Recession

The good news is that jobs are coming back, the bad news is the pay of those jobs are far from stellar, said CNN. According to experts, this job recovery is mainly driven by temp and low-wage jobs, which is concerning. "Growth has been concentrated in mid-wage and lower-wage industries. By contrast, higher-wage industries showed weak growth and even net losses," said Annette Bernhardt, a co-director for the National Employment Law Project.

However, not all high-wage jobs have been affected — positions for registered nurses, considered to be very high-paying jobs, are expected to have the most increase in the next decade. It's not certain whether this job trend will continue, and it'll be dependent on many factors, including the global economic recovery. For job hunters who are anxiously searching, check out the fields that have had the most job growth.

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Another year passes, and more tales of bankruptcies and unexpected aftereffects of the recession emerge. It was a close call, but SavvySugar readers voted Blockbuster going bankrupt as the most shocking effect of the recession this year. Blockbuster beat out surprising trends like single, older women moving in together to save money, millionaires gobbling up McDonald's to budget, libraries turning into for-profit entities, as well as Warren Buffett saying we should tax the super wealthy (like himself).

It seems that although people are turning to online rentals and streaming services because of convenience and speed, Blockbuster still holds a special place in America's heart. I'm sure plenty of you have great memories of the famous blue and gold store and are used to seeing it around. However, changing times means a change of guards, and Netflix now holds the title as the gatekeeper to entertainment. I'm betting former Blockbuster CEO John Antioco regrets laughing at and turning down Netflix's offer to partner up in 2000.

Source: Flickr User jswafford

Apparently December is a busy time for plastic surgeons, as people start gifting each other with cosmetic surgeries. In fact, Massachusetts-based Dr. Min S. Ahn tells CNN that December is when his schedule is the most packed because it's a good time for people to take time off and hide their surgeries. It's even busier for Dr. Ahn this holiday season due to the gradual rebound in the economy. I guess there's a correlation between cosmetic surgeries and the country's economic climate.

People can get pretty creative with trying to surprise recipients with their surgery gift — this one guy apparently put breast implants in a box for his wife under a Christmas tree! This is certainly not your ordinary holiday present; how would you feel if someone gave you some plastic surgery for Xmas?

New unemployment figures were released yesterday, and they show that not only is unemployment still almost 10 percent, it is higher than in the previous months.

Even more gloomy? The 9.8 percent unemployment rate includes a record number of discouraged workers. About 1.3 million jobless Americans were counted in that category, which means that over 400,000 more workers than last year have stopped even looking for work because they believe that there is no job out there for them.

On the whole, the net gain of 39,000 additional jobs was far fewer than both October's numbers and the gain that everyone expected. And with the debate about extending recently expired unemployment benefits still going strong, these new figures are another reminder that our "jobless recovery" has continued to be rough for many Americans. From dealing with a lay off to advising a friend who's unemployed, how are you coping with our slow-growing economy?

There's a huge debate going on with the government about extending unemployment benefits. If you have not been following up on what's happening, here is a quick snapshot:

• Right now, there's too much squabbling in Congress on whether to reauthorize the unemployment checks and how they should fund it. It's pretty much a waiting game to see how lawmakers will react.
• If the benefits expire, almost two million people will see their unemployment checks run out by Christmas as they have been collecting the benefits for 99 weeks (or about two years) which is the maximum time allotted for these checks.
• The time limit used to run up to 26 weeks, but have been extended about eight times since the recession.
• Some experts are saying that cutting off benefits will be bad for our economy, because it will reduce consumer spending, which will lead to less jobs.
• Others say that extending it will provide less incentive for people to find jobs.
• An average employment check per week costs $290, says the National Employment Law Project.
• The national unemployment rate was 9.6 percent in October, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
• 8.5 million Americans currently get benefits.
• To extend the benefits for another year would cost the government $60 billion.

Many of you have been there before. We've asked you in the past what's the longest you've been unemployed, and received an overwhelming number of responses. We've talked a lot about this issue and have given tips on how to file for unemployment and what you should do if you've been laid off. I want to hear from you now — do you think Congress should extend the benefits?

A few hours of snooze time could've nipped the economic collapse problem in the bud. Maybe. That's what my revelation was last night, which hit me when Arianna Huffington spoke at the Commonwealth Club, a nonprofit organization that holds public forums for the greatest minds and influencers.

At the end of each Commonwealth speaking engagement, the moderators always asks their high-profile guest to voice a 60-second pitch to change the world. Arianna, the woman who made the magic of Huffington Post happen, replied in less than a minute and said, "Get enough sleep." Wait a minute. That's it? Don't tell me that issues like the 8 million Americans who lost their jobs last year, the 1.4 million who filed for bankruptcy, and more personally, my friend who is on the verge of losing her house, can be solved with a simple trip to dreamland?

Of course, Arianna was half joking, but at the same time, there was a tone of truth to it. The news website mogul said she really believes that if leaders were sleeping enough, they would be wiser about their decisions. Even President Obama and his economic brain team, which includes Timothy Geithner and Larry Summers, need to have a good work-life balance. Let's face it, they're humans too. This means they can burn out, just like everyone else.

I've constantly talked about the dangers of being sleep-deprived, such as how it can result in mental problems, so Arianna's comment on shuteye just further drives the importance of sleep home. Do yourself a favor, and take heed from Arianna's words: "It's time to get some sleep."

Here's another trend to add onto our list of baffling effects of the recession: more single women over fifty are moving in with roomies they find through their version of Craigslist, according to SmartMoney. They are turning to agents who work for home-sharing companies that specialize in matching these golden girls up. One reason for this shift is financial necessity, and another is pure loneliness. Moving in together with someone gives these women a sense of comfort and a chance to socialize, says Ken Dychtwald, an expert who studies aging. Dychtwald predicts that numbers of older women living together "will unquestionably multiply in years to come."

This burgeoning trend sounds like it can be a good idea if the pair-up is right. After all, you certainly don't want to deal with nightmare roommates when you're facing retirement issues!

It's important for people to know how and why our global economy came crashing down in 2008. Inside Job, a documentary by Charles Ferguson, makes the concepts behind the financial meltdown easy to digest. At the same time, it's hard to swallow the fact that several key people in the government worked for the best interests of the banks and not the greater good of the American public. In fact, the financial crisis wasn't created in the last few years. The seeds were planted decades back and were largely brought about by the merging of Wall Street and the government. Too many finance executives took high-level government positions, and supported the wallets of bankers.

In addition, the film not only highlights the intermingling between the interests of banks and the government, but also unexpectedly reveals the links to academia. Many prominent professors wrote papers on topics in which they were given financial incentive to skew it a certain way. In fact, a current professor at the business school of Columbia University, Frederic Mishkin, wrote a paper touting Iceland's financial stability in 2006 that he was paid $124,000 for. Iceland went bankrupt October of 2008.

I talked to Audrey Marrs, producer of Inside Job, who had also worked with Charles on a previous documentary called No End In Sight. To find out what Audrey had to share about the film, read more after the jump

I'm telling you, if you want to make it with the in crowd on Twitter, pal up with the wallet-friendly airlines like @JetBlue and @SouthwestAir. These budget airlines are the ones with the most friends on the social networking platform among all the US airlines. According to data from this morning, JetBlue dominates the Twitter market with about 1.6 million followers. Meanwhile, Southwest comes in second with around one million followers. Even though @VirginAmerica, a budget airline under the umbrella brand of Virgin, is more limited in the locations they fly to, the airline still ranks third in terms of Twitter friends.

To find out what it means for airlines to be popular on Twitter, read on.