John in Seattle, WA writes to us:

I am an attorney with over fifteen years of experience. Until 2008, I was working as in-house counsel for a publicly traded corporation. Since that position was eliminated in the second half of 2008, I have not been an FTE anywhere, although that would have been my preference, but rather worked as a full-time, on-site consultant/contractor for one large, prominent corporation in Seattle for well over two years, without any benefits. That position was ended over a year ago. So I've been unemployed for over a year, and arguably underemployed for well over three years.

It has not been a positive experience. For most of the time, my spouse (also a professional) was not working either, and our circumstances became difficult, as we also have young children. Fortunately, my spouse recently got a full-time position with good benefits, which has reduced our stress somewhat.

This experience has shown us how things work in our country when you are not a full-time employee (or close to it) somewhere: the premiums for health insurance on a non-group basis are exorbitant and the coverage is poor. Once you get a job with benefits, you then get access to much better health coverage for a small fraction of the cost, even though you now have income with which you could actually pay for premiums. It's crazy.

Kathleen in Federal Way, WA writes to us:

I have been unemployed since March 2009 when the company I worked 20 years for terminated me. I was able to go back to school for 5 quarters, received 2 certificates, graduated with Honors, passed my certification as a medical coder (CPC-A) and still cannot find a job because I do not have experience.

Nathan in Kent, WA writes to us:

I was laid-off from a city job in 2011 due to budget cuts. I had been there almost 9 years. It was a professional, non-management job, and I have a 4-year college degree.

Deborah in Pennsylvania writes to us:

I have been unemployed for almost a year now with no luck in finding a job. I live in the state of Pennsylvania and have all my life. I worked here for over thirty five years with the exception of three and a half months when I was transferred to Delaware. I collected unemployment the first six months from Pennsylvania and recieved $406.00 per week. Then I was forced to collect from Delaware, reducing my income to $236.00 per week.

I am about to lose my home that I have worked so hard for and is all that I have. I have tried to get help from welfare, and they say I make too much money to get any assistance. I don't know where the American Dream is, but it is not here in the USA.

By Washington State Labor Council

Thousands of people in Washington State are unemployed, yet we only hear numbers, never see faces. Here are some wonderful individuals who tell their stories, share their feels and help us understand just how it feels to face the uncertainties of not getting a regular paycheck. Watch and listen and then figure out how you can help.