Recession Is Kaput; Now for the 'Smart Economy'

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.

Construction, manufacturing particularly hit hard

(NEWSER) - Only 7% of people who lost their jobs since the financial crisis of 2008 have returned to jobs as good as or better than the ones they used to have, reports the New York Times . Most people who have found new work say it is less lucrative, and 15% say that reduction has been "dramatic" and most likely permanent, according to a new study released today by the John J. Heldrich Center for Workforce Development at Rutgers. “The news is strikingly bad,” said a professor of public policy and political science, adding that the numbers represent “a tremendous impression of dislocation and pain and wasted talent.” 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»

It avoided harsh austerity measures and is doing better: Paul Krugman

(NEWSER) - Markets are thrilled that Europe finally cut a deal, "however vague the details and however inadequate it may prove," writes Paul Krugman in the New York Times . The deal is better than nothing, he writes, but it once again highlights the misguided doctrine he says is doing great harm to the US and Europe: the idea "that, in the aftermath of a financial crisis, banks must be bailed out but the general public must pay the price." At a time when governments should be spending to create jobs, they're buying into the false notion that austerity will work instead. More»

At least new industries arose in the 1930s: Leonhardt

(NEWSER) - There's never a Great Depression around when you need one, apparently. Despite its misery, "the United States economy was quietly making enormous strides during the 1930s," argues David Leonhardt in the New York Times . Americans were getting a better education—high school, back then—while industrious entrepreneurs were inventing television, mass marketing refrigerators, and improving railroads. "It would clearly be nice if we could take some comfort from this bit of history," writes Leonhardt. "If anything, though, the lesson of the 1930s may be the opposite one." More»