Recession Lexicon: 99er

99er n./ a person who has gone through all 99 weeks of unemployment benefits.

This is one of the sadder definitions in our recession glossary. According to a story in the New York Times several days ago, the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that by June, 1.4 million people had been out of work for at least 99 weeks–the maximum time you can collect unemployment, even with all the extensions that Congress has tacked on to give people more of a safety net in tough times.

Let’s put that a different way: A population almost the size of Philadelphia has been out of work for nearly two years…

Economists Pessimistic About the Rest of 2010

From today’s New York Times:

Many economists — concerned about the sluggish pace of job creation, dwindling housing activity and decelerating retail sales — say that slowdown is continuing this summer and have recently downgraded their expectations for the second half of the year.

Read more here.

Most Depressing–No, Recessing–Quote of the Week

From a Sunday New York Times story on how the economic recovery has slowed down in the U.S.:

“We may have seen the best of employment for some time,” said Paul Kasriel, chief economist at Northern Trust. “In general the economy is downshifting, maybe to stall speed, or just above stall.”

Ugh.

Job Market Best in Year and a Half, Gallup Says

We’ll see what sort of effect the Dow bustage has on this bit of positive news, but according to polling company Gallup, the job market is back to where is was at the end of 2008.

Wait, 2008? Wasn’t that a few months after Lehman went bankrupt, Fannie Mae had to get rescued and Congress approved the $700 billion bailout? Well, yes…

Screwed: 1,019 in Long Beach Unified School District

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

Today’s Total: 1,338

The Long Beach Unified School District this week starting giving layoff warning notices to 1,019 employees, mostly teachers…The Pasadena Unified School District is cutting more than 164 jobs to help close a huge budget gap…

Screwed: Possible 4,500 in Jackson Health System

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

Today’s Total: 5,076

The Jackson Health System in Florida is considering cutting a whopping 4,500 jobs and two hospitals to close its budget gap…In San Francisco, bio-tech company Exelixis Inc will cut 270 jobs, currently 40 percent of their workforce…In Tennessee, Ford Motor Credit Co. plans to lay off 200 employees by the end of the month…General Dynamics Robotics Systems handed pink slips to 90 employees yesterday, whose last day will be on May 6…

Screwed: 500 at Vodafone

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

Today’s Total: 887

Vodafone will make 500 job cuts throughout the UK as efforts to cut £1 billion in company costs…In LA County, 300 Los Angeles Supreme Court employees will be handed notices by March 16 about subsequent unemployment on April 1st…In South Carolina, the Union County School District plan to layoff 30 employees by next year…In California, the Calaveras Unified School District will hand out pink slips to 24 teachers by March 15…In other school layoffs news, the Dinwiddie School Board in Virginia decided on a budget cut yesterday, resulting 23 layoffs, including 10 teaching positions…In Texas, Sigma-Herron laid off 10 workers in a pharmaceutical plant this morning.

Recession Briefing: Discount Strategists Shop for Free

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

Discount devotees have formed vast online communities that collectively unearth and swap digital, mobile-phone and paper coupons. The cleverest shoppers combine dozens of coupons and go from store to store buying items in quantity, getting stuff free of charge. (Wall Street Journal)

The recession and continuing high unemployment are taking a psychological toll on individuals. There’s been a startling increase in the number of calls to employee-assistance programs regarding violence, psychosis and dementia in the workplace, including calls about suicidal and homicidal threats, program directors say. (Wall Street Journal)

In an effort to end the foreclosure crisis, the Obama administration has been trying to keep defaulting owners in their homes. Now it will take a new approach: paying some of them to leave. (New York Times)…

Screwed: 100 at BAE Systems

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

Today’s Total: 293

BAE Systems plans to layoff 100 workers in Ohio after losing contract deals… In Arkansas, Commercial Metals Co are cutting up to 60 jobs by April 29… Eastern Maine Medical Center plan to lay off about 50 employees by March 19… Meanwhile, Kingsburg District Hospital in California announced plans to cut a nursing unit and lay off 50 employees… In New Jersey, South Orange Maplewood School District will be laying off 29 employees in the coming months… In Morristown, 4 city employees were laid off yesterday…

Screwed: Possible 4,000 in LA

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

Today’s Total: 5,214

Due to the devastating budget of Los Angeles, as many as 20 percent of all public library staff will be laid off, as well as 15 percent of the police force, culminating in possible layoffs of 4,000 city employees… In Toronto, Aveos Fleet Performance Inc will be laying off 1,000 airline machinists in the next few months… Chicago Transit Authority handed out pink slips to 99 employees over the weekend, marking the last batch of 1,067 CTA employees without jobs… In California, Salinas City may lay off 40 city employees as part of a proposed balanced-budget plan… In Ottawa, Caesars Windsor plans on cutting 45 jobs… In Nevada, Carson City may face a job cut of 30 employees due to a budget deficit…