jobless

New forecasts show that the worst may be over for the construction industry, which was hit harder by the Great Recession than any other sector, as construction projects slowly resume. Some 27% of construction firms say they plan to add staff this year, while only 20% plan to cut jobs.

Americans who are unemployed or underemployed are three times as likely to fall behind on their bills as those who are fully employed, according to a Gallup Poll released Tuesday.

The U.S. economy has strengthened, but not enough for the government to pare down its bond-buying program, according to the latest Fed minutes. In late 2010, investments rose and the job market improved -- but the housing market remained depressed.

Economists generally expect employers to steadily add more workers in 2011, perhaps as many as 250,000 a month by year-end. However, with so many long-term unemployed returning to the market, the jobless rate could still outpace those new positions.

If the stock market reflected the entire economy, happy days would surely be here again. But, alas, it reflects just the profit potential of public companies. And for millions of unemployed Americans, that's proving to be no help at all.

Retailers and shipping companies are adding fewer new jobs than they did a year ago. One reason: employers began shopping for seasonal workers earlier than usual, boosting hiring in October. But if holiday retail sales hold up, it could equal more hiring in December.

Forget Christmas trees and fancy presents, what millions of Americans want this year is a job. As it is, nearly 2 million Americans are scheduled to lose unemployment benefits before Christmas. Unless Congress issues a last-minute reprieve, some of the jobless will get cut off from federal aid as early as Wednesday.

Initial jobless claims fell to the lowest level since July 2008 last week, dropping 34,000 to 407,000 in the week ending Nov. 20, the Department of Labor said Wednesday. The figures were sharply lower than economists' forecast of 435,000. Employers are slowly adding workers as the economy...

Come the end of November, some 2 million jobless workers won't be able to rely on their unemployment check unless Congress again extends the aid. But with the GOP regaining the House, the odds of that extension just got a lot longer.

Initial jobless claims rose more than forecast as the labor market struggles to add more jobs. Initial jobless claims by 20,000 to 457,000 in the week ending Oct.30, The Department of Labor said. The revised figure for the previous week was 437,000. A survey of analysts by Reuters forecast...