hiring

The economic turmoil that has left many Americans without work is having a disproportionate effect on teenage job-seekers, whose quest for entry-level positions often pits them against experienced older workers willing to take any job for a paycheck.

A burst of hiring in December pushed the unemployment rate to its lowest level in nearly three years, giving the economy a boost at the end of 2011. The Labor Department said Friday that employers added a net 200,000 jobs last month and the unemployment rate fell to 8.5 percent, the lowest since February 2009. The rate has dropped for four straight months.

Stocks are opening slightly lower despite a government report that the unemployment rate dropped in December to the lowest level in nearly three years. The Labor Department said early Friday that the unemployment rate fell last month to 8.5%, while U.S. employers added a net 200,000 jobs.

By most indications, the U.S. economy is recovering fairly well for the time being. But across the Pond in Europe, another story is unfolding that has the stock market worried -- and it should have your attention, too.

Far fewer people are seeking unemployment benefits than just three months ago %u2014 a sign that layoffs are falling sharply. The number of people applying for benefits fell last week to 366,000, the fewest since May 2008. If the number stayed that low consistently, it would likely signal that hiring is strong enough to lower unemployment.

Two-thirds of chief executives of the largest U.S. companies don't plan to hire in the next six months, mainly because of sluggish growth in the United States and financial turmoil in Europe. The Business Roundtable says that about one-third of its member CEOs expect to add employees and spend more on large equipment in the next six months.

Hiring slowed in October as employers faced more uncertainty over future economic growth. The Labor Department says the economy added 80,000 jobs last month, the fewest in four months and below September's revised total of 158,000. The unemployment rate dipped to 9%.

The New York Times has found some unemployed people to argue against an extension of jobless benefits: "In a recent survey of the unemployed by Rutgers University, more than one in four respondents was opposed to renewing the current extended unemployment benefits.

No matter when a person gets laid off, it can have long-lasting financial consequences -- among them, a wage gap that persists for years. But a new study reveals that men who are part of a mass layoff during a recession lose 72% more over their lifetimes than men who lose jobs in during periods of economic growth.

After a long spell in which one or both spouses were unemployed, a couple with three kids finds themselves $50,000 in debt. Now, with wife and husband back at work, they're aiming to get all their financial pins in a row and bowl a strike. DailyFinance's Laura Rowley offers a strategy for success.