Consumerist
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follow ups
Capital One Activates Payment Protection Plan Thanks To EECB
Earlier this week, I posted about a college student who couldn't get Capital One's Emergency Payment Protection Plan activated on his account because of missed deadlines. Andon wrote back today to say that after he sent an EECB to the credit card company's executives, they apologized and activated the service. More » -
budgets
What You Need To Know About Today's Unemployment Benefits Extension
If you're still struggling to find a job in the current economy, you'll be happy to know that this morning President Obama is expected to sign legislation to extend benefits for few more months. The New York Times has more info on how the extension will work, and who qualifies for it.
"Extended Unemployment Benefits: F.A.Q." [New York Times]
(Photo: Kapungo and laurenatclemson) -
recession watch
Unemployment Hits A 26-Year High Of 10.2%
The pace of job losses has slowed significantly, but the economy still divested itself of 190,000 jobs in October, sending the national unemployment rate to 10.2%, says the Bureau of Labor Statistics. It should be noted that the unemployment rate only tracks people actively seeking work. More » -
in your wallet
Capital One Tricks Customer Into Not Activating Emergency Payment Protection Plan
Cory wrote in earlier to complain about Capital One's nasty habit of having their collection department call you to upsell you on other products. At almost the same time, Andon wrote to us to let us know that the company's protection plan—the sort of thing they're trying to sell to people like Cory—is useless unless you can manipulate time (Andon can't). More » -
assistance
Costco Will Expand Food Stamp Program Nationwide
It turns out more Costco customers use food stamps than CEO James D. Sinegal originally thought, because after a test run earlier this year the company has decided to roll out the program nationwide. More » -
lost generation
Being Unemployed In A Downturn Will Damage Your Career Forever
If you're just starting out in your career, BusinessWeek has some sobering news for you. Statistics show that people who come of age and spend the early years of their careers un- or underemployed will fall behind their always-employed peers in both earnings and career status, and most will never recover the lost ground. More » -
please look at my resume, barbara
Unemployment Visualized As A Zombie Outbreak
At some point, we're going to have to stop referring to every red-hued outbreak map as being zombie-like, but this is not that point. It's nearly Halloween, the #2 movie in the nation is Zombieland, and yesterday the president of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis warned that unemployment may exceed 10% before the end of the year. This is the appropriate way to view unemployment today. More » -
unemployment
6.3 Unemployed Americans Now Compete For Every Job Opening
As if your job search wasn't already discouraging enough, this month the Department of Labor reported that there are now 6.3 applicants competing for every job opening. That's the highest since the recession began. More » -
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recession watch
It Will Take You Six Months To Find A New Job
If you've been out of work for months, and still don't have any leads on your next job, you've got a lot of company. According to the latest government job report, the average job search now takes over six months, the longest average since the government started tracking unemployment in 1948. More » -
unemployment
13 More Weeks Of Unemployment Benefits For Some Americans
On Tuesday, the House voted to extend unemployment benefits for Americans who live in states where the unemployment rate is greater than 8.5 percent. 400,000 people were set to run out of benefits at the end of September, and will now continue to receive them until the end of the year if the bill passes. More » -
budgets
Couple Attempts To Stretch Half A Year's Pay Into A Full Year
CNN profiles a young family living in a Chicago suburb who have decided to carry out an experiment in frugal living—they want to see if they can reduce their expenses enough to get by on about half of what they made before the wife and sole breadwinner was laid off earlier this summer. More » -
job fairs
How To Win Your Local Job Fair
The anonymous, newly unemployed personal finance blogger behind Well-Heeled with a Mission put together a timely, helpful guide on how to avoid wasting your time at job fairs and actually come away with the experience with some positives rather than feel as though you've wasted your time in a cattle call. More » -
hotels
Hyatts In Boston Decide To Outsource Housekeeping
Housekeepers at three Hyatt hotels in Boston made over $15 an hour and had benefits like 401(k) retirement plans and health insurance. On August 31st, Hyatt laid them off en masse—after first having them train their replacements under the guise of creating a holiday fill-in staff—and turned the housekeeping duties over to an outside firm. More » -
recession watch
Bernanke Says The Recession Is "Likely Over"
Good news? Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke says that the recession is over, but that it won't really stop the rise of unemployment — currently at a 26-year high of 9.7%. More » -
job hunt
You're Ugly! You're Hired!
We love this column from Marty Nemko over at Kiplinger because it's sort of a go-get-'em morale booster to the ugly—only instead of boosting morale, it just gets more depressing as it goes on. But funny depressing. And after all the weird advice on watching your weight and avoiding hairpieces and wearing moderate makeup, Nemko makes an interesting case for why "ugly" people are better hires.
"Why I Like to Hire Ugly People" [Kiplinger]
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tax credits
Four Stimulus Benefits That Will Expire Soon
Kiplinger lists four ways you can still get some cash back from the government, although you'd better get a move on if you want to qualify. Included are a first-time home buyer's credit that goes away November 30th, a new car tax credit, a COBRA premium subsidy for people laid off, and a slight unemployment payment benefit.
"Take Advantage of These Stimulus Breaks Soon" [Kiplinger]
(Photo: miss karen) -
college
More Unemployed Alumni Sue Their College
Everyone (including us) snickered when an unemployed woman sued the college she had graduated from only months before, but the news story did help bring to light the overly optimistic or outright misleading claims made by some for-profit educational institutions. Now, thirteen former students of Everest College's Dallas campus have sued the school, claiming that they were misled about the transferability of the school's credits and their prospects for employment. More » -
simpsons did it
Laid-Off Workers Keep Up Appearances, Pretend To Be Employed
Earlier this week, the Washington Post shared the story of a man who tried hard to keep up appearances, and to carefully choreograph his routine so his friends and neighbors wouldn't think of him differently. Finally, he tired of the charade, and outed himself. As an unemployed person. More »
unemployment
New York, 5:25 AM
Mon Nov 9
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