Unemployment is bad.

(How bad is it?)

I’m glad you asked. Remember back in late January when a woman was on a virtual meeting with President Obama and he told her to send her husband’s résumé to him and he’d “see what he could do”? Well, that guy still ain’t got a job.

Apparently there was a lot of interest in Darin Wedel, the husband of Jennifer Wedel, the woman who spoke with Obama. For weeks after the Google+ Hangout with President Obama the phone rang off the hook. There were recruiters, headhunters (anyone else think of Gilligan’s Island when they hear that?), media, the Texas Workforce Commission, the White House, and many companies. But nothing was taking.

Turns out there is a little complication that Mr. Wedel faces that is not uncommon. He has two daughters. Wedel has a custody agreement involving one of them that prevents his moving away. Many offers he received simply were not feasible for him and his family. And this guy lives in the Fort Worth area.

Wedel’s predicament is all too common. He was a semiconductor engineer at Texas Instruments and lost his job three years ago.

Unemployment is a hot topic in the upcoming presidential race. It seems like every day you hear something different about what the numbers are and who is to blame or who gets credit. One report tells you the numbers are down, the next says they are up. then another says they are down, but not by as much as expected. The next says the short winter is to blame for the disappointing unemployment numbers. All people like Mr Wedel know is that they can’t get a job.

So, for those of you sitting at home pounding away at the computer, trying to submit yet another résumé on this Friday the 13th, here’s something to let you know that you’re not alone. Things are tough all over. I know it doesn’t make it any better, but just know you’re not alone. There are a lot of people out there just “trying to get back to zero”.