Ok, it's official. At least as far as New York is concerned, it's a Depression - yes, with a capital 'D'. Let me count - 1, 2, 3 people I can think of off the top of my head no longer have a job.
The first one worked at Goldman Sachs and CSFB doing Mortgage Backed Securities - I guess that was a foregone conclusion :-)
The second was doing journeyman architecture for a financial company. He loves architecture but he'd really do any job that requires a brain and gives him a reliable paycheck.
Now that I think of it, I know an actual architect who lost his job as well.
Oh, and the third person is a Senior Windows Systems Administrator. That's a skill that should still be in demand even in this environment - although he was just laid off with zero severance.
If anybody needs one of these people - send me a line.