In December, 693,000 New Yorkers lost their jobs in the private sector, including many Poles. The data, which comes from an analysis provided by a private consulting company, exceeds the November 2008 estimate of 475,000.

Unemployment is becoming increasingly visible in New York, where just in the week of December 22 more than 30,000 people applied for unemployment benefits – a 37 percent rise from last year at the same time.

In spite of the fact that the unemployment rate in the state of New York has been lower than the national average, it has been on the rise in the last weeks, according to state statistics.

Emilia Sroczynska, owner of Emilia Agency in Greenpoint, Brooklyn, where Polish people seek assistance in filling out unemployment forms required by the Department of Labor, told Nowy Dziennik that she had seen a sharp increase in the number of Poles applying for unemployment benefits. “Sometimes I get as many as four people a day coming with questions on how to apply,” she says.

Marek, 33, is one of the 693,000 New Yorkers who lost their jobs in December. “I worked for an IT company. At the first signs of the recession, my employers fired a dozen people. I was let go before Christmas,” he says, but does not lose hope in finding a new job soon. “I am constantly sending out resumes and going for interviews. Besides, I am also working on improving my qualifications. I am confident I will find a position at the beginning of the year. December was different – it is never a good time to look for a job. Nobody hires then,” Marek says.

Marek Ciesielski is also optimistic. He has been following closely the situation on Wall Street and can interpret well what is happening. Because he is self-employed, he is not worried about being laid off. “The difficult market situation will be over by the end of this year. Next year will bring improvement. It shouldn’t be as bad as people fear,” he says.

Most of the people we polled are not planning to return to Poland because of the deteriorating economic situation and a tightening of the job market in the United States. “I raised two kids in this country. Their home is here. Why should I go anywhere?” Halina, from Green St. in Brooklyn, asks rhetorically. “I am not afraid of losing my job. The company I work for is not gonna go out of business; and if they cut my hours that will be even better; I work too much, anyway.”

Marek is not thinking of going back to Poland either. “My life is here. I am engaged and getting married this year. I will find a job sooner or later, I am sure.”

The immediate consequences of the December mass lay offs could be felt by the Department of Labor at the beginning of January. Their computer system froze earlier this week due to the number of calls and inquiries, when more than 10,000 people per hour tried to log on either to apply for benefits or check their status.

The Department of Labor attributes the situation to the rising unemployment rate, as well as the time of the year and the specific week. People who were laid off in December had their benefits paid for until the end of the year, but with the onset of the new year, they started applying for federal assistance. Another factor that certainly contributed to the traffic was the extension on the unemployment benefits last year by 13 then seven weeks.

“New Yorkers are entitled to 46 weeks of unemployment benefits now. One can stop claiming weekly benefits the moment an applicant finds a job but can resume receiving the benefits in the case of being laid off again within the year,” Sroczynska explained to Nowy Dziennik.