Claudia

Claudia, 33, is a graduate student living in Sandia Park, N.M., a rural suburb of Albuquerque. Claudia returned to school in hopes of finding a good job after her consulting work dried up. Now she is questioning that decision since so many of her friends and neighbors are suffering from unemployment and underemployment despite being highly educated and experienced.

My Story
Last year I was working as a consultant for the Inter-American Development Bank in Washington, D.C., and attending graduate school at Georgetown University. When my consulting contract ran out, I was unable to find work. My husband was offered a job in New Mexico where we lived before moving to D.C., so I returned with him in hopes of finding a good job there.

In the last year I’ve only been able to find part-time positions, no steady or good work. One of my temporary employers is the Santa Fe Living Wage Network, a not-for-profit organization that fights to raise the minimum wage for New Mexicans. My work here has only served to illustrate how deep the jobs crisis runs. I have worked with innumerable individuals who are forced to work two and even three jobs just to support their families and pay for health insurance.

I’m hoping that when I finish my graduate work I’ll be able to find a good and steady job, but I’m not encouraged. Many of my close friends in New Mexico, highly experienced and educated individuals, are in the same situation I am. In today’s world, you can do everything right and still be left without a job.

I hear talk everyday of economic recovery, but when I look at my friends, fellow New Mexicans and myself I see only struggle. This is truly a jobless recovery and without someone in the White House who will protect American workers, things will only get worse.