I'm scared. Working from home in a tough economy.

So far, I've weathered the economic disaster crippling this country and the world. My small rural county in Indiana has a nine percent unemployment rate so I know plenty of people riding out the tough job market. I didn't give my employment status much thought until tonight.

After the jump, I'll tell you about what happened tonight to freak me out, and more importantly, I want to hear your stories about telecommuting when times are tough. We'll also brainstorm together about what telecommuters can do to protect themselves in a bad economy.

Unfortunately, I signed a non-disclosure agreement for my main position, so I can't go into detail about what I do and for whom. I'd love to share the company and details, but want to do everything I can to avoid getting fired.

For the first time since I started working for this company in May, work has been short. I've never seen anything like it and worry about what this means. Sure, it might be a simple error, but I've been thinking the worse, my position is being terminated.

If I lose this position, I worry about finding another telecommuting position quickly. As any work at home job searcher knows, finding a work at home position quickly is like visiting the BMV quickly, near impossible.

Like any good home worker, I have other positions, but these don't even begin to make up for my main income should I lose it. I'll keep you updated and am hoping I'm not joining the nine percent of the county on the unemployment lines.

How do you think telecommuting and the economy go together? Are employers more likely to hire for online jobs right now or less likely?

Let me know how you're doing out there in this scary, turbulent world. Let's weather this out together!

So, what can we do to ride this out? Here are some of the precautions I'm taking:

• Accept small side positions even if they don't pay much. I'm glad I didn't ever give up ChaCha as little as it pays.
• In an earlier post, I wrote about my search for passive income, consider submitting articles or photos to sites like Associated Content and istockphoto.
• Cut costs now to save money for later. I've become psycho about turning off lights and cutting out anything unnecessary.
  
• Go back to school. My live-in boyfriend decided to go to school in January and we're anxiously awaiting his financial aid package, and of course, the skills he'll receive.

Any other ideas?