by Victoria Vogler |News & Assignments Editor
Due to the swelling unemployment rate in America, now a whopping 9%, there is difficulty either finding a new job, or recovering after a lost job for too many families in San Antonio. And with the holiday season just around the corner, the extravagant traditions of gift giving could be brought to an end.
The unemployment rate in San Antonio is not far behind the national rate at 7.9%. Because of this, finding a new job can prove to be challenging with all the competition in the market.
“It was [hard for him to find a job] because of his resume. He had a lot of background information and they said he was overqualified for certain jobs,” junior Katie Gover said.
Discontent in a job during this recession can lead to a longer than anticipated unemployment period.
“[My dad] actually quit his job because he didn’t like what he was doing, and he didn’t like his boss. I’ve heard him say time and time again that he does not like his job at all and he doesn’t like what he does,” Gover said.
Unemployment has it’s perks for those who need to decide on what they really want to do with their life.
“He was unemployed for about a month,” Gover said. “It took him about 2 weeks to figure out what he wanted to do in his profession and he had a whole month to decide.”
Extended periods of unemployment with no paydays adds up, and leads to stress about finances. For Junior Emily Moore, her mom quitting her job means Christmas could be cancelled.
“My mom is in a position where I pay for my own gas, I pay for anything extra, and it’s becoming a situation where she is cutting down on extraneous spending on things we don’t need,” Moore said.
As the season gets closer, the stress of paying for holiday expenses increases. The hope of treating your to a nice Christmas could be drowned out by the reality of unemployment.
“My mother has this personality where if someone isn’t happy, no one is happy, so she has this overwhelming need to please everyone at exactly the same time, and so during Christmas it stretches her really thin,” Moore said. “Which in my mind is ridiculous because Christmas isn’t supposed to be this huge capitalistic endeavor , it’s supposed to be about more than what gets stuffed under a 6 foot plastic tree.”
This season seems to be causing more harm then good for many families as the stress about getting a job and paying the bills effects the whole family.
“The thing about Christmas is that on top of normal responsibilities and normal things you spend your money on, you also now have this huge weight on your shoulders that basically does nothing but make you feel insecure about your social status and how your viewed by everyone else,” Moore said. “It’s like taking normal social fears and then throwing this huge weight on top of that and saying here, here’s something else to worry about.”
The pressure can add up, but in the end the outcome should be the same. No matter the size of your tree, or the presents under it, Christmas is about spending quality time with the ones you love.
“In my mom’s case, she used to not worry about things; but now that Christmas is around the corner and she doesn’t have a job, she’s realizing she can’t always be a happy go lucky person,” Moore said. “She’s realizing that having a family and being in the business she’s in requires a certain amount of responsibility and integrity to say that, yes this year we’re having less, and yes, I’m okay with that.”
