In 1992, PNC bought Niemeyer's former employer in Ohio and gave Niemeyer a choice: Move his wife and seven children to Philadelphia or lose his job.
He moved, only to be laid off five years later, in January 1997. Out of work for 11 months, he landed the Glenmede job that December. Over time, his earnings grew enough to match his PNC job.
In June 2006, he lost the Glenmede job. On Thursday, he had an interview for a $12-an-hour job as a customer-service representative. His wife hopes to work in a store over the holidays.
Credit cards are maxed out, and if it weren't for the help of his best friend in Ohio, he'd have no electricity. Luckily, some of his older children pay rent to live at home. The youngest is in high school.
"The economy overexpanded," Niemeyer said. "It was growing like it would never, never end. Companies kept adding people. Then the economy fell off a cliff. Now, for every job opening, there are eight applicants."
Sitting at the kitchen table recently, Niemeyer's wife, Patricia, listened as he described how the economy has affected their lives.
"Those years at Glenmede were clearly my most profitable years," he said. "I'll never replace that."
"You don't know that," she said.
"What am I at now - less than a third?" he asked.
"People need experienced financial analysts," she said. "Am I being gullible?"
He looked at her fondly, eyes rimmed red.
"Yes, you are," he said, not repeating what he said earlier about his two sectors, financial services and, now, retailing, being among the most heavily hit in this recession.
"People want to hire an experienced, hard-working person, someone who's intelligent," his wife said.
"Yeah," he said, staring at his hands, "but they are a dime a dozen."
Contact staff writer Jane M.
Von Bergen at 215-854-2769
or jvonbergen@phillynews.com.
