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.

Employers are planning to cut fewer jobs for the third month in a row, according to a new report that Challenger, Gray & Christmas has supplied to BloggingStocks.

The executive outplacement firm says that the number of planned reductions fell 16% in October to 55,679 positions -- from 66,404 in September. Last month's level was the lowest seen since March 2008, when 53,579 layoffs were planned. And, it's 51% lower than October 2008's 112,884 result. Planned staff reductions have fallen in eight of the past 10 months.

Some of the jobs that have disappeared through this recession are gone forever, it seems. Even when the market turns, and even gains momentum, we could be stuck with a fairly weak employment market for a while. The recovery will take longer than we'd like, putting more distance between now and the top of the next market run. We've lost 7.2 million jobs since December 2007, and the predictions of some economists that we'll get them back by 2014 may actually seem optimistic.

Unemployment is at 9.8%, and it's expected to clear 10% early next year. Then, we have the specter of a jobless recovery with which to contend. "Full employment" is often considered to be an unemployment rate of 4% to 5%, but it could be a while before we get there. The last downturn, following the dotcom bust, resulted in a peak unemployment rate of 6.3% in 2003 ... and we're already well past that.

Why is the recovery going to be such a grind? Check out the four major reasons after the jump.

Across the country, college classes are starting. In each of these classrooms, students are struggling with calculus, trudging through Candide, and wondering just what the hell they're going to do with their degrees upon graduation. The last of these is characteristic of every college student, especially those of us, with the foresight fortitude recklessness zeal to major in liberal arts fields (in my case, Philosophy).

The anxiety is a bit higher this year, given a high rate of unemployment, the likelihood of a "jobless recovery" and the fact that it could take years for destroyed value to be recovered.

TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer says that rather than selling and moving into cash, consider these reasons to hold firm.

Look, the deficit numbers are awful. They are totally daunting. We have to hope they don't come true because they are way too big to cope with no matter what we do with taxes. The dollar will get killed. Our kids will be stuck with some horrifying bills. The disaster that Matt Horween outlined in his multi-part op-ed series a couple of weeks ago will happen.

So, why don't I say you should go into cash because of it? Couple of reasons: First, I have to have some faith that the government will grow up, that they will get serious about spending, that President Obama will get serious about spending. Second, I hope we have much more growth than people realize and therefore we can grow our way out of this jam.