When stocks rise on Wall Street, how does that benefit the average schmoe struggling with unemployment?

it doesn't...

Wall St rises on resources, banks, data

U.S. stocks extended gains on Monday, pushing major indexes up 1 percent as investors snapped up shares of natural resource companies and banks after fresh data pointed to signs of economic stabilization.

before we look at unemployment, let's look at what's happening with rental and homeowner vacancy rates...

In Kansas City, rental vacancy rates rose from 11.9% to 15% over the past year; homeowner vacancy rates nearly doubled, up from 2.1% to 3.8%. Comparatively, the average homeowner vacancy rate in the country's 75 largest metro areas improved slightly from 3% to 2.7%, while the rental vacancy rate edged up to 10.2% from 10% a year ago.

Kansas City isn't the only metro where rental and homeowner vacancy rates are rising in tandem. Second on our list is the San Francisco-Oakland metro, where high prices are pushing Bay Area residents out of the region. Third is Tucson, Ariz., where the aftermath of the housing boom has left a glut of inventory. The pair's predicament illustrates both sides of the vacancy coin.

[...]

Miami, which ranks No. 8, owns a whopping 12.7% rental vacancy rate, up from 11.4% a year ago; residential towers built in the final stages of the boom now stand as empty monuments to an over-hyped market downtown. Homeowner vacancy stands at 5.6%, up from 3.8% last year, thanks mostly to a spate of foreclosures. According to Trulia.com, 40% of the homes available in Miami's city limits are foreclosures.

now, how about that unemployment...

The U.S. unemployment rate may not peak until the second half of 2010, even as the broader economy shows signs of improvement, U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner said.

[...]

Lawrence Summers, director of the White House National Economic Council, said that while the economy will resume growth in the second half of the year, the job picture “will be serious for some time to come.”

and what's going to make things all better...?

Much of the economic recovery will depend on the housing market, [former Fed Chairman Alan] Greenspan said.

oh, well then...

note to you average schmoes struggling with unemployment... the tradesters and banksters may be kissing the recession goodbye but, for the time being, you can kiss your ass goodbye...

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