Once Well-Off, Now Struggling

The announcements began to pile up like empty promises.

In September 2008 Mary Jo Buchanan, then Morris County's director of human services, told county freeholders that the staff at the Office of Temporary Assistance was preparing for the arrival of the bankers—former employees of Bear Stearns, the big Wall Street bank that had collapsed.

Buchanan, now the county's assistant administrator, said Gary Denaman, director of the Office of Temporary Assistance, had provided additional training for his staff, because the bankers were not among the regular visitors to the unemployment office and might need some help with the maze of bureaucracy.

Then, after what seemed like a short time (but was nearly a year), Buchanan told the freeholders that in July 2009, OTA recorded 4,000 visitors.

Then, after was truly a short time, just a month, in August 2009 Buchanan said OTA topped 5,000 visitors.

That is what a job collapse looks like.

It is an avalanche of people in need of assistance, a torrent of individuals carrying manila envelopes, holding their termination papers, IDs, resumes—pieces of their lives they use to make sense of the moment. They sit on uncomfortable metal chairs and finger the envelopes, waiting for their names to be called. If they're not called, does it mean that this is not happening?

And then they're called after all. They shuffle to the booth, were the state labor department worker is waiting. Some stride across the room, but it's false bravado; it will not change the outcome. They nod in answer to questions, say yes. They sign on the dotted line. All the while, they're thinking, "I didn't deserve this."

Each day this week, Patch examines the lives of those whose economic truths are hidden by statistics that say Morris County's a place for the rich and comfortable, in "Morris' Working Class."

Fueled by the national recession, the county's unemployment rate rose from 4.4 percent in August 2008 to 7.6 percent in September 2009, heading toward the uncharted territory of 8 percent in Feburary 2010, the highest unemployment rate recorded in Morris County in decades.

The economic downturn, which, according to the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development, sparked in late 2006, cost the county 6,100 financial services jobs, which had an average annual wage of $95,000.

In a broader measure, Morris County lost 9,100 jobs between 2004 and 2009, the state labor department said.

One of those jobs belonged to Art Ondish, the mayor of Mount Arlington.

He lost the energy company job he held for 4.5 years, and after a year without work is now selling LED lighting systems.

This is cutting-edge stuff, Ondish said. High-tech and cost-saving.

But companies are slow to invest in new systems when they are laying off workers, he said.

The issue, he said, is that the payoff is long term; while the LED bulbs are warranted for five years, they can last up to 12 years.

"Not many are looking at the big picture," Ondish said.

But he has to, Ondish said.

He is the sole earner in his family. His wife has been disabled for 15 years, he said,

Now it is tough, he said. His monetary reserves are low.

"I've blown through all the 401-K stuff," he said, "and I'll have to pay taxes on that money in January."

The news is delivered with an ironic sigh.

"But I'm lucky," he said. "I have family who I can call on if I need to. Some don't."

The state labor department broke the 2009 jobless ranks into manageable categories.

The county shed 5,998 private sector jobs that year. It was a wide-spread wipeout.

There were 1,193 workers from the transportation and utility sector; 453 financial workers; 1,321 from the professional and business services sector; 596 in retail trade; and 683 from manufacturing.

In 2009, 1,080 workers between the ages of 25 and 34 lost their jobs; 1,334 workers between ages 35 and 44; 1,613 employees between 45 and 54 and 1,165 between 55 and 64.

Looking forward, the labor department projects that between 2008 and 2018, Morris County will generate 9,190 private sector jobs, most in the lower-paying services industries. Education and health services will be at the top of the list, the labor department said.

But look at that jobs number. It was measured over 10 years. The department already said that between 2004 and 20091five years—that the county lost 9,100 jobs.

It will take 10 years to replace those lost jobs, the labor department said.

At the same time, the department said that only 19.5 percent of those jobs, roughly 1,850, will be generated by economic growth.

What would help, Ondish said, is a sense that the current uncertainty is fading. That could come in the form of stronger leadership from President Obama or Congressional action on the nation's budget issues, or some resolution on the cost of health care, he said. Something to spark some confidence.

In the meantime, Ondish said, he will continue to talk about LED lighting systems.

Things get bad, but the they get better, he said.

"It's life."