Linda Hall, of Spokane, has worked hard all her life but hasn’t earned any respect from the labor market. Laid off for the first time at age 62, Hall has no health insurance, not enough savings for retirement and almost no chance of getting hired again. “A year ago I was absolutely certain that I had job security,” Hall said. “Change is a part of life. But, truthfully, until a few weeks before (getting laid off), I just didn’t see it coming and couldn’t imagine such a thing happening.” Like many older workers, Hall is confronting America’s new economic reality. “If you worked hard, chances are you’d have a job for life, with a decent paycheck and good benefits and the occasional promotion,” President Barack Obama lamented in his 2011 State of the Union Address. “That world has changed”/Arthur Delaney, Huffington Post. More here. (Rajah Bose photo: At age 62, Linda Hall, of Spokane, was laid off for the first time. She was a caterer at the Spokane Club)

Question: Have you ever been laid off?