Alex Garcia, 39, used to make $17 an hour working at a cosmetics counter. A year ago, Macy’s laid her off. Now, this single mother of two daughters expects to make only $7 an hour.
If she can find a job.
“Right now, I have to accept anything,” Garcia says.
Over the past year, Garcia has lost her apartment and her car, drained her savings, and saw her $371 a week in unemployment benefits come to an end. She has tried to work as a babysitter, a cleaning lady, and a taxi driver.
“Customer service is my dream job,” she says. “I want to work in a place that is stable, and feel good about myself.”
Yet, that dream still hasn’t come true. She has filled out hundreds of job applications, but none of those prospective employers got back to her. Without a college degree, and being unemployed for over a year, she knows her chances of finding a well paying job are diminishing.
“I am not happy about my situation,” she says. “But as soon as I get a job, everything is gonna be different.”
Then the other day Garcia finally got a call back, asking her to interview for an assistant manager position, paying $7.25 an hour. It will be her first interview in a year.
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