America: A workforce on the wane

As unemployment returns from high recessionary levels, it is becoming clear that millions in the US have left the jobs market. But why?By Robin Harding

As promised, we're updating our chart showing the number of publicly-traded companies that have acted to decrease their dividends through the end of October 2012 - providing what might perhaps be the simplest and best near-real time picture of the state of the health of the U.S.

Editor’s Note: Luis A. Aguilar is a Commissioner at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. This post is based on a statement by Commissioner Aguilar; the full text, including footnotes, is available here.

Retailers are cutting jobs at the fastest rate in two years as they contend with a household squeeze that is pushing sales back to "recessionary levels".

Growth is back: “Gross domestic product expanded at an annual rate of 3.5 percent in the three months ending in September, a significant spike from a relatively shrunken base. The economy had contracted at annual rates of 0.7 percent and 6.4 percent in the first and second quarters of this year, respectively.”

Gawker's gaming blog Kotaku is reporting that Electronic Arts is cutting jobs today, eliminating as much as 10% of its workforce.

High school and college kids typically get the jobs that are left over, that no one else really wants, such as working at McDonalds. However, competition for any job is no so intense, that teens cannot find any job that no one else wants. As a result of that increased competition, Number of high-school students with jobs hits 20-year low