Wall Street's Woes Hit Sesame Street

Another hurdle for job-seekers as unemployment nears 10%

(NEWSER) - Finding a job when unemployment is at 9.4% is hard enough. But the recently laid-off have another hurdle to contend with: Many employers are most interested in attracting candidates who are still working, the Wall Street Journal reports. “If they’re employed in today’s economy, they have to be first string,” says a partner at an executive recruiting firm. More»

(NEWSER) - For 35 years, Eddie Doyle has been the most famous bartender at Boston’s most famous bar, pouring drinks, signing autographs, and raising more than $1 million for charity along the way. Now, he’s unemployed. Cheers, the bar that inspired the TV show of the same name, has laid Doyle off, the Boston Globe reports. "I'm a casualty of the economic situation that we're in," he says. More»

(NEWSER) - The airwaves are getting a lot more mature. On Sunday, 15 cities saw an Absolut Vodka ad during the Grammy Awards, the first time in years that a liquor commercial has run in prime time on a network-owned station. Other ads not suitable for innocent ears (K-Y Jelly, anyone?) are surfacing elsewhere in prime time for one reason: With the recession in full swing, media outlets can’t be as picky, the LA Times reports. More»

626,000 claims filed last week, far more than expected

(AP) - New jobless claims jumped far more than expected last week in an already dismal labor market, and there's no relief in sight for workers as mass layoffs persist. The Labor Department reports that the number of laid-off workers seeking jobless benefits rose last week to 626,000 from the previous week's 591,000. The latest total exceeds expectations by 43,000. More»

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.