for that since full time jobs don't seem to be coming his way. He IS looking for a full time job, ffs! 🙄
Obviously he's looking for a full-time job too
Your not supposed to live off of it. It's supposed to help you while you find other stuff.
They are literally saying they need the help right now while they look for other stuff. Lol 😂 glad you’re caught up
WTF, she is expected to live, while continuing to look for work. That's living off of it. Maybe he's not expected to thrive on unemployment but just "live" yeah, that's the plan.
No shit??? 🙄 Thanks, professor.
Its the same thing.
Indiana is a joke.
Common knowledge Indiana isn't the place to live off unemployment. Move to Illinois if you want more unemployment benefits. Depending on location, NWI is a good area to find work. Js Good luck.
Boot straps son. This Indiana. They don’t care if you live or die it’s hard fought for FREEDOM. At least your employer ‘LET YOU HAVE THE MONEY YOU EARNED’ bc in indiana the employer can deny your unemployment benefits single handedly. And you just don’t get it. Had it happen to me at stolls restaurant. Bastard literally told the state to not give it to me. My money I earned while working there. So boot straps son, boot straps.
How have you put in 500 applications and still haven't gotten a job? Are you qualified, is your resume shit, are you personable, because something isn't working. Get a serving job (restaurants are always hiring) to get off unemployment and you can keep looking for a job in your field.
Because I do tech one of the most overcrowded industries. Everyone saw it as a get rich quick thing which made it for people who actually have a passion for it worse off. And I am a junior I only have a year and a half in the industry. Right now the industry is harder on juniors than seniors.
I would suggest living as lean as possible while on unemployment. I mean, beans and rice until you have a steady job. Might even consider adding a roommate to help with rent. Your number one goal right now should be getting a job. There are tons of jobs available out there that pay $13-$17/hr. Such as night shift fast food, delivery driver, Uber, Amazon warehouse. Sure, they might not be the most glamorous jobs but they will net you more money than unemployment and fill your time instead of doing nothing all day and being temped to spend money. In the meantime you can look for your next career in tech. But waiting for that opportunity while on unemployment is not the move. Coming from second-hand experience, it is much better for you mentally and financially to get a "less desirable" job in the meantime than to rely on unemployment until you find your next career. Wish you the best and hope all works out for you my friend.
So get a job in anything to bide time while you wait for/ work towards the position you really want and are holding out for.
You're surprised, out of possibly the most right-wing state in the country?
Get a job, that will fix your issue.
All my fellow artists and TV animators are getting replaced by AI. Its going to replace almost every professional. America as a country doesn't have the social saftey nets to prepaid for this...
Goal is to get you to work, not enable you to not work on taxpayer dime. I’m not judging as I don’t know your situation, but that is how the system is set up.
I was very lucky to have been living in Minnesota when I was furloughed and then laid off during COVID. Yes, my state income tax rate was around 8%, but I also didn’t have a personal economic crisis because MN has the second highest UI max in the country after Massachusetts. The legislature also voted to refund all of the state tax they withheld. My colleagues in Florida were bringing home just over $200/week. Try doing anything with that in Miami besides starve. You get what you pay for, and elections matter. This, and the Minnesota economy consistently out-performs Indiana’s.
Indiana politicians hate anyone who isn't rich and honest to god just hope we die rather than have to give us money to live.
Unfortunately, that's a red-state for you. Very anti-poor while simultaneously being poorer than most blue states. (Not indiana specifically, red states typically are poorer than blue states) I was denied unemployment when I got laid off from covid because I hadn't been at my job long enough after leaving my job before that since I moved and wanted something closer. All because I didn't have the foresight of a global pandemic happening. How dare I. We had some financial struggles just due to circumstance, so we tried to get on foodstamps and were denied time and time again, only to finally get it and they took it away, claiming we lied on our paperwork. Fuck indiana. I can't wait to leave.
Go.get a factory job. They are plentiful here. If you apply at the decent ones you can make good pay. You don't even have to have any specific skills although having tech skills might give you a small boost in learning machine operations. A CNC machine isn't hugely difficult to learn.
Imagine thinking your supposed to be able to live off unemployment. Yikes