A weekly round-up of hopeless economy news.
- The number of Americans who lacked reliable access to sufficient food shot up last year to its highest point since the government began surveying in 1995, the Agriculture Department reported. In its annual report on hunger, the department said that 17 million American households, or 14.6 percent of the total, “had difficulty putting enough food on the table at times during the year.” That was an increase from 13 million households, or 11.1 percent, the previous year. [NYT]
- Early signs suggest the number of suicides in the U.S. crept up during the worst recession in decades, according to a Wall Street Journal survey of states that account for about 40% of the U.S. population. [WSJ]
- A growing number of states reported rising jobless rates in October, and thirteen states reported unemployment rates above the national average of 10.2%, according to a government report released on Friday. [CNNMoney]
- The state’s jobless woes are worst in Wall Street’s home town, New York City, where unemployment remained at 10.3 percent for a second month. Take out the Big Apple and New York State’s unemployment rate would be closer to 8 percent. After a hopeful rebound in financial services jobs in September, finance jobs retreated last month by nearly 2,000. But that preliminary number is not seasonally adjusted. Since last October, 35,600 finance jobs in the state have disappeared. [CNBC]
- The economy and the stock market may be recovering from their swoon, but more homeowners than ever are having trouble making their monthly mortgage payment. Nearly one in 10 homeowners with mortgages was at least one payment behind in the third quarter, the Mortgage Bankers Association said in its survey. That translates into about five million households. [NYT]
Wow. Sobering stats.