Cityfile: New York's Most Notable and Influential

The Recovery Is Well Underway, Clearly | Just in case you had doubts that the economy was bouncing back, there's more great news today. Enjoy. [Crain's]

Recession Not Quite Over, After All | The U.S. unemployment rate hit 10.2 percent in October, which is the highest it's been in 26 years. [NYT]

Unemployment Just Got a Little Less Miserable | There's a little good news today if you happen to be jobless. The House voted to give an additional 20 weeks of unemployment benefits to people who are out of work, and the bill is now headed to the White House for President Obama's signature. [NYT]

The Silver Lining to Unemployment | If you're currently jobless, consider the bright side: workplace deaths in New York City are on the rise! [AP]

Unemployment Goes Up, Work Week Goes Down | So much for those reports about the economy showing signs of improvement. According to the Labor Department, the unemployment rate climbed to 9.8 percent in September, which is the highest it's been since 1983. Even more depressing: 7.2 million jobs have been lost since the recession began, which represents the biggest decline since the Great Depression. The good news? If you're fortunate enough to have a job, chances are you aren't spending nearly as much time there as you used to. The average work week for American workers—33 hours—now stands at a record low. [Bloomberg, WSJ]

Unemployment Hits a High | With Labor Day right around the corner, you'd think the federal government could serve up a little positive news as we head into the long weekend, right? Apparently not. The unemployment rate stands at 9.7 percent, the Labor Department reports today, the highest it's been since June 1983. [CNN Money]

Good News/Bad News | As always, there's both some good and bad economic news today. The not-too-encouraging: The New York State Department of Labor reports that New York City's unemployment rate jumped to 9.6 percent last month, "surpassing the national unemployment rate for the first time since the recession began." Much better: Morgan Stanley is hiring 400 new employees! (If you don't know anything about emerging markets, foreign exchange, and/or derivatives, however, don't even bother taking the time to hunt for the latest version of your resume.) Regardless, feel free to focus on whichever piece of news suits you, depending on whether you're the glass-half-full or glass-half-empty type. [NYT, AP]

You may have been thinking the fact that you were laid off recently gave you a pretty good excuse to sleep in a little bit late, occasionally spend the mornings in your pajamas, and maybe even go an entire day without showering. How wrong you were! As the Wall Street Journal's Christina Binkley explains it, you'll need to get up earlier, dress better, and possibly take remedial English classes, too:More

Is that economic improvement we see? The Labor Department announced today that the unemployment rate dropped from 9.5 percent to 9.4 percent last month—even though analysts had been expecting it to increase—and while 247,000 American jobs were lost during July, that's the fewest number of losses since last August. It this evidence that things are going to be peachy keen from here on out? Not really. More

The Only Good News Is At Goldman | The unemployment situation in NYC isn't improving. The city's jobless rate jumped to 9.5 percent last month, which is almost double what it was a year ago and the highest it's been since July 1997. But there is some good news for unemployed Wall Streeters: It looks like banks are beginning to hire again. Of course, the very best news is reserved for people who happen to be employed by Goldman Sachs, who are on track to make $1 million this year, on average. If you fall into that last category, rest assured that everyone else in NYC is totally thrilled about your good fortune, isn't the slightest bit jealous, and only wishes you the very best. Promise! [Reuters]

Remember back in February when Mayor Bloomberg announced a program to "retrain" laid-off Wall Streeters for careers in other professions? No word yet on how former Bear Stearns brokers and Lehman mortgage traders have adjusted to their new careers as "repossession collection specialists"—a booming profession, we should point out—but the early signs must be encouraging, since Bloomberg now says he plans to do the same thing with unemployed media professionals, too:  More

Bad News All Around | The real estate market still sucks, in case you haven't noticed. According to reports issued by a handful of the city's biggest brokerages today, home sales were off 50 percent during the second quarter compared to same time period last year, and prices took a beating as well, naturally: The average sales price of a Manhattan apartment is now $1.31 million, according to Prudential Douglas Elliman, down 21 percent from a year ago. And today's report on unemployment courtesy of the U.S. Labor Department won't do much to lift your spirits. The jobless rate rose to 9.5 percent in June as the U.S. economy shed another 467,000 jobs. So is there anything good to report to offset all the bad news? We can't think of much, but we'll let you know if we come up with something. [Real Deal, NYT]

• Just in case you've missed the excitement on TV, Ben Bernanke appeared on Capitol Hill today to testify about Bank of America's acquisition of Merrill Lynch. Lawmakers grilled him, Bernanke played defense: quality entertainment as usual! [NYT, WSJ]
• Financier Allen Stanford appeared in court today and pleaded not guilty to charges he swindled investors out of $7 billion. [WSJ]
• The job market hasn't improved: The number of Americans filing jobless claims rose last week to the highest level in more than a month. [CNN]
• Good news! AIG is reducing its debt with the Fed by $25 billion. [NYT]
• Andrew Cuomo is recusing himself from the investigation into the hedge fund that handed his finances and is now tied to Cuomo's kickback query. [BN]

Unemployment Is Up, But So Are Temperatures | "The city's unemployment rate jumped to 9 percent in May, its highest level in more than a decade... The figures showed that there were about 361,000 unemployed people in the city, more than at any time during the recession that surrounded the Sept. 11 terrorist attack and the largest number of city residents out of work since 1993." But at least it's not raining out today! If you happen to be one of these 361,000 people, make sure you get outside and enjoy it. Next thing you know, the economy will turn around and you'll be stuck in a miserable cubicle again, and you'll be depending on your colleagues for weather reports so you know whether to take an umbrella with you to lunch. [NYT]

Things haven't been this good since last fall! According to the U.S. Labor Department, employers "only" cut 325,000 jobs during the month of May, well below the 525,000 cuts that Wall Street analysts had been predicting and the smallest drop since September 2008.  This is great news, sure—"the tide seems to be turning," says one economist—although it's not like these companies are actually hiring anyone yet. The unemployment rate climbed to 9.4 percent in May, the highest in more than 25 years. But if you're someone who has been desperately seeking a rationale for returning to the way things were before the downturn, consider this is your lucky day! [WSJ, AP]