Oregon Public Broadcasting

Intel is laying off thousands of people over the next year. So is Microsoft, Catapillar and Nike.

Unemployment affects individuals in unique ways.

In an effort to understand the emotional toll of today’s economic turmoil, Kristian Foden-Vencil talked to three Pacific Northwesterners who’re experiencing unemployment. Each took to the news differently.

Kendra Yao moved to Tigard this summer,  from Ohio. She’s 30 and was thrilled to quickly find a job with the Museum of Contemporary Craft. But then....

Check out our map of recent layoffs around the Northwest

Kendra Yao: “Very suddenly one day, I was brought into the director’s office and told that nearly half of the museum staff was being cut and that they would no longer be able to employ me.”

She doesn’t blame the museum. But....

Kendra Yao: “It was probably one of the very worst days of my life, one of the most shocking. I joke with people that it’s kind of like being dumped or suddenly divorced or left because you are frantically wondering what went wrong, what you did wrong. And why you aren’t valuable to that organization anymore.”

When she hears people talk about a "once in a lifetime" recession or the second "great depression," she's frightened. And she’s been considering jobs that she’d never have thought of a few months ago.

Across town in the blue-collar St. John’s neighborhood, Ross Freeman Levin sits down for a cup of tea. Until a few months ago, he was a marketing exec with Malarkey Roofing in Portland.

Ross Freeman Levin: “Really, our niche was, when I say our niche I should say their niche, was home remodels. And so as the home refinance market sort of dried up, so did a lot of their profitable business.”

Now he’s working one day a week at this coffee shop, Anna Bananas. He likes the idea of living with the smaller carbon footprint that comes with being unemployed.

Ross Freeman Levin: “We’ve kept our utilities almost to the level that they were at in the summer, just by keeping lights turned off. Keeping the heat turned off except at breakfast or dinner time. And the rest of the time we’re just bundled up. And this month we’re getting a housemate.”

Voices Of The Unemployed - Audio Slideshow

But he misses going out to eat or see a band.  To make matters worse, Freeman Levin owns two houses. One he’s living in. The other he rents out. The problem is, the rent doesn’t cover the mortgage – to the tune of $500 a month. He also can’t refinance because he’s unemployed.

Ross Freeman Levin: "Oh we’re at the breaking point currently. We have to get a housemate in our house this month. And I have to get more permanent employment. Because one of the things I didn’t mention, the things we cut is my healthcare.”

He’s in chronic pain from a bad back and misses the therapy he used to get when he had insurance. Shrugging his shoulders, he says he’s seriously considering just sending the bank all his mortgage papers and moving elsewhere.

Someone else who’s considering moving to get a job is Hem Bhana -- a former United Airlines pilot.  He lives with his wife and two young kids across the Columbia River in Vancouver. The airline industry is notoriously cyclical, so he’s been laid off before. So he was not surprised when United gave him notice this time.

Hem Bhana: “Well thankfully we never got ourselves into any kind of debt. Our house is fairly small, we don’t have any new cars or anything like that. We kind of resisted the temptation for big things when we had big pay checks. And that’s worked out well. We’ve had to give up quite a few things. Like we don’t have cell phones anymore, we don’t have cable TV, so I’m going through CNN withdrawal as we speak.”

Rather than look for work when airlines just aren’t hiring, Bhana decided to go back to school instead. He’s getting a Master’s degree in Aeronautical Science online, from the University of North Dakota. He says it keeps him busy, upbeat and calm.

Hem Bhana: “I’ve got something to focus on. Not being able to fly professionally, you lose that identity. But you gain other parts. So for example I’m much more involved in what my son does. We build Lego together and go watch construction sites together. Things like that. So it’s like of a transition from identifying yourself as a professional pilot to being a full-time Dad. And that’s eased the transition.” 

Back in Tigard, Kendra Yao sips a cup of tea and strokes her cat.

Two weeks after OPB first interviewed her, she found a job:  she’ll be helping artists teach in schools.

Kendra Yao: “When I saw that there was an opening, it was amazing. And so from that moment forward I told myself I had to get the job and do anything. Including calling my ex-bosses and asking them to call directly to the hiring manager, letting them know that I was applying and being a reference for me. So I had a lot of support.”

The latest figures available show there are about 175,000 people in Oregon who are currently unemployed – that’s tha most there’s been in nearly three decades.

New state unemployment figures were expected Monday, but computer problems at the U.S. Bureau of Labor are causing a delay.

We got help reporting this story from our Public Insight Network . If you’d like to contribute your knowledge, go to our website .