This is the time of year when retail jobs are supposed to be as plentiful as holiday cheer, when stores gear up for the Christmas rush by filling their sales floors with college students, moonlighters and anyone else looking to shore up their income.

But no one is feeling very jolly this year.

Faced with plummeting sales and spooked shoppers, retailers have cut back on holiday hiring at a time when their pool of applicants is swelling with those who have been laid off from other industries. About 272,000 retail jobs were open at the end of September, according to government data released last week, down 24 percent from the same month last year.

[Read](http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/16/AR2008111602288.html?nav=rss_nation “Read the Article”) (Washington Post)

The economy’s deep troubles are pushing a growing number of already struggling consumers into bankruptcy, often with far more debt than those who filed in previous downturns.

Plummeting home values, dwindling incomes and the near disappearance of credit have proved a potent mixture. While all the usual reasons that distressed borrowers seek bankruptcy — job loss, medical bills, divorce — play significant roles, new economic forces are changing the calculus of who can ride out the tough times and who cannot.

The number of personal bankruptcy filings jumped nearly 8 percent in October from September, after marching steadily upward for the last two years.

“Earlier downturns followed strong booms, so families went into recessions with higher incomes and lower debt loads,” said Elizabeth Warren, a professor at Harvard Law School and, along with Professor Lawless, part of the Bankruptcy Project team. “But the fundamentals are off for families even before we hit the recession this time, so bankruptcy filings are likely to rise faster.”

[Read](http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/16/business/16consumer.html “Read the Article”) (New York Times)

The failure of one or more of Detroit’s Big Three automakers would put a huge initial dent in American manufacturing, but in time foreign car companies would pick up the slack by stepping up production in their plants here, many industry experts and economists say.

Whether Washington should let that play out — risking hundreds of thousands of jobs — is a central question Congress will weigh this week as it hears testimony from Detroit leaders who are pushing for immediate federal intervention, before the next administration takes over in January.

Many industry experts say the big foreign makers are established enough to take control of the industry and its vast supplier network more quickly than is widely understood.

[Read](http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/17/business/economy/17impact.html?_r=1&oref=slogin “Read the Article”) (New York Times)

When money is scarce, car maintenance and repair can seem like a luxury. But local maintenance shops in the Fredericksburg area report being busier than they were six months ago.

Drivers are opting to fix the car they already own, rather than buy a new one.

People are keeping their cars for a few reasons. Drivers say they want to avoid a monthly payment, and others say they would have difficulty securing a loan in the current credit climate.

[Read](http://fredericksburg.com//News/FLS/2008/112008/11152008/424361 “Read the Article”) (Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star)

The Census Department reported that the U.S. trade deficit declined to its lowest level in a year, to $56.5 billion, but the trade deficit with China rose to an all-time high of $27.8 billion.

Half of the U.S. trade deficit is accounted for by China. A rough estimate holds that fully 10 percent of the annual trade deficit between the U.S. and China is accounted for by one company – Wal-Mart.

Wal-Mart reported a 9.8 percent rise in profits for the third quarter while other retailers struggled. Wal-Mart has benefited from its low-price position as shoppers cut back on discretionary purchases and seek bargains.

How does Wal-Mart get the lowest price? In significant measure, by sourcing production of its goods in China.

The Wal-Mart effect may partially explain the seeming disjunction between the U.S.’s failing economy, shrinking overall trade deficit, and yet growing trade gap with China. The worse things get in the U.S., the more Americans are relying on goods “made in China” just to get by.

[Read](http://www.salon.com/tech/htww/2008/11/13/walmart_china_and_trade/index.html “Read”) (Salon.com)

Richmond area off-track betting parlors will cut back hours next week.

Monday and Tuesday are the slowest wagering days. The West Broad Street OTB location will be closed on one of those days, and the Hull Street location will be closed on the other.

A representative from [Colonial Downs](http://www.colonialdowns.com/ “Colonial Downs”) called the decision to trim a day from each location’s schedule a consequence of the sagging economy.

[Read](http://www.inrich.com/cva/ric/news.apx.-content-articles-RTD-2008-11-12-0205.html “Read the Article”) (Richmond Times Dispatch)

*I noticed that the [Roanoke (Vinton) OTB Parlor](http://www.colonialdowns.com/otb/vinton.php “Vinton OTB Parlor Home Page”) is already closed on Monday’s and Tuesday’s.*