The Recession is Over… Because Jobs are Back?

In November, both the number of unemployed persons, at 15.4 million, and the unemployment rate, at 10.0 percent, edged down. At the start of the recession in December 2007, the number of unemployed persons was 7.5 million, and the jobless rate was 4.9 percent. (via Bureau of Labor Statistics report)

Why it might be false: One positive jobs report is kind of like a diamond in the rough when you look at it against the backdrop of other employment indicators, such as the high number of laid-off workers who don’t see jobs on the horizon; part-time workers are an army of 9.3 million—the highest ever; and the number of people collecting unemployment benefits stands around 10 million. Ten million…

Recession Briefing: Sin Is In

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

More people are turning to vice amid the recession. “People are staying up until the wee hours of the morning, there’s an increase in smoking, drinking and sexual behaviors like surfing porn and using hookers,” confirms Jonathan Alpert, a psychotherapist and relationship columnist. (Forbes)

A different breed of house flipper has begun to proliferate: one who seeks bargains at foreclosure auctions. Unlike the boom-time flippers, the latest generation needs cold cash, lots of local-market knowledge and strong nerves. (Wall Street Journal)

Economic analyst Ed Yardeni runs the numbers on the effect of the economic stimulus on jobs and determines that the Obama administration has spent $246,436 per job saved or created based on the $157.8bn that has been awarded so far. (Reuters)

Recession Briefing 12.7: We’ll All Be Temps Soon

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

Some experts predict that temporary workers could constitute up to a quarter of the workforce in a few years. (USA Today)

With a record 5.9 million Americans who have been jobless for at least six months, many out-of-work professionals and managers, engineers and teachers have turned, in desperation, to holiday-season jobs as sales clerks. (Associated Press)

In less than two years, many of the biggest overseas government investment funds, known as sovereign wealth funds, have reaped huge gains from bailing out financial institutions, and in turn, the global financial system. (New York Times)

Screwed: 600 at ST-Ericsson

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

Today’s Total: 3,032

ST-Ericsson announced their intentions to reduce their worldwide workforce by 600 in order to cut $115 million annually… UniCare will lay off 500 Chicagoans as it moves out of the Illinois market… U.S. solar company Energy Conversion will cut 400 workers due to “restructuring”… Koenig & Bauer AG, the world’s third-largest printing press manufacturer, plans to eliminate 300 employees by mid-2010… Aircraft maker Dassault Falcon is set to lay off 214 workers in Little Rock, Ark. and N.J… Lincoln Foodservice Products Inc. has sent notice to Indiana officials of their plans to cut 190 employees following the sale of their kitchen division… The publisher of The Journal News in Westchester, N.Y. sent notice of the closure of its printing plant, resulting in the elimination of 166 workers… Teleperformance USA will lose 151 staffers at offices outside of Dublin, Ohio, next month…

Recession Briefing 12.4: Even Restaurants Are Swapping Services

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

As they struggle to keep customers and pay the monthly bills, some restaurants are swapping food for services like oven-hood cleaning and pest control. (Wall Street Journal)

The United States economy shed 11,000 jobs in November, and the unemployment rate fell to 10 percent, down from 10.2 percent in October, the Labor Department said Friday. (New York Times)

Laid-off workers seeking unemployment benefits today are almost twice as likely as their counterparts during the recession of the 1980s to be accused of misconduct by their former employers. (Huffington Post)…

Recession Briefing 12.3: Families Going Rural

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

The recession is inspiring more young families and singles to head back to the country. Sometimes dubbed “ruralpolitans,” these city and town dwellers are looking at land as their new safe investment. (Wall Street Journal)

Some companies are banding together to save money by having group holiday parties. (New York Times)

Some 60 million adult Americans live without a bank account or use pawn shops and other non-bank operations to handle their finances, according to an FDIC report that called for an expansion of basic services to the “underbanked”. (Financial Times)

Screwed: 3,700 in the Air Force

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

Today’s Total: 7,905

The Air Force will slash 3,700 active airmen from service… Sanofi-Aventis axed up to 1,500 salespeople… French perfume company Marionnaud plans to hand out 582 pink slips… JT Packard and Associates, Inc. gave notice to 300 employees… Massachusetts will lose 300 mental healthcare workers… US Airways plans to eliminate 261 staff members from its operations in La Guardia Airport… Talisman Energy Inc. slashed 220 Canadian workers as it “shifts its North American focus”… Georgia-Pacific laid off 158 people from its facility in Green Bay, Wis… Permanent TSB is set to reduce its workforce by 120… ACA Co-operative Ltd. will make redundant 110 workers at its poultry processing plant in Nova Scotia… The Royal Bank of Scotland made 108 additional cuts to asset financing unit Lombard…

Recession Briefing 12.2: Downturn Breeds Vegetarians

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

More than half of Americans have cut back on meat, many becoming “recession-bred flexitarians,” says Gourmet magazine—people who use meat as a condiment not as a meal anchor. And even Martha Stewart broadcast a vegetarian Thanksgiving show last week. (AlterNet)

Climbing interest rates, lower spending limits and canceled accounts are prompting more holiday shoppers to leave their credit cards at home this year. (Wall Street Journal)

The wobbly economy is contributing to a rush by millions of online shoppers to a decidedly low-tech business: coupons. (USA Today)…

The Recovery is Here… Because Online Ad Revenue is Improving

Says who: David Silverman, PricewaterhouseCoopers

“While all segments of the media industry have experienced declines, online advertising remains resilient and is once again showing signs of growth.” [via Internet Advertising Bureau report]…

Recession Briefing 12.1: Only 12 Percent of Stimulus Spent??

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

Only $100 billion of the $787 billion stimulus package passed nine months ago has actually been spent by the federal government so far, with another $90 billion of stimulus coming in the form of tax reductions, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office reported. (Huffington Post)

The proliferation of underemployed workers could represent a profound reordering of the employment structure. Many people who had comfortable full-time jobs with benefits and advancement opportunities now are cobbling together smaller jobs often at lower pay. (Wall Street Journal)

Reviled by the public and spurned in private, more bankers have reportedly been looking for solace in adultery. IllicitEncounters.com said it has seen a huge increase in the number of financial workers signing up to have affairs after the collapse of the markets in October last year. (Reuters)…