Snappy newsletters. Simple Facebook sharing. Spirited comments. Sweet features are waiting… GET THEM NOW!

Hot on Facebook

'Serpent Pastor' Dies of Snake Bite Mack Wolford believed faith compelled him to face the risk »

Business Is Booming on Appalachian Trail

In echoes of Depression-era hobos, hikers subsist on bartered farm labor

By Jane Yager, Newser Staff

Posted Sep 21, 2009 1:00 PM CDT

(Newser) – The Appalachian Trail has been packed this year, as the unemployed wait out the bad economy by hiking almost 2,200 miles between Maine and Georgia—and often pay for the journey by working as they go, the Wall Street Journal reports. The trail offers... Read full story »

COMMENTS

Read the comment policy

You need to Log in to Newser to comment. Don't have an account yet? Sign up now!

5 comments

A snapshot of the day's best news stories.

View Larger Grid

All Today Yesterday Pick a Date

What's Popular Now on Facebook

'Serpent Pastor' Dies of Snake Bite

Miami Face-Eater Identified

Wall Street Journal (Source Grid »)

Money • US

hiking • recession • unemployment • Appalachian Trail

More Newser Stories

Fed Sees High Unemployment All Next Year

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»

Paycheck Data Dismal in 2010

...Unless you were a millionaire

(NEWSER) - The Social Security Administration quietly released payroll data for 2010 yesterday, and they were “in a word, awful,” writes David Cay Johnston at Reuters —assuming you’re not a millionaire, that is. The number of people making at least $1 million rose by 20%, jumping from 78,000 to almost 94,000. But for everyone else, there were fewer jobs and they paid less. The median paycheck fell 1.2% to $26,364, or $507 a week, its lowest level, adjusting for inflation, since 1999. More»

US Incomes Fell More After Recession Than During It

Median household income down 6.7% between June 2009, June 2011

(NEWSER) - US incomes continued to fall after the 2007 recession was declared over—at an even steeper rate than during the recession, according to a recent analysis. Inflation-adjusted median household income fell 6.7% between June 2009 and June 2011. During the two-year recession, incomes fell 3.2%. The full four-year drop is the largest in several decades, reports the New York Times . Incomes continued to fall even as the economy grew stronger and unemployment fell slightly, according to an analysis of Census data. More»

CBO: 'Profound' Challenges Ahead

Deficit should fall, but employment, growth remain low

(NEWSER) - The picture for 2011 is a glum one—a $1.3 trillion deficit, 9.1% unemployment rate—and it's not going to get much brighter in the next few years, according to a report by the Congressional Budget Office. In it, notes Politico , the CBO warns of "profound budgetary and economic challenges" and growth "well below the economy’s potential." Unemployment won't dip below 8% until 2014, it predicts. More»

Only McDonald's Saved Us From Losing Jobs

Depressing: That one-day hiring binge kept us in the black

(NEWSER) - Just how lousy were today's unemployment numbers ? Employers created a meager 54,000 jobs, way under expectations. Alex Goldmark at Good points out that if not for McDonald's one-day hiring binge of 62,000 jobs, the nation would have had a net loss. "That's what makes today's numbers all the more depressing," he writes. "If it weren't for the country's largest restaurant chain going on a burger flipper binge, the reports wouldn't say 'sharp slowdown' they'd say 'reversal' or 'devastating.'" More»

NEWS FROM OUR PARTNERS

What is Newser?

Face it: there's too much news. At Newser, we choose the most thought-provoking and entertaining stories from hundreds of US and international sources and reduce them to a headline, picture, and two paragraphs. And we do it 24/7—you can come back morning, noon, night (and in between) for something new that matters. Read less, know more.

Learn more »

Partnering with: Slate

View Newser on the mobile website

Business Is Booming on Appalachian Trail

In echoes of Depression-era hobos, hikers subsist on bartered farm labor

hiking • recession • unemployment • Appalachian Trail

MOST POPULAR STORIES

[ By Views ]

[ By Comments ]

More Newser Stories

Fed Sees High Unemployment All Next Year

Forecast sees it at 8.6% at end of 2012

Paycheck Data Dismal in 2010

...Unless you were a millionaire

US Incomes Fell More After Recession Than During It

Median household income down 6.7% between June 2009, June 2011

CBO: 'Profound' Challenges Ahead

Deficit should fall, but employment, growth remain low

Only McDonald's Saved Us From Losing Jobs

Depressing: That one-day hiring binge kept us in the black

About Us

Site

Community

Site Maps

Tools

More News

What is Newser?