For those out of work and looking for a job, staying motivated can be tough. But with a "job search buddy," job-seekers can lean on someone for encouragement. The Takeaway talks to Deborga DiRago, an out-of-work New Yorker, and Marci Alboher, a career expert who writes the blog Working the New Economy.

With unemployment numbers at 8.5 percent it’s hard for anyone who gets a pink slip to look for a job through rose colored glasses. But blogger Marci Alboher says there is promise for those pounding the pavement in this slumping economy, but it may not come from the traditional job hunting methods. She runs the Yahoo blog Working the New Economy, and she joins us with some true stories about people who are finding work in creative ways, which may be a necessity when times are tough.

The Labor Department releases November unemployment data this morning. In October, the economy lost 240 thousand jobs and November may deliver some even bleaker numbers. Economist Peter Morici, a professor at the University of Maryland School of Business, looks at the numbers.

In the Takeaway’s continuing series on underemployment, we take a look at how having to shift to part time work can affect health insurance coverage. As more and more companies cut worker hours, who will cover the medical bills?