Rocker Puts Jobless People in Music Video

Song Motivates Job Seekers to Keep Trying

by Tom Musbach, Yahoo! HotJobs

An emerging rock artist has found a new way to call attention to the unemployment problem in the United States: putting jobless people in a music video.

The video, for Ryan Star's new single "Breathe," features 12 adults who are looking for work as they carry around signs in New York City with messages like: "Good at my job," "I can't afford health insurance," and "I'd rather be working." Their occupations range from balloon artist to software consultant.

Star, on tour this fall with "American Idol" winner David Cook, says he wanted the video to be relevant to the struggles of people looking for work.

"When I started thinking of how to represent 'Breathe,' this idea made sense because unemployment is the common thread that I have been seeing everywhere I have been touring," Star says. "It just feels to me that people everywhere need to hear a positive message, that things will all be OK and that we are here for one another."

Employed Workers Not Wanted

The participants in the video were selected during a unique casting call. They agreed to take part in a day of filming in New York, and to have their job hunts publicly advertised on the new site breathe4jobs.com.

Blake Carrington, an unemployed teacher's aide who appears in the video, says that he had never before worn a sign to advertise for a job. But he now recommends this "extreme" form of job-seeking. "It shows passion," he says.

Maria Schock, a participant in the video who teaches English, says, "I thought the video captured the true essence of today's current economic situation. These are tough times, and the job market is competitive. I don't know what will happen, but I hope for the best."

The nation's unemployment situation is the worst since 1983, with the jobless rate hitting 10.2% in October. The rate climbs higher -- 17.5% -- by adding in Americans who are involuntarily underemployed (working part-time) or who stopped looking for work because of discouragement, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Staying Positive in the Moment

"Breathe" is part of Star's debut album "11:59," due for release in early 2010.

"'Breathe' fit right into the idea behind '11:59.' It's about being in the moment," says Star. "I know we have all grown up hearing the romantic idea of seizing the day, but for the first time I feel like I truly started to understand it. I found myself trying to find purpose in the present."

Schock says of the song, "It sends the message to be patient, that better times are coming, and to just keep breathing."

Patience has become a common theme for all job seekers today, as more than a third of unemployed Americans have been out of work for more than six months.

"I'm staying positive every day by working out, meditation, and knowing that there is light at the end of the tunnel," says Carrington. "This song is all about that."

Watch the "Breathe" video on Yahoo! Music.

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