There’s good news on the horizon for everyone keeping score with the economy.

As per CareerCast’.com/JobSerf’s Employment Index, national hiring climbed by 4.9 points in February. What exactly does this mean? Compared to a 2.2 increase in January it’s on the way up and reflects job growth across the country. Read more

Maybe this week will end on a good note? According to data released by the Labor Department, last week weekly unemployment benefit applications dropped by 37,000.

The seasonally adjusted number of 335,000 is technically the lowest level since January 2008!

This could perhaps mean that the job market is finally on the upswing.

That said, as per a piece by The Associated Press, applications in January can be misleading. Pink slips sometimes occur in the middle of the month when restaurants and retail companies let go of their holiday workers.

Ever wonder if stints on your resume adding up to less than 12 months each look bad in the eyes of a recruiter? Wonder no more.

According to a new Bullhorn survey of 1,500 hiring managers and recruiters, 39 percent of recruiters indicate job hopping is indeed a problem to landing a new gig.

Happy Friday one and all! At the end of a laborious week (kind of ironic since after all, it was Labor Day on Monday), the new numbers have been released.

According to the latest job report, American employers added 96,000 jobs last month which could be viewed as a weak stat. That said, unemployment dipped to 8.1 percent; in July the percentage was 8.3. However, it could be interpreted the number dropped because more people stalled their job searches.

John Silvia, chief economist at Wells Fargo, told The New York Post, ”This weak jobs report is going to feed into (the Fed’s) argument that the economy is growing at a sub-par pace.”

Okay, the summer is officially in full gear which isn’t such a good thing for job seekers. Although more temporary assignments may be available, this means hiring managers are away, job requisitions are on hold, and it seems like everything may be on hold until Labor Day and beyond.

Never fear! For unemployed job seekers, there are five ways to make the most of your down time.

According to a piece on Forbes, for starters, you can take temporary work. Andy Teach, the author of From Graduation to Corporation: The Practical Guide to Climbing the Corporate Ladder One Rung at a Time, explained to Forbes, “If you do a great job, even if it’s for a temporary job, whoever hired you is more likely to recommend you for a permanent position.” Read more

Sure, we all know being unemployed can impact your well being, social life, and of course, your wallet. Well, a new study proves it!

According to survey conducted by It’s Just Lunch, three-quarters of women in the survey revealed they were unlikely to date a man who is unemployed whereas one-third of guys reported they were not likely to date women who don’t currently work.

According to the survey, 925 women were included and it’s unknown as to how many men were included (mainly because it’s not included in the company’s press release.)  When asked if they would go out on a date with someone who was unemployed, literally 33 percent said no, they wouldn’t. Although 42 percent answered “maybe” they also added they wouldn’t want to invest a lot of time into it unless their potential mate “had a game plan for getting back on track.”

It should be noted that 21 percent of women responded yes with a stipulation including being curious to see how they’re keeping occupied in the meantime.

Irene LaCota, spokesperson for the dating company, summed up the results: “Not having a job will definitely make it harder for men to date someone they don’t already know.”

She added, “This is the rare area, compared to other topics we’ve done surveys on, where women’s old-fashioned beliefs about sex roles seem to apply.”

Want the scoop on mental health and job searching? Or better yet, how it relates to unemployment and landing a new media job?

The Wall Street Journal pointed out the results of a new study which showed mental health improvements almost three months after unemployment. While this is indeed good news, this time frame represents the period after the potential shock of a pink slip has occurred but before dead-end job leads have started to accumulate.

Connie Wanberg, professor of organizational and work behavior at the University of Minnesota, led the study which was published in the April/May issue of The Academy of Management Journal.

Results revealed the average laid-off employee has an improvement in mental health. That is, until it starts reversing after the 10 to 12-week period after the unemployment period commenced.

Survey participants actually seemed to be doing better with their job searches when they reported better mental health.

So, what can job seekers take away from the research on a macro level? First off, it seems normal to have a pity party about three months into the search. Second, on a lighter note, it seems the happier you feel, the less down-and-out hearted you are, the more effective you’ll be while networking and pursuing job leads. The higher your spirits, the more intense the job search, the better the results.

In the midst of layoffs, buyouts and unemployment all around the media world, it’s hard not to point the finger towards everyone else.

But Dr. Wayne Dyer believes all you need to break out of a professional rut is a simple attitude adjustment.

“[People are] just going through unemployment benefits and complaining that they can’t get any work. But there are opportunities everywhere if you’re open to them,” the bestselling author said in mediabistro.com’s So What Do You Do? interview.  ”Instead of waiting for the government to do it, or for the factory to re-open, they can put their attention on abundance and prosperity will show up in your life.”

First step, says the “father of motivation,” is to realize that you are what you think.

“If you’re thinking about unemployment, or how bad the economy is, or all the reasons why you can’t do something, you’ll get exactly that. Instead, align yourself with the type of energy you want to attract and those kinds of people will show up in your life.”

Read the full interview to find out how he began his multi-million dollar empire.

It might look like Stacy London‘s life is nothing but peaches and sunshine, but the stylist and co-host of TLC’s What Not to Wear has had her share of failures.

“I was actually fired when I was the senior fashion editor when I was at Mademoiselle,” she explained in our Media Beat interview. “In retrospect, I can say it was probably the best thing that ever happened to me. At the time, I was furious. I thought that I had done a really great job, a really strong job while I was there. And one of the things that was really hard was that I sort of had to reconfigure how to identify myself. I’d associated myself really with my name on that masthead for so long that it took a second for me to figure out what’s next. It actually took about a year.”

The most important thing she learned? That a forced “vacation” can ultimately lead to a personal (and career) breakthrough.

You can also view this video on YouTube.

Part 1: Stacy London: ‘It’s not just about the clothes. It’s about the psychology behind them’
Part 2: What Not to Wear’s Stacy London Takes Your Fashion Questions