Tomorrow morning and afternoon, Syracuse University basketball fans will descend like locusts upon the New York State Thruway. Their destination: exit 50, as they shuffle off to Buffalo to follow their beloved Orange.

To say the job market has been slow to recover is a vast understatement. Even though the economy grew for the entire second half of last year — 2.2 percent in the third quarter and 5.9 percent in the fourth quarter — employers have continued to cut jobs and have been reluctant to hire.

The U.S. Commerce Department reported Jan. 29 that the nation’s real gross domestic product (GDP) soared at an annual rate of 5.7 percent in the fourth quarter of 2009. That’s the fastest growth rate since 2003.

The nation's GDP jumped 5.7 percent in the fourth quarter of 2009, the U.S. government reported this morning. Great news, right? The number is not as strong as it seems.

Evidence continues to mount that a jobless economic recovery is under way and will continue for some time. Uncertainties about the longevity of the recovery and government-policy changes are scaring many business owners from adding to their payrolls.