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Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal had expected spending would rise 0.2% in April and income would climb 0.3%. Consumer spending generates more than two-thirds of U.S. economic output, and is a key driver of growth. But outlays slowed during a harsh winter and have yet to show signs of a sustained pickup despite better weather, solid job creation and gasoline prices that remain well below levels from a year ago. Indeed, consumer confidence appears to have softened. The University of Michigan final May sentiment index, out last week, came in at a six-month low. Monday’s report showed spending...

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Los Angeles County's homeless population has grown by 12 percent during the past two years amid a sluggish economic recovery that has left the poorest residents of the second-largest U.S. metropolitan area falling farther behind, a study released on Monday found. The Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority's report cited stagnant or falling wages among the lowest-income earners, a local jobless rate that remains above state and national averages, and a worsening lack of affordable housing. "The economy has improved, but not for the persons at greatest risk of homelessness," said Peter Lynn, the authority's executive director.

The road most traveled: Most of the settlements Marcin photographed were by waterways, railway tracks, Walmarts, gas stations and liquor stores. (Daily Mail) As America suffers through its worse recovery on record, a homeless camp has cropped up on the outskirts of Baltimore. Daily Mail reported: A sheet of plastic laid over a clothesline. A mini-fortress of milk crates stacked under a tree. A thin mattress on a flimsy crate lying in a dark tunnel. On the edge of Baltimore’s woodlands, dozens of the city’s transients live in makeshift homes which they consider safer than homeless shelters. Photographer Ben...

As the New Year looms, many law graduates with heavy debt have yet to find work as attorneys — including the author of the self-deprecating new blog "Law Grad Working Retail." The blog's anonymous author graduated from a law school that was in the top 50 ranked by U.S. News and World Report. He was on law review and even got a summer position at a firm after his second year. He didn't get a job offer though. This grad still hasn't found legal work and took a job selling cologne just before the holidays to make ends meet. Now...

Chris Wallace, "FOX News Sunday" host: Didn't this White House badly misjudge this recovery? I remember in 2010, two summers ago, you and Vice President Biden were running around talking about 'Recovery Summer.' That was the summer of 2010 and the fact is the White House said if you got the stimulus, the $800 billion that unemployment would stay under 8%. In fact, with the stimulus, unemployment has stayed over 8% for the last 42 months. That's three and a half years. David Axelrod: Chris, first of all, I wasn't running around saying anything other than that we were going...

PALM CITY, Fla. - Holly Purkey, 28, is one of many Floridians trying to sell her pre-purchased burial plots for some quick cash. She is selling two burial plots in Forest Hills Memorial Park in Palm City. "This is new to me. Kind of a weird investment," said Purkey, of Port St. Lucie. The side-by-side plots belonged to her grandparents, who had moved out of state. She bought them seven years ago. Now Purkey, a stay at home mother, wants this cemetery real estate off her hands. She would like $3,000 for the pair of plots in return. "The money...

Democrats in the Senate on Wednesday called on Vice President Joe Biden to include new economic stimulus spending in deficit-reduction talks as a way of lowering the 9.1 percent jobless rate that is hobbling the economic recovery. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid made the proposal to the White House, Richard Durbin, the No. 2 Democratic senator, told reporters. "The Republicans are fixating on the budget deficit and it's a serious problem," Durbin said. But citing the conclusions of a presidential deficit-cutting commission that he served on last year, Durbin added, "Get the recovery right before you get in this deficit...

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Job growth decelerated sharply in May, the Labor Department said Friday. Total nonfarm payrolls increased by 54,000, much lower than the 125,000 gain expected by Wall Street economists. This is the smallest increase in nonfarm payroll since September. The unemployment rate ticked higher 9.1% in May from 9.0% in the previous month.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks skidded on Wednesday, with the Nasdaq off 1 percent as more weak economic data cemented fears of a slowdown and prompted big Wall Street players to slash their forecasts ahead of the closely watched payrolls report on Friday.

White House: Biden's 'Summer of Recovery' Meant Construction, Not Jobs Published September 13, 2010 | FoxNews.com Vice President Biden wasn't talking about jobs when called this the "summer of recovery." He was talking about construction projects. That's the explanation top White House economic adviser Austan Goolsbee gave when asked about the more than 280,000 jobs lost over the past three months. "The vice president was talking about the summer of recovery in reference to the Recovery Act, that you would see the creation of a series of infrastructure and other projects ramping up over the summer," Goolsbee said on "Fox...

The number of people in the U.S. who are in poverty is on track for a record increase on President Barack Obama’s watch, with the ranks of working-age poor approaching 1960s levels that led to the national war on poverty.

On June 17, the Obama administration proclaimed "Recovery Summer." This was done with considerable fanfare, including the announcement that President Obama and Vice President Biden would tour Recovery Act sites—ones funded by the $814 billion "stimulus"—in full expectation the projects would contribute mightily to accelerated economic growth and job creation. At the time, I was in Missouri, reporting on the campaign for the state's open Senate seat. As luck would have it, the candidate I was traveling with, Republican Roy Blunt, met at various stops with corporate executives, small businessmen, bankers and entrepreneurs. They were talkative. Some were Republicans, some...

Highest level of Strong Disapproval and the lowest Approval Index daily rating yet recorded for this president.

Men’s Wearhouse will host a national suit drive throughout the month of September at over 1,000 store locations to help unemployed men look their best for potential job interviews. People are encouraged to bring old suits, dress shirts, slacks, coats, ties and other accessories to any Men’s Wearhouse location. According to the company, since the beginning of the recession roughly 82 percent of all job losses have been men, leaving almost one in 10 working-age men unemployed due to the hit on male-dominated industries such as construction and manufacturing. "By collecting and donating professional clothing, Men's Wearhouse aims to help...

For the whole series of Zero dollar art, go here: "Flickr Zero Artwork Archive"

An Obama supporter who has a temp gig at my office has asked me to put in a good word for them (gender-neutral reference) toward a more permanent position. What to do, what to do?

Even deep discounts on everyday items don't seem to be enough to get Walmart shoppers to bite these days, and other chains are worried Americans won't be in the mood to spend in the months ahead, which are critical for those companies.... ...Teen clothes store Abercrombie & Fitch, which slashed prices on some of its jeans by 40 percent to get people to buy for the back-to-school season, ... ...At Home Depot Inc., sales are being driven by small repair projects, not big renovations, and weak spending has caused it to cut revenue forecasts for the year.... ...Customers are having...