Fed Holds Rates, Sees Economy 'Leveling Out'

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.

Fed says inflation on target, but unemployment high, growth sluggish

(NEWSER) - Don't get too excited about that pending economic rebound . The Federal Reserve's announcement it will keep interest rates super-low into 2014 is a key sign that the US economy is years away from truly recovering, reports the New York Times . Yes, the economy has picked up "moderately," said the Fed in a statement, but jobs are still scarce and growth is expected to be sluggish for the foreseeable future—2.7% in 2012, 3.2% in 2013, and perhaps as high as 4% in 2014. “What did we learn today? Things are bad, and they’re not improving at the rate that they want them to improve,” said the chief US economist at HSBC. More»

Bo Zhang accused of pilfering Treasury software

(NEWSER) - A Chinese computer programmer has been charged with stealing software code worth $9.5 million while working at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Prosecutors say Bo Zhang, a Chinese citizen who worked for a technology firm contracted to work on code at the New York Fed, copied a software system relating to the "tracking of the billions of dollars that are electronically transferred every day in the US’ general ledger" onto a hard drive, then copied those contents onto his home computer, Bloomberg reports. More»

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»