Oregon Public Broadcasting

As Oregon’s economy sputters, the consequence for individuals can be dire.  We're starting a new series called "Hard Times," that will look at how people in our region are coping with the economic downturn.

We'll follow them over time, to see how they manage. Today, we want to introduce you to two people who have lost their jobs. Ethan Lindsey will report on Mike Rust, an unemployed union pipeline worker from Burns.

But first, Kristian Foden-Vencil tells the story of an unemployed engineer who bought his dream home two years ago, and is now selling it to the highest bidder.

Michael Smith is a 50-year-old engineer from the Portland suburb of Sherwood. For years he’s had a great job with a firm that builds measuring devices for computer chips.

But he lost his job six months ago and is now having to move.

Michael Smith: “No matter how much packing I do, there’s more packing to be done. It’s like a self-sustaining it never ends.”

Tall, with blue eyes and dark hair, Smith is determined to remain optimistic.  But having to give up his home is tough -- he only bought the place a couple of years ago.

Michael Smith: “It’s a very nice yard.”

Kristian: “Yeah, you’ve got a beautiful green yard with a patio and then behind that you have wetlands. What kinds of animals do you see there?”

Michael Smith: “Oh we see birds like crazy, herons and cranes come in there all the time.”

Kristian: “Will you miss it?”

Michael Smith: “Yes. The view is spectacular. It truly is.”

The Smith's Sherwood home.

Smith and his wife bought the house for $850,000. They’ll sell it for $700,000 -- meaning most of their equity has simply evaporated.

Now the couple is looking at a $390,000 home in Happy Valley -- an area that’s become synonymous with Oregon’s housing problems.

Michael Smith: “In the next neighborhood there are more open lots than there are houses and I don’t anticipate that’s going to change over the next several years. I don’t anticipate having any real close neighborly friendships in that situation. There just aren’t that many houses.”

But I’m getting ahead of myself.

First, you need to understand that Michael is quite literally a rocket scientist.

For years he worked on the propulsion system for NASA’s Shuttle.  Most recently, he worked for KLA-Tencor, which supplies measuring equipment to Intel.

Michael Smith: “Everybody was wondering, is there going to be a lay-off today, is it going to be next week. Who’s going to go next and after a while that kind of affects a company’s moral. And you just almost relieved when it really does come. So there’s a very mixed feeling about the whole thing.”

Next to his old work in Beaverton, one of Smith’s friends Chris Ramsell has a sandwich for lunch. Ramsell, still works for KLA-Tencor.

Chris Ramsell: “Mike is a PhD and I think people who are really well educated are in the best position to get the jobs that are available.

Kristian: “It just seems weird to me that a rocket scientist and he’s done a lot more since then is unemployed for so long.”

Chris Ramsell: “Yeah, not a lot of opportunities right now I guess.”

Back at his house, Michael Smith says his wife' s income from her job in the healthcare industry will cover the mortgage on their next home. But this is the first time he has been unemployed and his confidence is shaken.

Michael Smith: “You do wonder about it. But on the other hand I try and be objective. I get a lot out of my faith, so that carries me through. It’s hard to take it very personally when you’re talking about 12 percent unemployment. You can take it personally, but then if you do that, you just sit around and you don’t do anything.”

The Smiths are planning to close the sale of their house Thursday and then buy their new home on Friday. Meanwhile, Michael continues calling old friends and drilling the internet in search of work.

We'll be checking back with Michael Smith over the coming months, following him as he navigates the job market in these Hard Times .