According to the ADP Employer Services Report, the private sector added 201,000 new jobs in March, basically in-line with 203,000 new jobs that analysts had been expecting to see.

February's figures were revised downwards to 208,000 from a previously estimated 216,000 new jobs.

March's employment gains bring the four-month average of new jobs to 211,000, more than enough to keep the labor track on path. Analysts estimate that the economy needs to add 125,000 new jobs each month in order to keep up with population growth, so any jobs over that figure result in a lower unemployment figures.

Home improvement giant Home Depot (HD) announced today that it would be hiring 60,000 seasonal employees nationwide as the company gears up for its busiest season, which is springtime.

Every year the company boosts its employees to deal with its peak season, and makes the hires in February and March to get the new workers ready when springtime rolls around and traffic really picks up at the company's retail stores across the nation.

In the beginning, the auto industry had a wide array of manufacturers. As the industry grew, new companies formed but most went by the wayside. The same phenomenon is taking place in the Internet. As new companies are formed, older ones fade away.

Such is the story of MySpace, as the Wall Street Journal reports. Founded in 2003, it had a large following of musicians and was the leader in the new concept of social networking. In 2005, News Corp. (NWS) purchased the site for $580 million. The investment was intended to bring News Corp. into the digital age.

In another sign that auto industry has bright day ahead of it, Ford Motor Company (F) announced today that it planned to hire an additional 7,000 employees over the next 2 years.

While this is definitely good news, the figures are still way down from where they were before the auto crisis ravished the industry. Ford currently has 42,000 compared to 103,000 just ten years ago.

The dismal jobs front got a bit more good news, following the release of a report showing the nation's employers last year cut the fewest number of workers in more than a decade. Further, the findings showed 2010 ended on a high note, with December recording the lowest number of monthly cuts since 2000.

The slowdown in cuts follows an uptick in activity in 2009 when downsizing reached a seven-year high, according to the 2010 year-end job-cut report, released Wednesday by job-services firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas. Last year, employers announced plans to eliminate 529,973 positions, the lowest number since 1997.

For a lot of Yahoo! Inc. (YHOO) employees, the holiday season is going to be less cheerful than expected as the company announced today that it was laying off around 600 employees.

The most recent layoffs are not that big or a surprise, as analysts have been speculating for the past few weeks that the company would reduce it payroll before the end of the year in hopes of breaking its recent financial woes.

Yahoo! is headquartered in California, a state that is already dealing with very high unemployment. These layoffs are going to add to California's current 12.4% unemployment rate, which is sharply higher than the national average of 9.8%.

Shares of international shipping giant FedEx Corp. (FDX) are selling off in early morning trading after the company posted fiscal first quarter results that were a bit shy of analyst estimates.

As we noted in our FedEx earnings preview, analysts had been expecting to see the company report earnings of $1.21 for the quarter, but actual results came in a bit lower at $1.20.

It has been a long time since a state other than Michigan had the honor of claiming the highest unemployment rate in country. The May unemployment numbers show that it is Nevada, not Michigan, that now has the highest rate of unemployment.

Michigan has held the title for highest unemployment since April 2006, when the automotive industry took a nose dive. But Nevada jumped into the lead by posting a 14% unemployment rate in May. In comparison, Michigan's unemployment level is currently sitting at 13.6%.

Shares of internet search engine giant Google Inc. (GOOG) are trading sharply lower in after hours trading despite posting better than expected earnings for its first quarter.

Going into this afternoon's earnings release analysts had forecast $6.60 per share, with actual earnings coming in better than expected at $6.76 excluding special items.

Although some members of his administration don't hold Fox News in too high of regard, President Barack Obama did sit down with the news outlet to discuss the economy. In the interview, President Obama offered what some are calling his "sternest warning" about containing deficits. President Obama believes that a further compilation of government debt could lead to a double-dip recession.

The president believes that his administration faces a "delicate balance of trying to boost the economy and spur job creation," but the administration has to set the economy on "a path toward long-term deficit reduction." He noted that it is important "to recognize ... that at some point, people could lose confidence in the U.S. economy in a way that could actually lead to a double-dip recession."

There is no question that the recession took its tool on Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE: CAT). The company saw its stock plummet from mid 2008 through March of this year. Along the way the company was forced to layoff employees to help lower costs, but it announced today that it would be rehiring 550 of its laid off workers.

Chief Executive Officer Jim Owens announced the news and stated that the company was pleased that "signs of recovery in the global economy" is allowing it to bring back some employees.

Job losses continued to mount in September. Unfortunately, the numbers are even worse than expected.

According to the ADP National Employment Report, employers shed 254,000 jobs in September. Analysts had been expecting to see the number of job losses at 200,000 in the month.

A report today in The Wall Street Journal (subscription required) states that Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS) is on the verge of a major hiring push. Sources close to the bank holding company said that Morgan Stanley is planning to expand its ranks by as many as 400 new positions in the trading and sales departments, with the hires to be evenly split between the two areas.

Reportedly, Morgan Stanley is embarking on the hiring spree as it attempts to rebuild its position in fixed-income trading, emerging markets, and foreign exchange. So far this year, the banking issue has added approximately 200 employees to its payroll.

The government's "cash for clunkers" has been far more popular than anyone thought, prompting General Motors to boost production at several factories to keep up with demand.

While not everyone is so convinced that the "cash for clunkers" program is good for the economy, there is no doubt that the big American car makers are enjoying the benefits. Five days ago I wrote about the decision by Ford Motor Company (NYSE: F) to boost production by 15% above its prior estimates, and today General Motors announced it will raising output and bringing back employees that it had been forced to lay off.

The market has been trading lower today, despite news that new jobless claims dropped much more than analysts had been predicting.

The Department of labor announced today that there were 601,000 first time applicants for unemployment last week. While it is tough to find the bright side of this many people losing their jobs, the silver lining is that analysts had been expecting to see the report to show 635,000 new applicants.