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

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...

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...

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

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...

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

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.

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.

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.

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...

A growing number of unemployed people are thinking of starting their own businesses. Some 25% of those out of work have this in mind – compared with 12.5% of French people generally. But starting your own business can be complicated - from finding finance, to the complicated red-tape involved, to running your own accounts. Read more.

Are golden parachutes justified? Should they be banned? Or at least restricted by a law? Should the state get a say in the debate? Contrary to what you might think, our jobless Observers aren’t necessarily so quick to condemn bosses. Read more…

Jeb B., 50, has just been fired for the second time since his arrival in France, back in 1990. Yet, this Franco-American economist still thinks French companies should have more freedom to lay off staff. Read more...

Alexander Stone Dale, 46, gave up 20 years of cab driving in New York last year to pursue "more interesting avenues". Currently unemployed, Alex is still exploring those new possibilities. And whenever he sees a job he'd like but isn't qualified for, he undertakes his own training. Read more...

Michel Tudeng has been out of work since Dec. 19, 2008. He is one of some 80 temporary workers from the Arcelor-Mittal site in eastern France whose contracts have not been renewed. Read his story...