jobless 2009

Kawtar, qualified paralegal, desperately seeking a job

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Katwar, a young Moroccan woman, has been unemployed for more than five months. Although she was hired on a long-term contract by a printing firm in Casablanca, Morocco, she was fired almost as soon as she started working. Read more

The best job in the world – a second chance!

If you missed your shot at the best job in the world in Queensland, Australia, here is another dream job being offered: to work for a California wine producer, Murphy-Goode Winery, for a six-month contract. Mission: to drink wine and promote it on blogs and social networks, for a monthly salary of $10,000. Read more...

Contributors

"I found a job thanks to the buzz I created online"

Some job-hunters will to anything for their CV to stand out, like try to hype it up on the Internet. Two Observers decided to put try their luck using social networks and video sites like Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter or Daily motion to spread their video CVs far and wide. So did it work? Did employers return their calls and, ultimately, hire them? Read more...

Business going bust? Lend out your labour




Some employees who have had their hours slashed in an attempt to avoid layoffs have received a tempting new offer from their companies: the option of working for another firm while waiting for business to get better. Read more
Contributors

"I put off paying some bills as long as possible"

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Thirty-five year old Irish Desmond Gilhooly spent eight years working in Facilities Management. Things were going well for Gilhooley, who won a promotion but then the malaise set in and there was no more work. Read more...

Contributors

No job, no visa

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Obtaining a French work visa was already an ordeal but the financial crisis made life even tougher for foreigners in France. Read more....

Contributors

'In Kinshasa, we live like beggars'

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Stéphanie Nyota Muliri, 50, is still officially employed as public relations officer by the Bakwanga mining company (Miba) in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo. But the company has not paid its employees’ wages in months and its 7,000 staff are left without work. Read more.

Contributors

"I don't want my friends to know that I'm fired"

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Xiao Peng was laid off in November 2008. He was the primary source of financial support to his parents. He preferred to remain anonymous to avoid being recognised by his close friends. They still don’t know that he lost his job.
Contributors

Standing unemployed under the Liu Li bridge

Jia Ze Wei is one of 150 million Chinese "Mingong" -modern slaves or workers - who leave their village in search of work in Beijing, one of the richest regions in China. Jia Ze Wei comes to Beijing's Liu Li bridge area every morning in a bid to make some money to support his family back in the village.
Contributors

Student loans, unemployment challenge young graduates

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Struggling to find a job or even an internship in the current financial crisis, young graduates are worried about coping with meagre savings and paying back their student loans. Read more...