Hard Times

Well, the Dow has finally dropped below 8,000. I never thought I'd see it down that low again. Add to that the news that 70% of the Washington Mutual employees are going to get laid off and it's a recipe for bad times. Even though many people around here think that this area is immune to the hardships that are hitting most of the country, I think a lot of them are going to be changing their tune in the coming months. I'm not sure how many employees WaMu has in the area, but I feel pretty safe in assuming that 70% is going to be at least 5,000 people. That's a big dent in the local economy. And a lousy Christmas present to a lot of affected families (or is it effected? Damn it, ever since I read the definitions of the two I can't keep them straight anymore). If you're a WaMu employee, I hope your job is safe.

Anyway, long story short, things are going to get worse before they get better and we are in for trouble around here. I've been having trouble finding a decent job as is and a bunch more unemployed people in the area isn't going to help any. Especially since I expect Safeco to lay off a lot of people in early 2009 too. I've received some offers for low paying jobs that aren't something I want to do, but so far that's it. It's only going to get worse I'm afraid. And I just spent about half an hour on Monster so I forgot where I was going with this other than buckle up and I hope you all aren't hit too hard.