Avon, Mary Kay Defy Recession

Columbus, Indiana, and Casper, Wyoming top employment list

(NEWSER) - Recession—that's a big-city thing, right? Several mid-size cities around the US are making an argument for their economic superiority, boasting job growth higher than the 1.5% national average in 2011. You may not know these cities well, but the Christian Science Monitor recommends them:

1. Columbus, Indiana: No, not Ohio's Columbus: Indiana's version had 10% growth from 2009 to 2010, making it the best economic rebounder during the Great Recession. Jobs are up 6.4%.

Rick Perry boasts of limited gov't, but numbers tell different story

(NEWSER) - Rick Perry likes to boast that Texas' leading jobs creation rate comes from limiting taxes and government interference, but in fact many of those jobs are thanks to Washington. And thanks in particular to the military and surging federal spending—along with $25-billion in federal stimulus —government jobs in Texas have grown at twice the rate of private-sector jobs since Perry became governor, reports the Washington Post . In fact, since the recession hit in late 2007, private-sector employment in Texas has actually declined 0.6%, while public-sector jobs have increased 6.4%. More»

Data don't support hysterical headlines

(NEWSER) - Fears of a double-dip recession is running high, but economic data suggest that they are unfounded. Writing in the Wall Street Journal , Milton Ezrati of the money management firm Lord Abbett explains:

1. The consumer is regaining strength: A 1.4% decline in retail sales for May gave rise to double-dip fears, but that was after 10% advance over the past 12 months. Meanwhile, household income is on the rise, and Americans are saving more—suggesting they can keep up current spending while paying down debt.

Economy adds jobs, but more than expected were lost

(NEWSER) - January was the second month since the recession began in December 2007 that payrolls grew instead of fell, the Labor Department is expected to say in a report due out today. Some 5,000 new jobs were likely added last month, reports Reuters . Close to 4,000 jobs were added in June but there was a surprise drop of 85,000 in December. More»

Recession has been especially hard on traditionally male jobs

(NEWSER) - Male unemployment has hit an all-time high, with a whopping 1 of every 5 working-age American men jobless, according to the latest government figures. The economic downturn has been especially brutal on traditionally male-dominated fields like construction and manufacturing, the Huffington Post explains, leading some to label it a “mancession.” The figure includes many people standard unemployment figures don’t track, including those who’ve chosen not to look and those who have given up on job hunting. More»