Screwed: 1,600 at Apple

A daily review of the employment fallout around the country and the world.

Apple has laid off about 1,600 retail employees… TrinityRail North American Freight Car Inc. will lay off 659 Cartersville employees before eventually closing its doors in August… Medtronic Inc. cuts 240 manufacturing positions as it moves production to a facility in Ireland…

The Book Reporter: Dumb Money

To read Dan Gross’s Dumb Money is step into a parallel universe populated with swaggering fast-talkers who breathe helium to swell their egos and speak a strange language filled with exotic financial terms – fixed-income products, adjustable-rate mortgages, and mortgage backed securities. At first, these people seem wonderfully smart. But as Gross sees it…

At the End of Your Robe: Big Names for Small Prices

With so many designers jumping on the “high-low” bandwagon, there are a lot more ways for the budget-conscious to get big names at small prices. (Thanks, Target, for starting the trend.) But it’s hard to keep track of who’s designing for who and what to get where. Here are the nine best designer collaborations this spring, a look at what you should get now, and a sneak preview of what’s to come.

Matthew Williamson
The most exciting collaboration this spring is by far Matthew Williamson for H&M. Available April 23 in select stores and May 14 in all locations, the offerings are truly inspiring—and not for the fashion-timid. His bright color palette, including electric blue and shocking pink, screams for attention. The silk fabrics and bold prints will having you running back for more. Price points are a bit high for H&M, but still manageable. Silk short-shorts come in at around $50 and the best silk party dress retails for $129…

Public Sector Jobs: Going, Going…

The New York Times reports today that states are using furloughs to save money, and save jobs. But in our daily Screwed report, we’re seeing a different trend: public sector jobs are dropping off by the thousands – by our count, of those we reported, which were mainly in the biggest cities, schools, states and cities have laid off 12,000 people in the last two months. And that’s a low estimate, since we haven’t captured them all.

Slate has attempted to capture them all by taking unemployment data reported by counties across the country – this is the raw data that the Bureau of Labor Statistics uses, several months after the fact, to estimate the number of job gains and losses.

In an interactive chart that uses that data (not seasonally adjusted), Slate seems to show some good news: Would you believe 2.7 million jobs (in all sectors) gained since January 2006? We wouldn’t. So take another look: Press the play button on the chart and month after month, those gains drop off, hitting a low of 97,000 jobs gained in June 2008, to be followed by the more familiar trend — 44,000 jobs lost in July 2008, and falling. And the biggest pain came in September, when the number of jobs lost jumped from 89,000 in August to 730,000. Ouch.

Recession Briefing 4.24

What you need to know to survive and thrive in the recession.

Sleeping pill sales are on the rise as more Americans are losing shuteye over the difficult economy. (New York Times)

Americans are reclassifying luxury and necessity as a result of the recession. In a 2006 Pew survey, 68% said a microwave was a necessity; now that’s 47%. And 52% say a TV is a necessity today, down from 64% in 2006. (USA Today)

More Americans are turning to gardening in order to cut costs as the recession bears down. (Reuters)

Screwed: Potentially 158 Teachers in Seattle

A daily review of the employment fallout around the country and the world.

Under a “worst-case” scenario, 158 teachers may be laid off in the Issaquah School District… Seattle School District may lay off up to 70 teachers… Another round of layoffs at Eaton Corp. affects about 40 employees… 32 workers will be laid off in August as The Spray 9 plant in Johnstown closes its doors and relocates… Grand Traverse County Road Commission temporarily cuts about 10 jobs… Pheonix Media/Communications Group cuts wages and lays off 6 employees, about 2 percent of its workforce.

Recession Lexicon: Funemployment

A period of joblessness that you actually enjoy—maybe you get to lay out, sleep in, work out, read up. It helps to have savings, severance or an unemployment check to help pay the bills. We’re hearing this word used more and more, especially as people realize they may not be able to find a new job right away, so they might as well try to enjoy the time off…

Money Funnies

If you can’t laugh, you just might cry. We’ve collected a few of our favorite funnies to get you through the next news cycle.

What’s the difference between an investment banker and a large pizza? A large pizza can feed a family of four.

What’s the definition of optimism? An Investment banker ironing five shirts on Sunday evening…

Love in the Time of Layoff: Is Recession Good for Sex?

According to an article in Forbes this week, the answer is yes. Writes Susan Adams, “Layoffs, furloughs and shrinking 401(k)s may not seem like natural aphrodisiacs, but according to experts in relationships and sex, the depressed financial picture is leading some couples—and singles—to better appreciate each other.”

I’m with the psychologist quoted in the article who notes that it’s way too early for empirical studies, that it takes years to compile a meaningful picture of how the downturn has affected intimacy. But just for fun, let’s apply the myriad hypotheses based on anecdotal evidence to the love lab of my relationship for a minute and see.

Recession Briefing 4.23

What you need to know today to survive and thrive in the recession.

New jobless claims rose last week to 640,000. The number of people staying on jobless benefit rose by 93,000 to 6.14 million, the 12th straight week the figure has set a record. (Bloomberg)

Americans are riding out the recession by staying put. The Census bureau says the number of people who changed residences declined to 35.2 million from March 2007 to March 2008, the lowest number since 1962. (New York Times)

General Electric CEO Jeff Immelt said the global economic crisis has “fundamentally reset” the way companies do business and capitalism itself. (Associated Press)

Some homeowners are taking in roommates to take in some extra monthly cash as the recession deepens. (Chicago Tribune)

If you come across a good article or blog post about the recession pass it on.