Here is a great article by Meridith Levinson regarding unemployment and IT professionals.
“If you lose your job, get ready for a wild ride on the emotional rollercoaster. Your daily routines, lifestyle, relationships and identity will be upended, say IT execs who survived long job searches and unemployment to tell the tale.” By Meridith Levinson
A CIO's Voice 
Great article! I must be a masochist because I still intensely follow the latest news on the economy, jobs, and unemployment. The last paragraph, on actively hiring the unemployed when you’re back in a position to make those decisions, especially resonates with me. I know of several people, having gone through recent periods of unemployment, are doing this in their new positions.