Free Republic

(Reuters) - Apparel retailer Gap Inc (GPS.N) said it would close a quarter of Gap specialty stores in North America over the next few years, including 140 this year, potentially affecting thousands of jobs as the company struggles with a slump in sales at its namesake brand. San Francisco-based Gap also said it would cut 250 jobs at its headquarters. The company did not say how many employees would be laid off as a result of the store closures. As of Jan. 31, Gap had about 141,000 full- and part-time employees in about 3,700 company-owned and franchise stores worldwide.

There was considerable weeping and gnashing of teeth over the December “Employment Situation” report released by the BLS on Friday. Analysts were expecting 200,000 new payroll jobs, but they got only 74,000. Some called the “bad” unemployment report a “statistical anomaly.” A quick look at the BLS Household Survey showed that, rather than being bad, December was actually a better-than-average month in President Obama’s “new normal” economy. This is not a huge accomplishment, given that “Obama’s new normal” comprises slow GDP growth, a stagnant jobs market, and falling real household incomes. However, the nation moved 133,000 jobs closer to full-time-equivalent*...