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)…

Ways to Help Haiti and Your Tax Deductions, Too

Great news, both for you and for the Haiti relief effort: Donations to help the impoverished, earthquake-stricken country can count for your 2009 tax return.

(If you haven’t contributed already, read the LearnVest article for ideas to help Haiti.)

Background On The Haiti Tax Provision.

Enacted toward the end of January, the US government passed a special provision to give you tax relief if you helped this cause. In order to count on your 2009 tax return—instead of waiting to itemize the deductions next year—you need to contribute between January 11, 2010 and March 1, 2010…

Recession Briefing: Crazy for Coupons

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

Coupon use has risen every quarter since the end of 2008, making 2009 the first year of rising coupon use since 1992. Last year, 3.5 billion coupons were redeemed, according to Inmar, a coupon processor that handles about half of the market and publishes figures extrapolated from its own volume. (New York Times)

When you’ve flooded the economy with trillions of dollars, mopping up is no easy task. That’s the reality the Federal Reserve is confronting as it starts to explain how it will undo the aggressive growth-supporting steps that were put in place when the economy was in its deep dive — and begins to be clearer about when that may happen. (Washington Post)

When 22 recently unemployed workers agreed to be filmed baring their souls about what it was like to lose his job, they didn’t expect millions to see their confessions in the George Clooney film Up in the Air. A year later, many of these recession victims have new jobs. (Reuters)…

Recession Briefing: Job Doesn’t Equal Happy

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

Hit by the recession, many families are moving their children from private to public schools. The shift is already bringing subtle changes to the culture of many public schools as some families seek the personal attention they received from private schools. (USA Today)

As the sour economy leaves people less and less able to pay their debts, the abuses by debt collectors have become so flagrant and numerous that authorities have moved to shut down several agencies where the most heartless and bullying telephone calls originated. At least 20 people have been sued or arrested on criminal charges. (Associated Press)…

Recession Briefing 10.15: Stimulating Tax Dollars?

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

The public will get a chance to see in detail how their stimulus money is being spent when data is released about the $787 billion stimulus package on the website Recovery.gov today. (Huffington Post)

Concerned about Social Security recipients, veterans, and people on disability payments struggling to make ends meet, President Obama is asking Congress to send them each a $250 check next year. (Christian Science Monitor)

A new study found that the recession is taking a big toll on working moms: Over half of the 1,000-plus women surveyed reported working longer hours, while just one in four women without children and one in three men reported doing so. (U.S. News & World Report)…

Recession Briefing 8.4: Blankfein Warns Goldman Execs on Personal Spending

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

Vermont’s Eric Hagen, sole proprietor of Recession Ride Taxi, has built his business on his slogan: “Pay What You Want!” (Burlington Free Press)

Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein has warned his employees to avoid making big-ticket, high-profile purchases as the firm hunkers down amid a firestorm of public and political anger over outsize bonus payments. (New York Post)

A New York City woman who says she can’t find a job is suing the college where she earned a bachelor’s degree for the $70,000 she paid in tuition. (MSNBC)

If you come across a good article or blog post about the recession pass it on. To receive Recession Briefing in your inbox, subscribe to our daily email.

Recession Briefing 8.3: Housing is Back

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

By every measure, except foreclosures, the housing market has stabilized and many areas are recovering, according to a spate of data released in the past two weeks. (Los Angeles Times)

Families are expected to spend 8 percent less on back-to-school purchases, including everything from new shoes to dorm room gear, the National Retail Federation forecasts. Also, Recessionwire: 10 stores offering deals. (Associated Press)

Strapped local and state governments are still spending on at least one activity: seeking stimulus money. (Wall Street Journal)…

Recession Briefing 4.14

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

Six months after taking a $10 billion bailout from the government, Goldman Sachs has posted a profit and is hoping to return the money — not least in order to escape heightened government scrutiny. (New York Times)

White House economic adviser Christina Romer expects that there will be more job losses in the coming months. Still, officials are detecting “small little signs that maybe some parts of the economy are stabilizing.” (Associated Press)

With the recession digging deep into Americans’ pockets, there is likely to be a large upswing in the number of first-time delinquent taxpayers. (Reuters)

Prices paid to U.S. producers fell unexpectedly in March after two months of gains, indicating the recession is keeping inflation under control. (Bloomberg)

If you come across a good article or blog post about the recession pass it on.

Tax Tips for the Unemployed

You already know that networking can help you find a new job. But you might not know that the IRS offers an assist, too. You can deduct many of your job-hunting expenses. That’s not that surprising, since it’s in the Internal Revenue Service’s best interest to have you earning taxable income. Uncle Sam’s tax help, however, does have its limits. Here’s what you need to know.

Itemizing required
You must itemize deductions on Schedule A to count your job-hunting expenses. That task is further limited by a threshold amount you must meet. Your job search costs are considered miscellaneous expenses. As such, they are deductible only when they, and all other allowable expenses in this category, are more than 2 percent of your adjusted gross income.

We Don’t Need More Tax Cuts

Republicans in Congress seem pretty sure that tax cuts are the way out of the recession, and they want to see more in the stimulus package that goes to the president’s desk. But when they go to vote on the package today, they’ll likely be taking the country in the wrong direction: Americans need more government spending, not more tax cuts.

Read more…