The employment situation is looking bad....

"U.S. companies announced layoffs jumped 15.9 percent last month as the economy grappled with a worsening housing slump and credit crisis, outplacement firm Challenger Gray & Christmas reported on Wednesday....

The unemployment situation is looking good....

Private payrolls grew by 189,000 jobs in November, far more than analysts had expected, according to Automated Data Processing, an independent company.

These reports don't necessarily contradict each other really, after all, you could have an increase in new hires which outstrips an increase in new layoffs. I guess it's like they say - if you have a job things are great, if your neighbor loses his job it's a recession, and if you lose your job, it's a depression.

Then again, getting let go is not always such a bad thing...


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