On Friday, the Labor Department revealed the latest jobs report and the picture was not pretty. Their broadest measure of unemployment and underemployment has reached its highest level in decades, and if their statistics went back so far, it would most certainly be at its highest level since the Great Depression.

One out of every six workers, or 17.5%, were unemployed or underemployed in October 2009. The previous record high was set in December 1982 at 17.1%. WIthout an end in site to our economic woes, the figures could go even higher in the coming months.

That 17.5% figure includes the officiall unemployed, which are those who have looked for work in the last four weeks. It also includes discouraged workers who have looked in the past year, and millions of part-time workers wanting to be full-time.

The official jobless rate is at 10.2% for October, and remains lower than the early 80's peak at 10.8%. But again, this latest figure continues the upward trend, and isup from 9.8% in September 2009. It is highest in those states which had big housing bubles, such as Arizona and California, and those with large manufacturing sectors, including Ohio, South Carolina, Rhode Island, and Oregon.

Alcoa announced today that it wll rebuild and enhance the forging press at its Cleveland plant. The company will put $110 million into the project.

“This could not have happened without the support of our employees, community leaders and leadership of United Auto Workers Local 1050,” said William F. Christopher, Alcoa executive vice president and president of Alcoa Engineered Products and Solutions. “When this project is completed, Cleveland Works will be the home of the most advanced, productive large forging presses in the world.”

State leaders applauded the news as well. Governor Ted Strickland stated:

There are privileges that come along with working on Wall Street, and one of those is apparently getting your swine flu vaccine before other high-risk groups that actually need it. Thousands of at-risk Americans sit patiently waiting for their turn to get the hard-to-find shot, while some Wall Street banks have already secured supplies of the vaccine.

The New York Stock Exchange, Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, and the Federal Reserve have all received H1N1 vaccine doses to administer to their employees. Like other companies, Wall Street banks put in a request to receive doses, but it appears they have a leg-up on other applicants. Case in point: Goldman Sachs received 200 doses, the same amount as Lenox Hill Hospital in New York. There's something seriously wrong with this picture.

NBC's chief medical editor, Dr. Nancy Schnyderman commented:

"I think they probably played by the rules, there are corporations all over the country who put in there dibs...But, what a sore eye for Wall Street. Wouldn't have been lovely if they had said, look we put it in our dibs, we played by the rules, but we're going to donate our 200 doses."

Since January, first-time homebuyers have been getting tax credits of up to $8,000 as part of an economic stimulus package put into place earlier this year. That program, which left those who are not first-time home buyers out in the cold, was set to expire at the end of November 2009. On Wednesday, the Senate voted to extend and expand the tax credit to include many buyers who already own homes. Now it just needs to get through Congress, where a vote will take place Thursday.

Buyers owning their current homes at least five years will be eligible for tax credits up to $6,500. First-time homebuyers or those who haven't owned a home in the last three years would get up to $8,000. Both groups would have to sign a purchase agreement by April 30, 2010 and close by June 30, 2010 in order to be eligible.

Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-Georgia), said, "This is probably the last extension."

Also included in the bill passed in the Senate is a plan to extend unemployment benefits for those without a job for more than a year, and a clause that would allow companies now losing money to recoup taxes paid on profits earned in the previous five years.

Sen. Max Baucus (D-Montana), chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, said:

Looking for a free meal on Halloween? Go to a Chipotle dressed as a burrito, taco, bowl, or salad and they will give you a free burrito. The offer is good the evening of Halloween and runs from 6 pm till closing.

We're dead serious, and no this is not some kind of weird Halloween prank. Wal-Mart now sells caskets, fulfilling its shoppers needs from cradle to grave. The world's largest retailer now offers a line of caskets online.

According to Walmart.com spokesman Ravi Jariwala, it began selling the products as a "limited beta test" within the past few weeks. Shoppers have two choices in caskets: the $895 Lady de Guadalupe steel casket or the $2,899 sienna bronze casket.

In recent months, Wal-Mart has been revamping its product lines and merchandise in stores and online to expand into high growth potential categories. With an aging population and rising funeral costs, Wal-Mart might actually have a winner on their hands.

Afterall, the funeral industry generates $11 billion in revenue per year. As of 2007, the death rate was 8 people per one thousand, but by 2020 that rate is expected to increase to 9.3 per one thousand. Even a small portion of the total revenue for the industry would be a success for Wal-Mart.

The economy sucks and most of us are a little short on cash. However, that doesn't mean you have to forgo visiting family or taking that much needed weekend vacation. Southwest Airlines makes it easy - and CHEAP - to get where you need to go, rolling out new $25 fares.

The new sale began on Tuesday, and is a part of the airline's fourth-quarter sale. The $25 fare is available on several one-way flights of less than 375 miles. For travel between 375 and 549 miles the price is $50, and for travel between 550 miles and 999 miles the fare is $75.

The new campaign is being heavily promoted and carries with it the tagline:

With fares this low, you should invent a reason to go.

Faires are available for travel between December 2-16 and January 5-February 10, 2010. They are available for purchase through Thursday online. As always, some restrictions apply. Visit southwest.com more information and to purchase tickets.

Unlike your Yahoo email account, which ceases upon death, Facebook wants to keep your profile alive. Upon the request of friends or family, Facebook will "memorialize" profiles of those who have died.

These accounts will be different than regular Facebook profiles. For example, any contact information will be removed and people will be barred from logging in. The profile also will not be included in the "suggestion" section, and only the deceased person's confirmed friends will be able to find them in a search.

On Monday morning the Audit Bureau of Circulations released the latest figures for the six months ending in September 2009, and they're not pretty. Circulation at many of the country's largest newspapers continued a downward slide. In Cleveland, The Plain Dealer experienced a 11.2 percent reduction in daily circulation and was down 4.9 percent for Sunday circulation.

Nationwide, of the 379 newspapers that file with the organization, the average daily circulation was down 10.6 percent at 30,395,652 and Sunday circulation for 562 reporting papers was down 7.4 percent at 40,012,253. This marks one of the most severe drops in overall circulation.

At the PD, daily circulation now stands at 217,180 daily and Sunday circulation is now at 390,636. According to Editor & Publisher, the PD is now No. 16 on the list of the country's top 25 newspapers according to daily circulation, just barely inching ahead of No. 17's Detroit Free Press.

It sounds like additional job cuts are more inevitable than ever.

Ever since the first cases of swine flu broke out earlier this year, demand for hand sanitizer has skyrocketed. Some makers of the gels are now scrambling to keep up with the demand.

The marketing research firm Panjiva recently estimated that 3 million kilograms of hand sanitizer were shipped in the 3rd quarter, compared to 1 million kilograms during the same quarter last year. Panjiva CEO Josh Green says that concerns over the H1N1 virus is the "most likely explanation" for the surge. Given the outlook for a particularly bad flu season, demand is only expected to rise further.

In response, companies like Purell are ramping up production and are urging customers not to hoard the product. Purell manufacturer Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) says that demand for Purell has been "heavy" since the first swine flu cases were reported.

J&J spokesman Marc Boston said in a statement:

"Due to the influenza A (H1N1) virus outbreak this past spring and resurgence this fall, Johnson & Johnson Consumer Companies Inc. has experienced heavy demand on supplies of Purell.

Boston said that the company is working to increase production for the remainder of 2009 and the beginning of 2010, but acknowledges that supplies could be limited in some areas: