"JERSEY CITY, N.J. -- At the time of day Friday when most workers are making plans for happy hour, Cheryl Johnson is making a final scan of the online job listings at the Jersey City One-Stop Career Center. Her skirt suit is wrinkled. Johnson lost her job after Hurricane Sandy lashed the mid-Atlantic states three weeks ago."
"The superstorm destroyed the Staten Island offices of the marketing firm where she worked as an account executive for the past three years. After more than a decade of continuous employment, the storm has put the 54-year-old single mother in a position she never imagined she'd be: Collecting unemployment and applying for nearly any job for which she is remotely qualified.
Johnson represents one of the thousands of new faces in the unemployment line following the hurricane. Last week, the Labor Department reported that initial claims for state unemployment rose by 78,000 to a seasonally adjusted 439,000. That is the highest level since April 2011, and the biggest one-week increase in new claims since 2005."
Catherine New reports for the Huffington Post November 20, 2012.
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