Some economists worry unemployment could reach levels this country hasn't seen since the early 1980s.

But it is possible to prepare for the awful possibility of being laid off from your job.

Protecting Your Money: Prepare For Looming Layoffs

It's usually impossible to control whether your job will be cut. But what you can control is whether you've properly planned for that scenario.

For Christian Pearson of Portview, it's day 14 of job hunting. Recently laid off from the West Mifflin GM plant, Pearson is among the 10 million Americans currently out of work.

"The longer it goes, the more stressful it'll get. But right now I'm in a decent situation," Pearson said.

Pearson said he's in a good position right now because he did something many of us have not -- he prepared himself, and his finances, for the possibility he'd be laid off.

"I would always have that thought in the back of my mind. We just don't know in this economic state right now what's going to close and what's staying open," said Jim Hann of PA Career Link.

At PA Career Link -- a state agency helping workers find jobs -- they're seeing more clients starting the job search while they still have a job.

It's known as having a "Plan B," an essential step if you think your job is in jeopardy.

"That you should have resumes in place, contact information and things like that," Hann said.

While unemployment benefits help, they're barely enough to maintain health insurance through COBRA.

"I think the best thing is to get your financial house in order. Build a cash reserve, pay down the debt you have and look for ways to reduce your expenses," said Katherine Loch, an Ameriprise financial adviser.

While you're still working, experts say you need to save at least six months worth of take-home pay. If necessary, even temporarily decrease your 401(k) contributions.

"What you don't want to have happen is that you are laid off, you need to access cash, and the only place you can get it is your 401(k). Where you're looking at penalties and probably taking losses on your investments," said Loch.

"Just keep positive. Because if you're not keeping positive then you're never going to be able to find anything," Pearson said.

For more information about PA Career Link, visit careerlinkpittsburgh.com.

For other layoff preparation tips, visit www.job-hunt.org.

---

Related Links:
More County News
Add Us To Your iGoogle Or My Yahoo Page | Download Our Free Desktop Alert For Breaking News

---