It’s not clear how many professionals have taken lower-paying jobs after being laid off from executive positions. However, 1.7 million people were working part-time in January because they could not find full-time work, a 40 percent jump from December 2007, reports the New York Times.
Interviews with more than two dozen laid-off professionals across the country, including architects, former sales managers, and executives who have taken on lower-paying, stop-gap jobs to help make ends meet, found that they were working for places like U.P.S., a Verizon Wireless call center, and a liquor store. For many of the workers, the psychological adjustment was just as difficult as the financial one, with their sense of identity and self-worth upended, reports NYT.
In just one illustration of the demand for low-wage work, a spokesperson for U.P.S. said the company saw the number of applicants this last holiday season for jobs sorting and delivering packages almost triple to 1.4 million from the 500,000 it normally receives.