Recession brings a blue Christmas for unemployed

One worked for Enron, another served fast food for Taco Bell. The third was a United Airlines flight attendant. Three mothers head anxiously toward Christmas with faint hope of getting the present they most need -- a new job.

They are among more than 800,000 Americans laid off since Sept. 11, struggling to keep their families' spirits up as the season of celebration coincides jarringly with recession.

"The decorations are up, but the atmosphere is not cheery," said Clentine Coleman, social services director for Catholic Charities in Las Vegas. "You don't see a lot of hoopla over the holidays this year -- it's people just trying to make it through."

One of Coleman's clients is Emilia Posas, 27, recently laid off by Taco Bell as tourism in Las Vegas dipped sharply. Posas' husband, Alberto, also lost his construction job.

The couple -- with children ages 8, 7 and 2 -- is used to festive Christmas celebrations, but not this year.

"I don't have money for rent, utilities, food, nothing," Posas said. "My children are sad."

In Houston, Tammie Huthmacher -- six months pregnant and mother of an 8-year-old -- was among 4,000 employees laid off Monday in the collapse of energy-trading giant Enron. Her husband still has a job, but they relied on both salaries to meet mortgage and car payments.

"This year I'm trying to figure out how to get presents just for my son -- no one else," said Huthmacher, 27, at her home in suburban Sugar Land.

Sheila Adams, one of 22,000 flight attendants laid off by the nation's airlines since the terror attacks, can no longer afford her New York apartment. A 48-year-old single parent with a teen-age daughter, Adams will move in with her recently widowed mother in Portland, Ore., trying to avoid gloom at a time when her brother also just lost his job.

For families hit by layoffs, and for many other Americans, this holiday season is an awkward one. War, recession and terrorism fears are resulting in scaled back plans, yet consumers hear constant exhortations to help the country by purchasing and traveling.

Companies are curtailing year-end bonuses and scaling back plans for holiday parties. Citing weak financial support, several cities -- including Erie, Pa., and St. Louis -- have canceled annual First Night celebrations on New Year's Eve.

Homeless shelters and food banks nationwide say demand for their services has surged in recent weeks, often by more than 50 percent. Many charities report a damaging drop in donations because of the recession and the fact that many people already contributed to Sept. 11 relief campaigns.

In Las Vegas, Coleman said Catholic Charities is now handling about 650 cases weekly, up from 350 before the attacks.

At Opportunity Village, another nonprofit agency in Las Vegas, the recession has dampened the holiday spirit for many of the mentally retarded people who receive vocational training there.

In good times, most of them earn $100 or more every two weeks, doing contract work for airlines and hotels. Now, many of the paychecks have shrunk to $15 or $20 as the companies cut back.

So far, holiday season sales at malls are down more than 2 percent from last year, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers. Sales of apparel and jewelry are down more than 4 percent, while home entertainment products are up, apparently signaling greater interest in stay-at-home family activities.