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Recession Briefing 11.24: Even More Homes Underwater

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

The proportion of U.S. homeowners who owe more on their mortgages than the properties are worth has swelled to about 23%, threatening prospects for a sustained housing recovery. (Wall Street Journal)

A major new survey of American artists and how they are weathering the economic downturn has found that slightly more than half experienced a drop in income from 2008 to 2009, a blow to an already struggling group, two thirds of whose members reported that they earned less than $40,000 last year. (New York Times)

A recent survey by the Pew Research Center finds that 13% of parents with grown children say one of their adult sons or daughters has moved back home in the past year. Social scientists call them “boomerangers” — young adults who move in with parents after living away from home. This recession has produced a bumper crop. (Pew Research Center)

Joblessness for 16-to-24-year-old black men has reached Great Depression proportions — 34.5 percent in October, more than three times the rate for the general U.S. population. (Washington Post)

Along with the damage the downturn has done to people’s finances, it has taken a toll on their health as well, according to a survey. Among respondents who said they’ve been affected “a lot” by the economy, 23 percent agreed that “my health is worse” than it was last year. (Adweek)

The number of people visiting restaurants has plunged for four quarters in a row. Some higher-end establishments are offering discounts for holiday parties. (Los Angeles Times)

Home resales in the U.S. continued to surge last month, as buyers rushed to scoop up properties ahead of the anticipated expiration of the first-time homebuyer tax credit, lifting hopes that the housing market may have found firmer ground. (Financial Times)

According to the government’s broadest measure of unemployment, some 17.5 percent are either without a job entirely or underemployed. The so-called U-6 number is at the highest rate since becoming an official labor statistic in 1994. (CNBC)

Editorial: President Obama has wisely resisted various ideas in Congress to boost private hiring through direct government action. But there may be tax incentives that can work — with trade-offs. (Christian Science Monitor)

The stimulus cash that helped boost small business lending this year just ran out. The Small Business Administration said Monday that it has run through all of the $375 million Congress allocated to temporarily waive fees and boost guarantees on loans backed by the SBA’s lending programs. (CNN/Money)

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Tags: jobs, obama, real estate