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Recession Briefing: Hiring Finally Happening

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

Job openings rose sharply earlier this year, evidence that employers are slowly ramping up hiring as the economy improves. The number of openings in January rose about 7.6 percent, to 2.7 million, compared with December, the Labor Department said. That’s the highest total since February 2009. (Associated Press)

IRS agents will be more flexible with taxpayers who have seen their incomes drop during the recession. (USA Today)

The number of U.S. households with a net worth of $1 million or more — excluding wealth derived from a primary residence — grew 16 percent last year, according to a new report. (Huffington Post)

“With all of this recession’s significant labor market problems, and the expensive federal efforts to offset them, it’s too bad that the minimum-wage law added so many people to the list of those who today cannot find jobs,” writes Casey Mulligan. (New York Times/Economix)

Millions of Americans today are facing the worst money problems imaginable, but these same conditions are creating flush times for pawn shops and so-called payday lenders. (Daily Finance)

A top Federal Reserve official on Tuesday indicated that the target for full employment in the U.S. economy could be raised in the wake of the job losses incurred during the recession. (Financial Times)

As he takes the reins of the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee, Rep. Sander M. Levin (D-Mich.) said that job creation will be his top priority in the run-up to this fall’s congressional elections. (Washington Post)

Only about a third of the homeowners who have successfully completed the trial period of the Obama administration’s mortgage modification program have been offered permanent relief, according to new federal data. (Huffington Post)

Following an unprecedented period of economic turmoil, a number of corporate boards appear to have taken pity on executives last year. In some instances, they handed over millions of dollars in so-called discretionary bonuses to managers. (CNN/Money)

The Senate on Tuesday cleared a hurdle to extending unemployment benefits and health-care subsidies for the jobless until year’s end, the latest modest bipartisan success on jobs and the economy. (Wall Street Journal)

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Tags: jobs, politics, real estate, Spending and Saving, taxes, wealth