US News

FIRED FIND AX RELIEF AT PINK SLIP PARTY

Bail us out!

About 500 out-of-work employees forked over $20 last night to network, gripe and chug cheap beer at a Midtown bar.

The Pink Slip Party – organized by Rachel Pine of Fastbook, and sponsored by the job-search site TheLadders.com and the financial website dealbreaker.com was held at the Public House on East 41st Street. As hundreds of unemployed hopefuls packed shoulder to shoulder in the watering hole, another 50 lined up outside.

“I’ll find a job when the time is right,” said an upbeat Tim Hill, 40, who worked in hedge-fund sales for Lehman Brothers for six years before he was pink-slipped this fall, when the bottom fell out on Wall Street.

“I’ve got to stay focused and positive. This collapse is bigger than just one person. It’s like fighting the ocean.”

In addition to $2 Buds and $4 gin cocktails, ri½sumi½s and business cards were flying fast and furious as recruiters collected names.

“This is an opportunity to get A-list players in the market on your team,” said Stacy Lentz, of Taylor Grey recruitment consultants.

The Wall Street meltdown has cost the city 45,000 finance jobs. The shindig – held every month, according to organizers – the $20 suggested donation raised money for Ronald McDonald House, which provides housing near hospitals for the families of seriously ill children.