Job situation not getting any better

Today's news throws some cold water on predictions for a sharply rebounding economy. Only 1,000 new jobs were created in December---and the only reason the unemployment rate dropped is because people gave up on the job search.

According to the Associated Press, "The nation's unemployment rate dropped to 5.7 percent in December to the lowest level in 14 months, but employers finished the year without many help wanted signs for the holidays, adding just 1,000 new jobs. The 0.2 percentage point drop in the jobless rate occurred because fewer people were looking for work, the Labor Department said Friday. More than 300,000 people gave up their search for jobs and dropped out of the pool of available workers."