NEW YORK // When Susan Matlow was made redundant in December 2008 from her job as a senior international tax counsellor at American Express in New York, she found her 15 years as a lawyer and economics degree from the Wharton School were not enough to land her a new job.
"The job market was very tight and continues to be for people of my seniority and type of work," Ms Matlow says.
To save cash, she resorted to subletting her apartment and moved in with her 95-year-old grandmother. With working opportunities limited, Ms Matlow has since set up her own successful business helping elderly people deal with financial planning. She has been one of the lucky ones.
It is often mentioned that the official 9.6 per cent US unemployment rate does not include the rapidly growing number of people who can only find part-time work or who have stopped looking for a job altogether.
Yet one of the more overlooked and shocking statistics of the US recession is that 20 per cent of the unemployed are graduates. Many have been out of work for more than a year.
These people are not just in depressed industrial areas such as Michigan, they are living in supposed growth engines of the country such as New York and Silicon Valley.
The CBS television show 60 Minutes recently profiled people living in San Jose in Silicon Valley who, like 1.5 million nationwide, have already received the maximum of 99 weeks of federal unemployment benefit and still have no work.
One woman, formerly a financial analyst, has been unemployed for two years, lost her home and is living in the attic room of a friend.
A man, a former fibre-optics engineering manager, was pleased to have just landed a part-time job as a shop assistant.
Many long-term unemployed professionals across the county are in their 40s, 50s and 60s - too young to retire, yet considered too old to hire by many employers.
These people face a bleak future. Having spent their retirement savings, they are unlikely to recover their losses even when the job market does start to improve. And for all the long-term unemployed in the US, that recovery still looks a long way off.
business@thenational.ae
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
How to tell if your child is being bullied at school
Sudden change in behaviour or displays higher levels of stress or anxiety
Shows signs of depression or isolation
Ability to sleep well diminishes
Academic performance begins to deteriorate
Changes in eating habits
Struggles to concentrate
Refuses to go to school
Behaviour changes and is aggressive towards siblings
Begins to use language they do not normally use
Changing visa rules
For decades the UAE has granted two and three year visas to foreign workers, tied to their current employer. Now that's changing.
Last year, the UAE cabinet also approved providing 10-year visas to foreigners with investments in the UAE of at least Dh10 million, if non-real estate assets account for at least 60 per cent of the total. Investors can bring their spouses and children into the country.
It also approved five-year residency to owners of UAE real estate worth at least 5 million dirhams.
The government also said that leading academics, medical doctors, scientists, engineers and star students would be eligible for similar long-term visas, without the need for financial investments in the country.
The first batch - 20 finalists for the Mohammed bin Rashid Medal for Scientific Distinction.- were awarded in January and more are expected to follow.
SERIES INFO
Schedule:
All matches at the Harare Sports Club
1st ODI, Wed Apr 10
2nd ODI, Fri Apr 12
3rd ODI, Sun Apr 14
4th ODI, Sun Apr 16
UAE squad
Mohammed Naveed (captain), Rohan Mustafa, Ashfaq Ahmed, Shaiman Anwar, Mohammed Usman, CP Rizwan, Chirag Suri, Mohammed Boota, Ghulam Shabber, Sultan Ahmed, Imran Haider, Amir Hayat, Zahoor Khan, Qadeer Ahmed
Zimbabwe squad
Peter Moor (captain), Solomon Mire, Brian Chari, Regis Chakabva, Sean Williams, Timycen Maruma, Sikandar Raza, Donald Tiripano, Kyle Jarvis, Tendai Chatara, Chris Mpofu, Craig Ervine, Brandon Mavuta, Ainsley Ndlovu, Tony Munyonga, Elton Chigumbura
BEACH SOCCER WORLD CUP
Group A
Paraguay
Japan
Switzerland
USA
Group B
Uruguay
Mexico
Italy
Tahiti
Group C
Belarus
UAE
Senegal
Russia
Group D
Brazil
Oman
Portugal
Nigeria
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Elvis
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Why it pays to compare
A comparison of sending Dh20,000 from the UAE using two different routes at the same time - the first direct from a UAE bank to a bank in Germany, and the second from the same UAE bank via an online platform to Germany - found key differences in cost and speed. The transfers were both initiated on January 30.
Route 1: bank transfer
The UAE bank charged Dh152.25 for the Dh20,000 transfer. On top of that, their exchange rate margin added a difference of around Dh415, compared with the mid-market rate.
Total cost: Dh567.25 - around 2.9 per cent of the total amount
Total received: €4,670.30
Route 2: online platform
The UAE bank’s charge for sending Dh20,000 to a UK dirham-denominated account was Dh2.10. The exchange rate margin cost was Dh60, plus a Dh12 fee.
Total cost: Dh74.10, around 0.4 per cent of the transaction
Total received: €4,756
The UAE bank transfer was far quicker – around two to three working days, while the online platform took around four to five days, but was considerably cheaper. In the online platform transfer, the funds were also exposed to currency risk during the period it took for them to arrive.