Tough times then, now

Lisa Brown graduated last December with a master's degree in business administration and big dreams about her business career.

But in the worst job market in decades, the 24-year-old UTC alumna had to tend bar rather than tend to business for the past year. Last week, Ms. Brown's patience finally paid off when she landed what she called a "springboard job" in marketing for Sears Holdings in Chicago.

"With the way economy is right now, most people are just not hiring in my field because businesses are still cutting back," she said. "But I just held out because I knew there was a job out there for me."

Ms. Brown is among the lucky job seekers in metropolitan Chattanooga, which has lost a net 12,320 jobs -- or one of every 20 jobs -- over the past two years. Her success, however, shows there are still jobs and signs of economic hope even in the worst economic downturn since the 1930s.

"It's important to remember that even while many businesses are cutting back, there are still some that are hiring and growing," said Dr. William Fox, director of the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Tennessee. "Ultimately all economic downturns come to an end."

Unemployment jumped this spring above 10 percent in Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama for the first time since before World War II.

"Many of us are referring to this downturn as the 'Great Recession' because it's far worse than most recessions," Georgia Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond said. "Some industries like real estate, construction and some manufacturing are basically in a depression right now, although other businesses are doing much better."

For all the economic pain to workers, investors and business owners in the current recession, the Great Depression was worse by almost any measure, economists said.

Unemployment in the 1930s was more than twice the current level. Without the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and a stimulative central bank, more than 7,000 banks failed in the Great Depression, or more than 85 times more than the number of failing banks today. Stock prices and economic activity dropped far more in the early 1930s than they have since the current recession began in December 2007.

Economists note that bank deposit insurance, unemployment benefits and other counter-cyclical fiscal and monetary measures will help lessen the current downturn compared with what was done and what happened in the 1930s.

lessons from the depression

Those who lived through the Depression insist the lessons they learned went beyond government economic policy. Many Depression-era survivors still alive today say the period taught them the value of thrift and community.

Henry Rotters, a 91-year-old survivor of the Great Depression, said people of his generation learned to save money and not get overextended with borrowing.

"The greatest lesson is one my father gave me: Don't buy anything unless you've got the cash to pay for it," he said.

Financial adviser Ed Brown, 91, still recalls the stock market crash of 1929 when he was 11.

"It's a habit, formed by me in the Depression: You learn to save money; you didn't throw it around," he said. "It doesn't matter how low your salary is, you need to save part of it for a rainy day, like we are having now."

The sacrifices of those who grew up in the 1930s also encouraged many of them to share more with one another.

Velma Hartline, a 93-year-old Chattanoogan who grew up on a farm in Northeast Georgia, recalls how the family grew its own food and always tried to share extra vegetables and other food with those who passed their farm.

No matter how little her family had, her mother always shared food with those who needed it.

"I think it teaches people to share and to be closer together as a community," she said.

reaching out for support

Those on the front lines of the current battle for jobs say they are learning similar lessons about humility and family support.

In Northwest Georgia's Dalton metro area, where one of every nine workers is unemployed, Rhonda Payne fears she may have to relocate after state budget cuts cost her her job as a health promotions coordinator for the North Georgia Public Health District.

"It's kind of like a punch in the stomach," Mrs. Payne said about finding out she lost her job. "It really does shake your confidence, and you wonder if you have what it takes to get another job. It's good to have a supportive family."

But reaching out for help can be tough.

James Hamilton, who lost his job in May at age 53, said he and his wife haven't reached out to their family, other than telling them of his job loss.

"We're trying to be as independent as we can," he said, pointing to a vegetable garden planted this spring to help keep food on the table. "But until we get back on our feet, we're going to have to learn how to ask for help."

The recession has humbled many workers. Carlos Javier, who ended up in Chattanooga's Salvation Army when the construction jobs he was chasing evaporated, said he was forced to apologize to former bosses to get temporary jobs and ultimately accept the aid of others he sometimes didn't even know.

"The economy will eventually recover, but I think we have to look at healthier ways to maintain our economic growth," the 38-year-old Pennsylvania native said.

"I wish we would have taken advantage of when we had all that money because I don't think we're likely to see that level of boom times again anytime soon."

For his part, Mr. Javier gave up his construction career to learn about Web design. He is developing a Web site to help those in need during the current recession.