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Recession Briefing 11.16: Going Abroad for Jobs

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

With the nation’s unemployment rate at a 26-year-high of 10.2%, more Americans are hunting for, and landing, work overseas, according to staffing companies and executive search firms. (USA Today) Some are now recession refugees. (Recessionwire)

The recession is intensifying rumblings of discontent from Generation X. The 32- to 44-year-olds are just waiting for the economy to pick up so they can hop to the next job, find something more fulfilling and get what they think they deserve. (Associated Press)

Corporate failures have slowed, as companies once on the verge of default have found a new life. These companies are now refinancing their balance sheets with new debt, pushing out maturities on existing loans or using distressed-debt exchanges to avoid a bankruptcy filing. (Wall Street Journal)

Daniel Gross writes that some recent data points, and an understanding of the behavior of companies at different phases of the business cycle, suggest we’ll have job creation sooner rather than later. (Slate)

If it’s frustrating that the government is footing the bill to clean up the mess of the financial crisis, it’s even worse that the government helped pay for the debt binge that created the mess in the first place, writes James Surowieki. (New Yorker)

Dean Baker thinks the unemployment rate can be improved by paying workers to work shorter hours. The government can give employers a tax credit of up to $3,000 to shorten their workers’ hours while leaving their pay unchanged. (New Deal 2.0)

Home prices are expected to rise by 4% in 2010 and sales will keep rising as the housing market continues to recover, the National Association of Realtors said Friday. (Associated Press)

CIT is in bankruptcy court, and taxpayers’ $2.3 billion investment is on the brink of being wiped out. It would be the largest loss so far from the government’s massive rescue of the financial system, but it isn’t likely to be the last. (Washington Post)

Though the unemployment rate for Asian Americans has been inching upward, it has been far lower than the rates for whites, blacks, Hispanics or the nation as a whole. (USA Today)

So how can we tell if the economy is really at risk of double dipping? Here are six key economic indicators that bear watching. (CNN/Money)

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Tags: bailout, business, jobs, real estate, The Unemployed Life