The unemployment rate dropped to 8.1%, the lowest in three years, but the April figures from the U.S. Department of Labor are sobering because only 115,000 jobs were added, much fewer than expected. more ›

Spark a blunt and crack open a Coors Light Iced T: NYC saw a net gain of 71,400 jobs between January 2011 and January 2012! Er, actually, sell the blunt and return the beer: NYC's unemployment rate rose again in January to 9.3 percent, up from 9.1 percent in December, a 16-month high. So more New Yorkers found jobs but more New Yorkers are unemployed, according to the state Department of Labor, which seems to be moonlighting as the Department of Messing With Our Minds. more ›

Cue up the Tom Hanks-narrated Obama 2012 campaign video! According to the U.S. Department of Labor, 29% of private-sector jobs that were cut during the downturn have been restored. Nonfarm payroll employment rose by 227,000 in February, and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 8.3% (making it the lowest rate in three years). Reuters analyst Felix Salmon is feeling groovy this morning, writing, "This is looking like a real trend: the recovery in the American jobs market is going as well as anybody could reasonably expect." He adds: more ›

During the Republican National Convention in 2004, protesters formed a symbolic unemployment line from Wall Street to Madison Square Garden, holding pink slips to raise awareness about America's unemployment. The unemployment rate that year was 5.5%, last year it hovered around to 9%—and that doesn't factor in all the people who have given up searching for work. So why was today's attempt to revive that 2004 demonstration so much smaller? Well, the frigid weather surely didn't help, not to mention the early 8:14 a.m. start time. (Live! With Kelly starts at 9, for one thing.) more ›

Today, the House of Representatives and Senate both "passed a deal to extend the payroll-tax-cut through year-end, continue unemployment benefits and avoid a steep cut in Medicare doctors' fees," as the Wall Street Journal reports. The House passed the measure 292-132 (91 Republicans and 41 Democrats were against it) while the Senate's vote was 60 to 36 (30 Republicans, 5 Democrats and 1 Independent were against it)—you can see the breakdown of the vote here—Congress, Senate. more ›

The U.S. Labor Department announced that 243,000 jobs were added in January, sending the unemployment rate to 8.3%, its lowest point since Feburary 2009. more ›

Unemployment may be down but it certainly isn't gone. And one Bed-Stuy salon is doing its part to pitch in. In the vein of the pay-what-you-can Greek restaurant in Williamsburg comes Donna's Hair Salon in Bed-Stuy, which is offering job seekers free haircuts. more ›

Today, the U.S. Department of Labor announced that unemployment fell to 8.6% in November, the lowest since March 2009. According to Bloomberg News, "Payrolls climbed 120,000, after a revised 100,000 increase in October, with more than half the hiring coming from retailers and temporary help agencies." more ›

Even though everybody knows that the recession was over years ago, some people are still feeling its impact, especially those working for the much-demonized public sector, which is shedding jobs under the increasing pressure for fiscal austerity. However, there is one group that is hit particularly hard by the loss of public-sector employment: African Americans. The Times reports that one in five black workers are employed by the public sector, and they're also one-third more likely to hold such a job than whites. more ›

Despite the 9% unemployment rate, unprecedented public disillusionment and the fact that the name of the event itself conjures a pestilence that killed at least 150 million people, Americans came together to spend $11.4 billion on Black Friday, a 6.6% increase and the largest amount ever. "Still, it's just one day," ShopperTrak's founder Bill Martin tells Bloomberg News. "It remains to be seen whether consumers will sustain this behavior through the holiday shopping season." Yes, keep your fingers crossed for more appalling acts committed in the name of unchecked consumerism. more ›

The U.S. Department of Labor announced that 80,000 jobs were added last month, which means the unemployment rate has dropped to 9.0%, from 9.1% in September. However, don't get too excited, because economists were hoping for more jobs. more ›

Besides the absence of baby pigeons, one of life's great mysteries is that in many cases you need to be gainfully employed so that someone else will hire you. No one likes a layabout, especially human resource departments who would rather not see that CRITICAL gap in your LinkedIn profile. But Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer tells the Daily News that such discrimination "is an outrageous bias that has no place in New York," and says he will lobby city council and Albany for a bill banning the practice. more ›

The United States added 103,000 jobs in September, which was more than what economists expected (Bloomberg News' survey put the increase at 60,000). Unemployment is still at 9.1%, which is what it was in August. more ›

One of the first of the 80 protesters to be arrested during the Occupy Wall Street protests on Saturday was a young man who dropped to his knees in the street in front of a Chase Bank. He repeatedly screamed "That's the bank that took my family's home!" before being arrested. But now, Glenn Beck's news website The Blaze claims that they talked to the man's mother, and at no point was their house ever in foreclosure. more ›

Nothing takes the sting out of getting laid off like a bottle of Night Train and a good cry. But Hallmark thinks we can do better, and in the spirit of our country's 9.1% unemployment rate, the company that sells feelings for $3 has created a new category: "Loss of Job." The cards will sit next to the "Sorry I Screwed My Stepdad" and "Our Condolences About Your Back Hair" sections. more ›

Around 7:30 p.m. last night, filmmaker Michael Moore visited the Occupy Wall Street encampment at Zuccotti Park and gave a brief speech. "I am so impressed by what I'm seeing here," Moore said. "You have done something very important and very historic. It had to happen somewhere, it might as well have been here." more ›

Mayor Bloomberg may have plenty of patience to go through a few swatches to get the PERFECT color of drapes, but he will not tolerate the return of the indigent squeegee men. "The police department has a lot to do, but we're not walking away from squeegee guys when they rear their heads…with their buckets and sponge," he said. Well! See if we ever give his Gulfstream a shine again. more ›

In a conference with investors earlier today, Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan announced that the company would cut $5 billion in annual costs by the year 2014. This means that the bank will lay off "at least" 30,000 jobs out of BOA's 288,000 current employees. "It's taking out work we don't need to do any more, and getting it out of the company," Moynihan tells the Times. The layoffs will occur over the next few years, giving BOA employees on the chopping block plenty of time to steal as many office supplies that they possibly can. more ›

Besides whale bone back-scratchers, one of the best parts about being rich is that you make money because you're rich. In 2008, the 400 wealthiest taxpayers made 60 percent of their income in the form of capital gains (profits from investments), and 8 percent in salary and wages. Meanwhile, the rest of the country made 5 percent in capital gains, and 72 percent in salary and wages. Under the current tax code, billionaires pay less than anyone making more than $34,500 in wages on capital gains earnings. This is because, as one Yale professor tells WaPo, “the amount of lobbying that takes place on tax policy from the deep-pocketed interests that have the most at stake is enormous." Maybe all those unemployed people should just become lobbyists? more ›

"Mister Comptroller" and foe of Wall Street John Liu believes that President Obama's $447 billion jobs package "if enacted, will deliver significant benefits to New York City's economy." In a release, Liu states that the payroll and Social Security tax cuts cut proposed by the American Jobs Act "would provide a total benefit of $4.8 billion to New York City workers," and would save someone who makes $25K a year $775, and $3,100 for those making $100K. Liu's office makes no mention of Obama's scrapped proposal of "providing a dual Netflix account to every citizen through 2015." more ›

The U.S. Labor Department's jobs report is worse than anticipated: for the first time in 11 months, there was no net increase in jobs. The unemployment rate held steady at 9.1 percent, and if you factor in people who are underemployed or have simply given up looking for a job, the real unemployment rate (at least in New York) is more like 15 percent. more ›

A ramp worker at JFK airport was arrested yesterday for stealing a suitcase full of $10,000 cash and other expensive goodies after it was accidentally left on the plane. Who would leave a suitcase containing $10,000 on an airplane? The publisher of "the definitive authority on connoisseurship for ultra-affluent consumers," (AKA the Robb Report) William Curtis! This would have never happened had Curtis used the tailor-made leather "lock-brief." Although he would probably need the laser-guided, crocodile skin "Bill Crammer" to fit $10K into that man-purse. more ›

When was the last time you got a raise? HAHA just kidding, you're probably not even employed! But if you happen to be an executive at one of 200 of the largest companies in the US (and are reading this to "keep up with the little people") your annual pay rose by 23% in 2010, to an average of $10.8 million. Meanwhile, us plebes were making an average of $752 a week, which with inflation is less than we made in 2009. Insider investment tip: the future is in guillotine manufacturers. more ›

Cheer up recent grads, the unemployment level here in New York City in April dipped to 8.6 percent, down from 8.7 percent in March and 9.8 percent in April 2010, according to the New York State Labor Board. Though it doesn't take into account people who have simply stopped looking for jobs, the new numbers are the lowest for New York since March 2009. more ›

The U.S. Department of Labor announced that unemployment fell from 9.4% in December to 9% in January. This is the lowest unemployment level since April 2009. Still, job growth was weaker than expected, with only 36,000 jobs created, "partly the result of severe snow storms that slammed large parts of the nation." more ›

This year more New Yorkers are getting what they really want for the holidays...jobs. Despite a high national unemployment rate, the New York City rate continues to drop from its high of 10.5 percent last year to 9.1 percent. Guess that Bloomberg-Spiderman collaboration paid off. more ›

Even though the recession has been over for some time, it's still tough to find a job in the city. Many qualified graduates with diverse degrees have had to settle for jobs in service or retail to make ends meet while sending out countless resumes to accounting firms or publishing houses. Not that jobs in the service industry aren't great, they just aren't for everyone. So you can imagine how excited we got when a Daily News headline read, "Companies are looking to start staffing up again." Callooh! Callay! Jobs for everyone! And then we read further: "Many of the businesses currently looking for staff are retailers, restaurants and hotels, all of whom are gearing up for the influx of tourists for the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays." more ›