In the Undercover Nun’s SOOPER SEKRIT IDENITEE as a mild-mannered software engineer, I came across this story which is both a good read and an important cautionary tale about passwords, security, and the cloud.  It’s a little long, but it’s well-written and well worth your time.

Undercover Nun has often found it to be true that companies prefer to hire people who are already working rather than people who are unemployed.  There is a perception that if you’re any good, you wouldn’t be unemployed.  We all know from people we’ve met at work, though, that this isn’t always true. 

What’s happening these days is even more extreme.  Employers are including statements in their job listings that tell the unemployed not to apply, and the number of companies doing this is on the rise.

Now there’s a growing trend of employers refusing to consider the unemployed for job openings, according to a number of people who testified before the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission on Wednesday. They say that employers are barring the unemployed from job openings, which is particularly unfair to older workers and African Americans because more of them are unemployed.

“Excluding unemployed workers from employment opportunities is unfair to workers, bad for the economy, and potentially violates basic civil rights protections because of the disparate impact on older workers, workers of color, women and others,” said Christine Owens, executive director of the National Employment Law Project, in her testimony.

This is a sad and scary thing.  It could turn out with tragic results, not only for those who lose everything due to unemployment, but for the American business world as a whole.  It’s pretty tough to keep your skills fresh when you’re unemployed for more than a few weeks.  While you’re unemployed, you probably aren’t paying into a retirement account, and you may not keep up with routine health care when you don’t have insurance.  It’s hard to make investments in yourself, even to make yourself more marketable in the workplace, without motivation and any compensation for the costs.

There are some excellent comments on both blog posts, with some great analysis.  (There are also some from people who appear to be ignorant, heartless, or both.)  I think Ms. McArdle sums it up best in her conclusion:

What’s happening to the long term unemployed is tragic.  Not only are they becoming less employable as time wears on; they’re also losing the economic and social capital that comes from holding a job in our society.  

How to fix this?  Unfortunately, I don’t have a good answer.  Long term unemployment is not, as far as I know, a protected category, and unfortunately employers often will be able to point to missing skills.  The best solution is a booming economy and a tight job market, but I don’t have any idea when that’s coming.

Undercover Nun prays each day for the unemployed.  I hope you do, too.

(Source: Los Angeles Times)