FLINT -- “I had 27 great years, and one bad day,” I always say. I personally was out of work for 6 months. After I was let go in April from my previous employer, looking for work was a struggle.
There are signs of hope in the local job market. General Motors and Nexteer Automotive are both adding jobs in Saginaw County. However, it's still a rough time for the area’s unemployed.
That’s why I decided to go out on the streets on Mid-Michigan to find people who are going through the same thing that I went through.
It's just what happened to Ken Burkett of Freeland. He worked for 30 years for GM and Delphi, and then one day, boom, just like me, he was a victim of financial downsizing.
Burkett says, “when you've been working for 30 years, it's a big change, no job, looking for work, you're starting over in life.”
Although job fairs look encouraging, in the end they don't mean you'll land a gig, and in the meantime your self worth can plummet.
Ore Thomas of Flint says "I've been unemployed 6 to 7 years...depressing, you can't work". Thomas' past isn't helping, because Thomas admits he's a convicted felon, but he isn't giving up and says he's trying to make it happen.
Tim Dunlap says he's been off for a year. He's received family support, but he doesn't want to be a burden on them. According to Dunlap, financially speaking, being out of work is a “pain in the butt"
Felicia Belin, a Flint mother of 4, is living on state assistance while she struggles to find a job as a nurse. She says she's been looking for 6 months, but most of the jobs are outside Flint.
The head of a local jobs placement organization says people who are off work are staying unemployed for longer periods of time than in the past, and that can take its toll. The President and CEO of Career Alliance, Alicia Booker, says there's an emotional toll, an economic toll, and a social toll. However, she says it is important to not give up. Booker suggests unemployment can be an opportune time to go back to school.
Michigan Works Representative Carol Piasko visited the NBC25 Morning Show Tuesday to also discuss how people can find a job. You can watch her interview below.
NBC25 partners with the Michigan Works to have new jobs each week. You can find those job listings by clicking here.
Are you or someone you know unemployed? Give us your tips on how to cope in the comment section below.
