My husband has been unemployed for close on 18 months. Its not an easy Parsha. Some advice is to register for food stamps this can be done online. The Unemployment office/or the local Jewish Family Service in your area should be able to give you details about getting other assistence – with Electic and gas bills. We are in Baltimore and here the whole family is able to go onto the state insurance – a real bracha.
The other advice is to redo your resume totally. My husband approaches getting a job as “his job”. He starts a certain time takes a lunch break and finishes a certain time – it works for us. Allows us to have a normal kind of day to day routine. I have kids in college and yeshiva – speak to the schools, the colleges you cannot do much about.
We tried to ‘network’ in our shul it was disaster – not one person gave any helpful advise just asked my husband very often (and loudly) “Have you found a job yet” most embarrassing. Your wife may have to try her hand at finding something – I work and am happy for the job.
It is not easy – a rollercoaster ride a with no end in site. My husband does computer programming. If you do not use your skills you loose them with that in mind he did a refresher course but even that on his resume has not moved things along.
We just continue to daven and daven and daven…. I wish and your family much hatzlacha