Shining a light on unemployment
| July 23, 2009 | 5:32 PM
More journal entries from Melissa Pomponio »
To say unemployment is an adventure would be, in the simplest terms, an understatement.
There is, of course, the shock of losing a job. It’s not being fired, not choosing to move on, it’s loss. One day your job was there. It was a part of the daily routine — more importantly part of the family budget calculations. The next day it’s gone. And, for the most part, it isn’t coming back.
Whether you chose to believe it or not, with the loss comes a mourning period. The anger. The denial. The depression and isolation. You sit with your spouse over the checkbook and ask, “What now?”
What now, indeed.
Brush off that resume. Cut back on the non-essentials. Start networking. And, to help you get by until you can find a new job, file for unemployment insurance.
Except unemployment insurance isn’t a “you get it or don’t get it” thing. There are forms upon forms to fill out. There are rules applied to your specific situation and there are rules that, because of the economy, are more like a moving target.
Prepare yourself. It’s not easy. The best place to start is the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment (notice they don’t say unemployment). Read through the unemployment handbook and then visit the workforce center in your area.
And then visit the RMI on a regular basis. We feel unemployment is a very real and difficult issue that many Coloradans are facing that just hasn’t been given enough attention. Watch for FAQs, Q&A sessions with the unemployment office staff and stories from other readers about their experiences within the web of state bureaucracy.
I’m looking forward to pulling this issue — perhaps kicking and screaming — out into the light. Anyone else? Drop me an e-mail.
colorado, economy, jobs, unemployment, work
