Funemployment Jumps to 9.8% in January*

The party train keeps chuggin' along:


This should give Obama something to talk about with Bill O'Reilly on Super Bowl Sunday, in case there are any awkward pauses during the discussion of the unfolding disaster in the Middle East or the unconstitutionality of his historic legislative stinkbomb.

*CLARIFICATION: That was Gallup reporting 9.8% unemployment. The official rate unexpectedly dropped unexpectedly to 9.0%, which nobody expected.

h/t: Weasel Zippers. Cross-posted.

Sign of the Times: 'Funemployment' Added to Dictionary

We spotted this trend early on, where the media would weakly spin The Great Obama Recession as being somehow enjoyable. Well, sure enough, the word funemployment has now been added to a dictionary.

"Funemployment", "PIIGS" and "broken society" have all made their way into the Collins English Dictionary, reflecting the dominance of the economic downturn in last year's consciousness.

The latest technological trends have also been captured among the dozens of new inclusions, which were revealed on Wednesday, with "tweetheart," "tweet tooth," "tweet-out," "iPad" and "intexticated" all entering the lexicon.

"Funemployment" describes the enjoyment had while on an unforeseen break from work and "PIIGS" is an acronym for Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Greece and Spain, the countries most at risk from the European sovereign debt crisis.

"Broken society" or "social recession" describe the perceived erosion of moral values while "ghost estate," an unfinished housing development abandoned due to the downturn, is now in the dictionary.

Social networking site Twitter is responsible for the addition of "tweetheart," a person who uses the site and is much admired by other users.

"Tweet tooth" is the strong urge to post a Twitter update while "tweet-out" is a greeting sent to a friend via the online service.

The success of Apple's new "iPad" laptop computer is acknowledged while the addition of "itexticated," which means to be distracted while reading or writing a text message, exposes some of technology's draw-backs.

Language-lovers in Glasgow whittled down the final list of new words after feeding written and spoken material from newspapers, websites, magazines, television and radio into a database over the past year.

The obsession with celebrity culture is highlighted by the inclusion of "fauxmance," which is a non-existent relationship between stars concocted to attract media attention.

Popular political terms are also included with "birther," used to describe those who believe that US President Barack Obama was not born in America, making the new edition.

The should also add Obamamedia, used to describe a slobbering chattering class hopelessly in love with an unqualified, megalomaniac who somehow managed to finagle his way into the White House.

More Good News: California Funemployment Rate Hits 12.5%

Since Dingy Harry and the Democrats are today celebrating the loss of 36,000 jobs, they'll be so ecstatic at this news they may need plastic surgery to wipe the smiles off their faces.

California employers added 32,500 to their payrolls in January, a sign that the state's moribund labor market might finally be stirring to life.

The gains came as sectors throughout the economy, including construction and manufacturing, started to hire workers, according to numbers released Friday by the Employment Development Department.

The state's unemployment rate increased slight to 12.5% in January, up from a revised 12.3% the previous month, as formerly discouraged workers who had dropped out of the labor force began job-hunting again.

California's unemployment rate remains well above the national rate of 9.7%. But it's not likely to climb much higher, said Sung Won Sohn, an economist at Cal State Channel Islands.

"In California, I think we are probably nearing the peak in the unemployment rate," he said. "It's very easy to be gloomy about overall picture, but I see some strengths."

Yes, it's easy to be gloomy, especially when you live in the real world, where funemployment isn't all it's cracked up to be.

Trendy New Lifestyle: 'Funemployment'

For the better part of two months in the summer of 1993 I was able to enjoy this lifestyle after my old company underwent a large downsizing and I took the very generous severance package. Alas, it wasn't much fun being badgered every morning by my wife (then girlfriend) to send out resumes before she trudged off to work. At the time I figured why not take advantage of a hot summer and enjoy some things I normally wouldn't get to enjoy and likely never would again be able to, such as golfing and swimming every day?

Well, that was the last summer I ever had off and I have to admit, it was very enjoyable. Though who knew such a period would eventually spawn a new term: Funemployment.

Michael Van Gorkom was laid off by Yahoo in late April. He didn't panic. He didn't rush off to a therapist. Instead, the 33-year-old Santa Monica resident discovered that being jobless "kind of settled nicely."

Week one: "I thought, 'OK . . . I need to send out resumes, send some e-mails, need to do networking."

Week two: "A little less."

Every week since: "I'm going to go to the beach and enjoy some margaritas."

What most people would call unemployment, Van Gorkom embraced as "funemployment."

While millions of Americans struggle to find work as they face foreclosures and bankruptcy, others have found a silver lining in the economic meltdown. These happily jobless tend to be single and in their 20s and 30s. Some were laid off. Some quit voluntarily, lured by generous buyouts.

Buoyed by severance, savings, unemployment checks or their parents, the funemployed do not spend their days poring over job listings. They travel on the cheap for weeks. They head back to school or volunteer at the neighborhood soup kitchen. And at least till the bank account dries up, they're content living for today.

"I feel like I've been given a gift of time and clarity," said Aubrey Howell, 29, of Franklin, Tenn., who was laid off from her job as a tea shop manager in April. After sleeping in late and visiting family in Florida, she recently mused on Twitter: "Unemployment or funemployment?"

Never heard of funemployment? Here's Urban Dictionary's definition: "The condition of a person who takes advantage of being out of a job to have the time of their life. I spent all day Tuesday at the pool; funemployment rocks!"

It may not have entered our daily lexicon yet, but a small army of social media junkies with a sudden overabundance of time is busy Tweeting: "Funemployment road trip to Portland." "Funemployment is great for catching up on reading!" "Averaging 3 rounds of golf a week plus hockey and bball. who needs work?"

As frivolous as it sounds, funemployment is a statement about American society. Experts say it's both a reflection of the country's cultural narcissism -- and attitudes of entitlement and self-centeredness -- and a backlash against corporate America and its "Dilbert"-like work environment.

"Recession gives people permission to be unemployed," said David Logan, a professor at USC's Marshall School of Business. "Why not make use of the time and go do something fun?"

Jean Twenge, co-author of "The Narcissism Epidemic: Living in the Age of Entitlement," said in some cases, many employees had lost balance between work and life, with too many late nights and weekends spent at the office. When they stop working, they realize how much they had given up.

Indeed.

I doubt I'll ever get back to enjoying an entire summer off (at least until I retire), but it's a pleasant thought. For now I'll have my three-day weekends all summer, along with ample margaritas.