Onthedole.net seems to be an information & support site for those unlucky enough to find themselves unemployed. As for looking for a job, have a look at this section of the site:
[broken link removed]
The jobless & proud site seems to be down at the moment, but a cached version yields the following:
Jobless & proud was set up by a guy called David. David moved from London to Ireland in 1986. He lives in County Meath, is separated and has 3 children.
David has had a varied working career including jobs as a factory manager, a building worker and a part time counsellor. He lost his job in January 2009.
He has never been unemployed before.
David set up [broken link removed] and wrote "Oh No: I've Lost My Job What Am I Going To Do? to help people like him who have lost their jobs and become unemployed.
The site deals with issues such as:
- Coping with the trauma of being told you've lost your job
- Getting your debts under control
- Find out what you're entitled to
- How to go about getting a new job
- Coping with long term unemployment
To answer your question: Yes, things are that bad. For ongoing information you may wish to watch/listen to a news bulletin or read a newspaper, or maybe speak to one of your neighbours, who may have recently lost their job.