The latest unemployment numbers are out, indicating that the Elkhart area is, well, moving in the right direction, but the modest improvement isn’t about to spark any spontaneous dancing in the streets. Joblessness in October was still 14.9 percent for Elkhart County, down a mere one-tenth of a percent from September, and 17.4 percent in the city of Elkhart, as reported by The Elkhart Truth on Friday. That's well above the national average of 10.2 percent.

At best, there could be a collective sigh of relief in this recession, with news that qualified Indiana residents who remain jobless are eligible for an additional 20 weeks of unemployment starting Monday, as reported by The Elkhart Truth.

The extension is part of a measure signed into law by President Barack Obama on Nov. 6 as the national jobless rate hit double-digits. It extends benefits by 14 weeks in all states, and 20 weeks in states where the average three-month unemployment rate was over 8.5 percent. In Indiana, where the jobless rate is 9.8 percent, the extension could affect some 50,000 Hoosiers.

The new law staves off a massive loss of benefits faced by Americans who are struggling to find new jobs in the recession, as reported by msnbc.com in The Elkhart Project in August.

Still, the move offers a reprieve, not a panacea, as The Elkhart Truth's Marilyn Odendahl reports: For Elkhart resident Russell Clanton, who has been out of work since March, "the extension may mean he will be able to keep his house, but the daily juggling of bills will continue."