By: Michael L. Diamond
Originally published in The Asbury Park Press - June 2, 2009
Natale Siclare, a former manager at Ethan Allen furniture store in Eatontown, has been out of work only two months, but it's been long enough to know the prospects are gloomy. His job hunt has turned up mostly part-time where the pay doesn't come close to replacing the money he used to make.
"You're applying for something where you're making money that you made when you first got out of high school," said Siclare, a 51-year-old Middletown resident.
With the recession beating on, more workers are turning to either part-time work or a job they consider below their skill level, falling into the category of the underemployed.
This growing segment of the work force often winds up with similar issues facing unemployed workers. Namely, they struggle to pay the bills just as they would if they had no job at all.
"It puts enormous financial strain on their families and themselves to pay their bills and maintain their standard of living," said Carl Van Horn, director of the John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers University in New Brunswick.
"And obviously they worry about the kinds of things you worry about when you lose income."
The precise number of underemployed is difficult to measure. But some 8.9 million workers nationwide, or 5.8 percent of the work force, in April said they worked part-time jobs because of economic reasons, the highest level since 1983, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
Untold more have taken a drop in status or pay because of the recession. W ages and salaries nationwide fell $39.1 billion in March and $1.3 billion in April, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.
Workers and employment experts say they have seen the trend unfold at the Shore. Jane Hoste, 47, of Point Pleasant, managed a marine store for 10 years. But she said she decided to leave last summer for fear that she was about to become a victim of the recession.
She took a full-time job as a buyer in the gift department at Sickle Market in Little Silver. She took a pay cut, and she no longer has management responsibilities. But in this case, she thinks she made the right decision.
The economic turmoil hasn't been confined to workers who have lost their jobs. For example, Snelling Personnel Services, an employment agency in Eatontown, has seen a slew of workers who have been hit with shorter work weeks and salary cuts, said Koleen Singerline, senior vice president.
It can work in employers' favor. Singerline said she has found plenty of recent college graduates who have taken temporary retail jobs.
"Many people are not making as much money as they used to, even though they are still working," Singerline said. "If you aren't working, you can't hold out for the same salary you once had."
Not that landing a part0time job is easy. Workers with sterling resumes often have trouble getting hired even for low-wage jobs because employers view them as overqualified. The worry: Employees will leave the first chance they get.
Robert Sickles, the owner of Sickles Market, said he puts applicants though extensive interviews, even for jobs that some consider to be a step down.
"It's important for us to get somebody, and we want to keep them, Sickles said. "You don't want them to transition out in a year. People can leave you with two weeks' notice. If something better comes along, they just will.
Still, experts say workers shouldn't scoff at jobs below their pay grade, particularly in a recession to leap at a better job when the economy turns.
For his part, Siclare has concluded that a similar job with similar pay isn't available. So he plans to consider taking a part-time job, even if it simply helps him make contacts and improve his chances to find full-time work.
"After being out of work two-and-a-half months and working your whole life, you get the feeling of not being productive to society," he said. "It's not good to have the summer off."
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