Op-Ed

A layoff doesn't end when you clear out your desk. For millions of workers, it's the start of a financial cascade – debt accumulation, missed payments, delinquency, and in too many cases, bankruptcy. The decision was made at the business level. The consequences are paid at the individual level. This is a data-backed look at the correlation between mass layoffs and the financial freefall that follows, and what it reveals about who actually absorbs the cost of corporate strateg

By now, you've seen the headline: 172,000 jobs added in May – more than double the consensus estimate of 80,000. On the surface, this looks like a labor market in healthy equilibrium. The truth is not quite as sunny as it appears. One sector explains this entire story: leisure and hospitality. the FIFA World Cup opens June 11th. The hiring surge preceded it. Strip that out and you're looking at the underlying growth that barely clears the margin of statistical error.

ADP announced 63,000 jobs added to the private sector in February. If you're one of the many viewing this as evidence of a bounce-back – first, everyone calm down. We're going to look at a few important details before we celebrate a number that may not be everything it appears. The Professional & Business sector continued in the negative. Long-term structural issues remain. The headline is doing a lot of work to hide the full picture. Context matters, folks.

Tonight I watched It's a Wonderful Life with my daughter. I normally save it for Christmas Eve. But I'm 13 months post-layoff, rejection deep, and the movie hits differently at this point in my life. Because it's not really a Christmas movie. It's a story about what happens when greed and self-interest are left unchecked – and about community as the only real defense against a capitalist villain who has decided that your survival is not his problem.

"Loneliness does not come from having no people about one, but from being unable to communicate the things that seem important to oneself." Carl Jung wrote that. I could get into how deep that particular statement hits, especially 13 months into unemployment. Because I believe, genuinely, that we are still us when we log into Slack or walk through office doors. We don't leave ourselves at home. And the leaders who acknowledge that aren't soft. They're effective.

Hi. Welcome to my crash out. A job seeker had a verbal offer withdrawn because a CEO, who she didn't interview with, saw a 10-month employment gap on her resume and decided that disqualified her for the role. Keep in mind: this woman had been doing freelance and contract work during the gap. So, bye-bye offer. The question this raises isn't about her qualifications. It's about what we've decided employment gaps mean – and who benefits from that story.

Just shy of a year ago, I started my content journey on Substack and social media. I had been laid off after 7 1/2 years with a recruitment marketing agency – a shock, but not a surprise. My goal was simple: talk about employer brand, culture, and leadership without the red tape. Be bolder. Cut the unnecessary fluff. I had been writing in a palatable, corporate-friendly way. Thinking outside the box while staying close enough to the box to be appealing. That stops now.