IT LOOKS LIKE THIS DOWNTURN IS IN FOR THE LONG HAUL. B. SKILLED WORKERS MIGHT NOT BE SPARE D.

IT HAS ALREADY HURT JOB GROWT H. D. IF YOU WERE GOING TO RETIRE SOON, IT WILL BE A LOT HARDER TO. E. THE DAMAGE IS LIKELY TO SPREAD TO OTHER SECTORS. BY NOW, YOU'RE PROBABLY UP TO YOUR EYEBALLS IN UNSETTLING ECONOMIC CRISIS NEWS. THE STOCK MARKETS, TANKE D. REAL ESTATE VALUE, SUN K. BUT MUCH LESS HAS BEEN SAID ABOUT PROBABLY A MORE PRESSING CONCERN TO MOST WORKERS —YOUR JO B. IS IT SAFE? HOW LONG WILL IT BE BEFORE YOU CAN EXPECT TO SEE A RAISE OR BONUS AGAIN? 【R1】______ UNFORTUNATELY, THE CREDIT CRISIS HAS ALREADY BEGUN AFFECTING JOB GROWT H. THE UNEMPLOYMENT RATE HAS GROWN AN ENTIRE PERCENTAGE POINT—FROM 5. LTO 6. 1—BETWEEN MARCH AND AUGUST. FURTHERMORE, IT IS LIKELY TO GET WORSE BEFORE IT GETS BETTER. GOLDMAN SACHS GROUP ECONOMISTS WROTE IN A REPORT TO CLIENTS YESTERDAY THAT THEY EXPECTED UNEMPLOYMENT TO RISE TO SEVEN PERCENT IN LATE 2009. 【R2】______ AT THE OUTSET OF HOUSING MARKET'S TURMOIL, MOST EXPECTED JOBS IN THE BANKING, FINANCE, CONSTRUCTION AND REAL ESTATE SECTORS TO TAKE A DIRECT HIT, AS THE PROBLEMS STARTED IN THOSE AREAS. HOWEVER, NOW IT IS CLEAR THAT THE DAMAGE IS LIKELY TO SPREAD TO OTHER INDUSTRIES, INCLUDING ONES THAT WHO USE CREDIT TO BUY THEIR GOODS OR RELY ON NEW INVESTMENTS TO MOVE FORWAR D. IN SHORT, MOST OF THE M. AS FOR THE IT DEPARTMENT, DAVID FOOTE, CEO AT THE IT WORKFORCE RESEARCH CONSULTANCY, TOLD COMPUTERWORLD THIS WEEK THAT HE THINKS MORE COMPANIES WILL BE LOOKING MORE CLOSELY AT THAT PARTS OF IT SPENDING ARE CRITICAL, AND SOME IT WORKERS MAY BE SAFER THAN OTHERS. BUT, OVERALL, HE FINDS LITTLE REASON FOR TECHIES TO WORRY. 【R3】______ HISTORICALLY, MOST DOWNTURNS HAVE SPARED WHITE COLLAR AND HIGHLY-SKILLED WORKERS WHILE HITTING THE LEAST SKILLED THE HARDEST. YET OBSERVERS BELIEVE THAT THIS DOWNTURN IS LIKELY TO BE MORE DEMOCRATIC THAN ONES PREVIOUSLY, BECAUSE OF THE SEVERITY OF THE CREDIT CRUNC H. 'RESEARCH INDICATES THAT EMPLOYERS HIRE RELATIVELY MORE SKILLED WORKERS WHEN THEY INVEST IN NEW PLANT AND EQUIPMENT,' ALAN B. KRUEGER, AN ECONOMIST AT PRINCETON, TOLD THE NEW YORK TIMES THIS WEE K. 'IF FUNDS FOR INVESTMENT ARE NOT AVAILABLE BECAUSE OF THE FINANCIAL CRISIS, HOWEVER, COMPANIES WILL HIRE FEWER SKILLED WORKERS. ' 【R4】______ IF YOU'VE JUST RETIRED OR WERE ABOUT TO, SADLY, YOUR TIMING COULD NOT BE WORSE AS BY BEGINNING TO WITHDRAW FROM YOU NEST EGG JUST AS THE MARKETS TUMBLE, YOU ARE ESSENTIALLY LOCKING IN YOUR LOSSES. BUT WHAT IF THE WHEELS OF YOUR RETIREMENT WERE ALREADY IN MOTION? EXPERTS SAY, AS DEPRESSING AS IT SOUNDS, WORKING JUST A FEW YEARS LONGER CAN MAKE A BIG DIFFERENC E. 'IT DOES NOT HAVE TO BE ENTIRELY UNPLEASANT,' WRITES NEW YORK TIMES COLUMNIST TARA SIEGEL BENARD, 'MAYBE YOU COULD WORK PART TIME AND EARN ENOUGH TO COVER THE AMOUNT YOU WOULD HAVE DRAWN FROM YOUR RETIREMENT PORTFOLIO. AT LEAST YOU ARE NOT DIPPING INTO YOUR SAVINGS WHILE THEY ARE DOW N. ' 【R5】______ THE NEXT LOGICAL QUESTION IS, 'WELL, HOW LONG WILL THIS LAST?' AND WHILE NOBODY AGREES ON AN EXACT DATE, FEW HAVE ANY CONFIDENCE THAT IT WILL BE OVER BY THE HOLIDAYS. MANY ARGUE THAT IT WILL BE AT LEAST 30 MONTHS LON G. IT'S NOT JUST ECONOMISTS AND PUNDITS. ONE READER POLL IN A BUSINESS NEWSPAPER FOUND THE 54 PERCENT OF RESPONDENTS BELIEVED THAT THE RECESSION WOULD LAST THROUGH THE SECOND HALF OF 2009 AND POSSIBLY AS LONG AS 2011.