Jobless Despite A Healthy Resume

The NYTimes ventured to our parts to report on some of the casualties of the economic decline.

Here's the opening:

NANCY FINK is a career coach for Maryland’s department of labor, running seminars for the most skilled unemployed workers.

For 17 years, she has counseled professionals, business managers, engineers, accountants, scientists — people who are mature, middle-aged, highly motivated, well-educated, well-spoken. But in all that time, she’s never seen so many of the jobless with such impressive skills as this last year. “Last week I had seven lawyers in this room,” she said. “I’ve had lots of folks from TV and The Baltimore Sun. This week I’ve got five human resources directors — I’ve never had that.”

The number of professionals and managers in unemployment programs at this suburban work-force center halfway between Baltimore and Washington is the highest it has been since the state first made this group a target for outplacement support in 1992.