Put New Stimulus to Work for Unemployed

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%.

243K jobs were added in January: jobs report

(NEWSER) - The unemployment rate had been expected to hold steady at 8.5%, with just 125,000 jobs added—instead, unemployment fell to 8.3% and 243,000 jobs were added last month, according to January's better-than-expected jobs report. The report has Wall Street Journal bloggers particularly effusive: "America's back, baby. America's back." Stock futures are also up on the news, the Journal notes. More»

Voters care about change in unemployment rate

(NEWSER) - Will next year's election depend on "the economy, stupid"? History shows that despite high unemployment, President Obama could still reclaim the White House based on the economy's performance, the AP reports. That's because voters react to the change in unemployment, not its absolute number. What they care about: whether the unemployment rate has fallen in the two years before the presidential election. More»

200K jobs added in December: jobs report

(NEWSER) - A better-than-expected jobs report shows that 2011 ended with a bang: The unemployment rate fell to 8.5% last month, the lowest since February 2009, and 200,000 new jobs were added, the Wall Street Journal reports. The jobs report was expected to be solid, but not this solid: Unemployment had been expected to rise from 8.6% to 8.7%, and 150,000 new jobs were forecasted, according to the AP . More good news: October's jobs were revised upward by 12,000, but November's were revised downward by around 2,000. More»

Economy added 120K jobs in November

(NEWSER) - Today's jobs report brings good cheer to the holiday season: The unemployment rate has dropped to 8.6%, the lowest it has been since March 2009, the AP reports. The rate had been expected to hold steady at 9%, the Wall Street Journal adds. The economy added 120,000 jobs in November, when 125,000 had been expected, and October's original number of 80,000 new jobs was adjusted upward to 100,000. September was also revised up by 52,000 jobs—the fourth straight month the government revised prior months higher. More»