You may not be able to properly let dollar cost averaging do its thing if you rely on your job to invest, since there's a high correlation between periods where people are out of work and periods where asset prices are lower.

Even in the worst part of the great depression 75% of the people had a job. Most years where much better.

Don't get me wrong, if you don't have a job things are bad. If you have a job but it isn't giving good raises, or it is a worse job than you are qualified for things are bad. However things are not hopeless for the majority of people even when things are really bad, and you can get through it.