Work smarter not harder. Do more with less. Increase your output. Become more productive.

You've heard all this before, right? What it all means is that layoffs are coming, and the survivors are going to have to take on a hell of a lot more work, with no increase in support, resources or compensation. As cuts come, the survivors fight to survive, and succeeding means that a new benchmark is set. If you can survive without the help you used to have, it's easier to defer hiring for a while.

First-time claims for jobless benefits fell last week, hitting the lowest level we've seen since January. The U.S. Department of Labor pegged the number at 521,000. This is down from the previous week's 554,000 (which had been revised upward). Wall Street economists anticipated 540,000. Claims of this type have fallen four times in five weeks, and the four-week average reached 539,750 – its lowest level since January 17, 2009.

In general, first-time claims for unemployment benefits have been declining since the spring, though slowly. Unfortunately, they still remain well above the 325,000 that economists claim to be indicative of a healthy economy.

Unemployment is at its highest level since 1983, hitting 9.8% last month. The Department of Labor announced that 263,000 jobs were lost. This follows a revised loss of 201,000 jobs in August (lower than first reported). Nobody expected the August unemployment reprieve to last, and the increase suggests that the forecasted 10.3% unemployment rate for early next year will be realized.

Originally, the forecasted unemployment drop for September was 175,000, according to Bloomberg News, with individual economists surveyed reporting in a range of 100,000 to 260,000.