You are so right. I myself got laid off in January 2003. Despite all I did all the groups and seminars, professional groups I was lucky to get one interview every couple of months. I got a few temp and contract jobs during this time and between that and our savings I barely kept us going. As far as lesser paying jobs, well sometimes that may work for some, but during my experience I found that even though I had twenty years of warehouse/inventory control/materials management and expediting I couldn't even get an interview for a job as a stocker.
In January of 2005 I sat down and did the bills for the month (We were not behind on anything) and told my wife that's it after I paid everything it would leave us with grocery/gas/prescription money for the remainder of the month and then we was broke. God smiled on us and a guy I had met months before at a professional group got me a contract job setting up a new warehouse for a small manufacturing company that he had just started working for as it's Operations Manager.
About the time that ended I got another contract job which led to a permanent position with the client, but we had to move took a beating on our house and we are just now getting out from the moving cost.
So I really mean it when I say: There but by the grace of God go I.
Well said. Glad you were finally able to go on with your life. I do hope other hard workers who haven't found work soon get to go on with their life.