According to an article in Dallas Morning News, the nation’s unemployment rate jumped to 8.5 percent in March, the highest since 1983. Employers shed over 663,000 jobs during March, in their efforts to stop the financial bleeding. But it’s not just workers facing job losses who are suffering many Americans are being forced to take low-paying part-time work as their unemployment benefits expire and their job searches prove unproductive.

The article said:

The average work week in March dropped to 33.2 hours, a new record low…The number of unemployed people climbed to 13.2 million in March. In addition, the number of people forced to work part time for “economic reasons” rose by 423,000 to 9 million. Those are people who would like to work full time but whose hours were cut back or were unable to find full-time work.

Facing a job loss can be devastating; but in many ways working part-time can be worse especially if they money will not cover your everyday expenses and existing debts. If you are facing a job loss and qualify for unemployment benefits, it may be to your advantage to use those benefits until you find a job that will pay enough to cover your expenses and debts.

If you suspect that you will be unemployed for an extended period of time and have huge debts, you may want to consider filing bankruptcy. Contact a Dallas-Fort Worth bankruptcy attorney today, to find out about your bankruptcy options.