This morning's papers delivered a slurry of bad economic news. But if you looked closely, you could see a silver lining. On some things! A little! For instance:

• According to a recent Labor Department study, New York is leading all states in first-time unemployment, with an increase of 5,224 first-time claims mostly in finance, media, and law. "The outlook for the metropolitan area has darkened quickly in the last several weeks. Moody’s Economy.com, a research firm, raised its projection of job losses in financial services by two-thirds this month, to 100,000 from 60,000, which, it said, would put the region into recession before the end of the year." However! Overall, New York reported the largest decrease due to fewer layoffs in public administration, transportation, and services. [NYT, WSJ]

• A job fair at the IRS, of all places, had a line full of finance professionals who were clamoring to work there out of sheer desperation. “You could get a lucrative job in the financial market right now, but how long can you keep it?” he asked. “Everywhere I look, I see layoffs. If I take a $10,000 or $20,000 pay cut, in the long run, I’m ahead. The government is not in the trading business. It will be around.” But some people wanted to work there just to make the world a better place: “I see the IRS as a way to help people,” said one applicant, an illustrator who said the agency had been nice to him when he was out of work a few years ago. [NYT]

• "The pace of economic activity appears to have slowed markedly, owing importantly to a decline in consumer expenditures." BUT: There are a lot of great deals out there. [WSJ, Portfolio]

• Also, Mark Ronson ate a plate of pot brownies at P-Diddy's house, which is awesome. [NYP]