the buzz log

The money experts didn't need to tell ordinary no-longer-working joes that the economy isn't good, but who doesn't appreciate a little validation? In the past several days, the most popular news stories (other than primary coverage) have been about some unwelcome all-time highs: auto repossessions (highest since 1998), job cuts (deepest since 2003), oil prices (highest ever), and foreclosures (highest ever).

The news got so bad that the president comped to a "clear" slowdown while reminding people about the "booster shot" coming their way. The reminder put aside searches for "surviving a recession" long enough to revive impatient queries into "economic stimulus package" and "rebate checks." Indeed, even the term "irs spokesman john" came under Search fire, after one John Lipold confirmed in an AP story that IRS letters were coming—at a $42 mil cost—to explain how the checks were coming.

Search signs of a sick market have risen as well: "Stagflation" queries have more than doubled since January, and "recession" searches continue to rise unabated. It takes two negative quarters to have a recession, which the economy hasn't suffered, but the lookups speak to the perception. Questions about "what is inflation" rose +102% in the past 30 days, and people have been estimating the "inflation rate" on their own by checking an online "inflation calculator." Opportunists who scoured "foreclosure listings" and "government tax foreclosures" have dropped off, and "real estate investments" searches have declined.

Despite cold hard economic numbers, people have been been making do: figuring out whether to "rent or buy a house" (+235%), using a "cheap gas price finder" (+137%) to save at the pump, seeking "credit card debt relief" (+37%), and finding a way to support themselves, as the below list of employment and unemployment shows.

1. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (+209%)
2. California Department of Unemployment (+201%)
3. Walmart Employment Applications (+189%)
4. Indiana Unemployment Uplink (+129%)
5. Wisconsin Unemployment Weekly Claim (+115%)
6. City of Houston Employment (+61%)
7. Temporary Employment Agencies (+24%)
8. USPS.com/employment (+10%)
9. City of Chicago Employment City Jobs (+9%)
10. Target Stores Employment (+8%)

Interestingly, number one is a federal agency which recently released a report denoting another misbegotten high: a rise in job discrimination complaints. And according to one source, a worsening economy likely begets more complaints. Forget booster shots—maybe radiation therapy's in order here.