If you're single, you're 50% more likely to lose your job, according to a study published Friday by the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. This is no different from most recessions, but neither the stat nor the trend loses its shock value with each downturn. Now that the unemployment rate has edged higher, to 9.8% last month, the plight of singles is worsening.

Single employment fell 4.8% from December 2007 through June, with the married folks losing their jobs at a rate of only 3.1%. In August, the single jobless rate reached 13.5%, while those encumbered with spouses fared much better at 6.3%.

Layoff announcements hit their lowest level since March 2008 last month, signaling market stabilization. Global outplacement consulting firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas Inc. put the number of cuts at 66,404 for September, a 13% decline from July's 76,456. Year-over-year, the number of layoffs announced is down 30%, and September was the fourth month in a row in which job cuts fell relative to the same month a year earlier.

Planned job cuts reached 240,233 for the third quarter of 2009, according to Challenger, its lowest level since the first quarter of 2008, when there were 200,656 planned layoffs. For the third quarter of this year, job cuts fell 24.5% from the previous quarter's 318,165, and it's off 16.3% from 287,142 in the third quarter of 2009. At the beginning of 2009, the planned layoff rate reached a seven-year high of 578,510. Since then, the planned layoff rate fell 58.5%.

Here's something we haven't seen in a while: a financial firm looking to hire people to fill positions that don't involve repossessing houses.

The Financial Times reports that Goldman Sachs (NYSE: GS) "will hire up to 200 staff across all regions in an attempt to establish a dominant position as one of the world's leading asset managers. In 2007 Goldman was ranked 17th in the world in terms of assets under management."

Of course, up to 200 new hires isn't exactly going to drive up employment numbers -- nor is it even especially significant for a company of Goldman's size. Two hundred fresh faces would represent an increase in Goldman's head count of 0.68%. The fact that this is news is actually indicative of just how horrible the job market in the financial services industry is right now.

It appears that the House may be ready to extend unemployment benefits for another 13 weeks.

On Wednesday, September 23, Congress will consider legislation to add 13 weeks to unemployment benefits in what are termed "high-unemployment states." In order to be considered a high-unemployment state, the unemployment rate must be greater than 8.5%. With unemployment at record highs nationwide, this status includes 26 states and the District of Columbia. What about the other 24 states? The unemployed workers there could qualify if their state is expected to hit 8.5% unemployed or it meets other criteria.

The economy is sending mixed signals right now.

Unemployment is up, and consumer sentiment is down. Plenty of companies are posting profits, but they're taking advantage of lower expectations and cost-cutting rather than revenue growth from an economic recovery. Rents are under pressure – both residential and commercial.

It's a sign of the times: an increasing number of states are running out of money to pay unemployment compensation benefits.

Seven states have already depleted their employment insurance trust funds, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSC). Another 11 states are in danger of running out of money by the end of 2009.

What's more, states have borrowed $2.3 billion in emergency money from the U.S. government - - money that must be paid back - - to pay for unemployment compensation.

The Dow lost 385 points this week with a 315 point election day rally on Tuesday, two consecutive days which totaled 929 points down, and a Friday rally of 248 points. Did the market rise on hopes of a McCain upset only to fall due to disappointment that Obama won? Did the market rally Friday because the 6.5% unemployment rate was not as bad as expected? It could be, but I doubt it.

More likely, the markets are moving because of the trading behavior of endowments, pension funds, and hedge funds. They make decisions for very different reasons. But some reporting on daily market movements looks like a joke -- nobody knows why the market goes up or down, but commenters use price movements as a daily barometer of the national mood. So how do endowments, pension funds, and hedge funds move the markets? Here's how:

• Endowments. Big university endowments, such as Harvard's, are desperately trying to unload billions of dollars worth of illiquid interests in venture capital and private equity firms. Harvard is reportedly trying to dump $1.5 billion worth of such interests into a market where there is likely to be very little interest. Not only that, these private equity firms are demanding that endowments fork over the money they committed to them so they can make new investments. And with the S&P 500 down 36.6% so far this year, many endowments are selling anything liquid to meet these commitments and to pay shorter-term obligations -- such as paying professors and keeping the lights on.

In the first half of 2008, the S&P 500 fell 12%. June's stock market was the worst since 1930. So are stocks now a screaming buy or are they poised to plunge further? Nobody knows. But my guess is that stocks will move based on how well they perform compared with expectations. And the risk of negative surprises in most industries exceeds the chance of positive ones. So stocks will probably keep falling.

Here's a quick review of six negatives:

• Oil prices. With oil at $142, up 492% since January 2001, consumers are paying about $4.10 a gallon for gas and companies that use oil are getting squeezed while trying to raise prices. An attack on Iran, a big oil supplier, looms on the horizon. This and other geopolitical uncertainties could put further pressure on oil.
• Housing. Three million people are expected to face foreclosure on their homes. And prices have dropped 15%. Since people were using home equity to finance their purchasing, their negative equity is sucking the wind out of the economy.

As Joe Lazzaro posted earlier, the unemployment rate rose to 5.5% last month. And for the fifth straight month, payrolls fell.

Specifically, in May employers shed 49,000 jobs and the unemployment rate rose significantly from the April rate of 5% -- far higher than economists had expected. The Wall Street Journal reports that Wall Street economists had expected a 60,000 decline in payrolls last month and only a 5.1% unemployment rate

What's also of concern is that workers' income shrank in relation to booming inflation. Although workers' wages grew nominally at 0.3% in May to $604.58 a week, and for the 12-month period posted a 3.4% gain, inflation is running at 4% officially. So on an inflation-adjusted basis, workers' wages are dropping.

With gasoline prices up 100% in the last year, a worker who fills up a 20 gallon tank twice a week now pays $160 -- 26% of that paycheck -- compared to 13% last year. And if that worker gets fired, it will be awfully expensive to drive around looking for a job.

With 70% of GDP growth coming from those workers and gasoline prices topping $4 a gallon, those deficit enhancing rescue checks from the government don't seem to be doing their job all that well. What will the government cook up next?

Peter Cohan is President of Peter S. Cohan & Associates. He also teaches management at Babson College and edits The Cohan Letter.