Learn English – Adjective to best describe sense of helplessness

I am writing a small piece on the current financial and economic crisis, and I am looking for adjectives or short expressions that describe the sense of helplessness that seems to hang over many people these days, like a sense of having no way out from the current difficult economic and political situation.

1. People feel ____ in current economic environment.

2. Workers think they are ____ because of economic crisis.