Japan Says 'Sayonara' to Downturn

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»

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»

This kind of stalled job growth often leads to recession: David Leonhardt

(NEWSER) - Bleak reading for the White House ahead of the president's jobs speech : David Leonhardt of the New York Times thinks the odds of a double-dip recession have spiked of late and might be around 50-50 now. The US had been putt-putting along in what looked to be a modest recovery for about a year until this spring, when job growth stalled. Since then, we're averaging about 40,000 new jobs a month, he notes, and "the last time such a meager increase did not coincide with a recession came in the 1950s." More»

Nasdaq, S&P also post huge gains

(AP) - Another crazy day for the markets, but this time they ended way up in positive territory. The Dow rose 430 points to close at 11,239, up nearly 4%. The Nasdaq rose 125 to 2,483 (5.29%) and the S&P 500 jumped 53 to 1,173 (4.74%). The Dow had been up triple digits most of the day until the Fed came out with a statement after 2pm saying that because the economy is weaker than thought, it would leave interest rates unchanged for another two years. More»