3 Million US Job Openings Isn't a Good Thing

But most remain upbeat about their future: Pew survey

(NEWSER) - The economy is doing a number on those aged 18 to 34, according to a new survey from the Pew Research Center :

• Half say they have taken a job they didn't want.
• More than a third have gone back to school because of the job market.
• Nearly a quarter have taken unpaid work to gain experience.
• About a quarter have moved back in with the folks.
• More than 1 in 5 have postponed having a baby, and about the same number have put off getting married.

It was a surprise drop, notes Bloomberg

(NEWSER) - Unexpected visit from the in-laws: bad news. Unexpected drop in jobless claims: very good news. Though Bloomberg reports that economists anticipated that the number of Americans filing first-time jobless claims would hold steady around 390,000, it instead dropped by 19,000 last week, to 366,000. The last time it was that low? May 2008, a long-ago era when Jennifer Aniston was dating John Mayer and Newser thought "twittering" was an appropriate verb. Reuters notes that the number is approaching the 350,000 mark, one that analysts consider a sign of "more sustained improvement in the job market." Stocks rose on the news, notes Marketwatch . More»

They also want to keep millionaires off food stamps

(NEWSER) - The GOP has found some millionaires it won't stand up for: Millionaires on food stamps. House Republicans have added a measure to their payroll tax holiday bill that would cut off food stamps and unemployment benefits for people with a gross adjusted income of $1 million or more, the New York Times reports. Of course, there aren't actually any millionaires receiving food stamps, which are already means-tested. But some do collect unemployment benefits, which in 2009 cost the government almost $21 million. More»

Forecast sees it at 8.6% at end of 2012

(NEWSER) - If President Obama were hoping for a quick election-year turnaround in the jobless rate, the Federal Reserve burst his bubble today. The Fed projected unemployment will be at 8.6% at the end of 2012, not much better than the 9.1% registered in September of this year, reports the Wall Street Journal . The projections don't get remarkably better after that: The Fed sees the rate at 8% by the end of 2013 and 7.7% the following year. More»

He wants to address joint session on Sept. 7

(NEWSER) - Congress will hear about President Obama's plan to create jobs directly from the source: He has asked to address a joint session at 8pm EST on Sept. 7, reports the Hill . His plan would be delivered on the same night and the same time as a GOP presidential debate in California, notes the Washington Post , and will follow Jon Huntsman's proposal today and Mitt Romney's on Tuesday. More»