The recession and 'funemployment'

Is enjoying being laid off a sign of the times, or a trust fund?

While millions of jobless Americans struggle to pay their bills, said Kimi Yoshino in the Los Angeles Times, "others have found a silver lining in the economic meltdown"—"funemployment." A new breed of "happily jobless" 20- and 30-somethings is forgoing the job hunt for travel, golf, and the beach, thanks to severance packages, unemployment checks, or parental largesse. Funemployment may sound "frivolous," but this mix of "narcissism" and backlash against the corporate world is a statement about America today.

Sounds great, said Hamilton Nolan in Gawker, as long as you have "a benefactor who's a steady stream of cash." If not, what? You're "unemployed and forced into prostitution in order to buy flour"? Trust me, you're not the only one who wants to "get gangsters to dispose of the linguist who coined 'funemployment,' then flee to live on a houseboat barge."

"Funemployment. Paycation. The unemploymentality," said Peter Jamison in San Francisco Weekly. Every generation has "an argot to describe the confusing terrain of joblessness." And the so-called millennial generation's "weirdly upbeat" word "speaks volumes" about how this well-fed, well-organized age group is dealing with the worst downturn since the 1930s—the "young and funemployed" are taking the time to relax and "find themselves," but many also volunteer or self-educate.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE
https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up
To continue reading this article...
Continue reading this article and get limited website access each month.
Get unlimited website access, exclusive newsletters plus much more.
Cancel or pause at any time.
Already a subscriber to The Week?
Not sure which email you used for your subscription? Contact us