You've lost half of your life savings in the latest market downturn and now you may be facing the prospect of job loss due to the slowing economy brought about by that market doldrums. It's the same old domino effect. The market goes down.
People feel threatened.
They stop spending money. Fewer buyers result in fewer sales. Fewer sales result in growing inventories, which results in less need for employees to produce additional products. Companies start laying people off. Downsized workers spend less money, creating even fewer sales.