 Carl Van Horn at the Rutgers Center for Workforce Development says families striving to move up the economic ladder may also be at risk. People may have made investments that if they lose their job, they may lose their car, they may lose their house. If your employer does decide to lay you off, Julia Toothaker says there might not be much room to negotiate. So if you think the axe is about to fall, best start looking for another job. I'm Mitchell Hartman for Marketplace.