Hot Topics: Unemployment Drops to 7.3% For Workers Over 45

The U.S. jobless rate edged slightly downward in February to a nearly two-year low of 8.9 percent, and unemployment for people 45 and older dipped even lower, to 7.3 percent, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data published today.

The nation's overall unemployment fell as companies added a total of 192,000 new jobs in a handful of industries, including manufacturing, construction and professional and health-care services. Economists are optimistic that the growth in private-sector hiring is a sign that the pace of the country's recovery is picking up, according to this report in The New York Times.

Unemployment rates for older workers dropped across the board last month and, depending on the age group, have improved from moderately to significantly over the past year. Here's a more in-depth look at the numbers:

• The overall unemployment rate for workers 45 and older was 7.3 percent, down from 7.6 percent in January, and 8.1 percent in February 2010.
• People ages 45 to 54 continue to have the highest jobless rate of all workers 45 and older -- with February unemployment at 7.7 percent, down from 7.9 percent in January and 8.4 percent in February 2010.
• Unemployment for 55- to 64-year-old workers dropped to 7.0 percent from 7.4 percent in January and 7.6 percent in February 2010.
• Unemployment rates dipped the most for workers 65 and older, to 6.2 percent from 6.9 percent in January and 7.7 percent in February 2010.

Older Americans Working Longer: February's hiring boost is good news for the country's 47.5 million older workers, for whom unemployment remained high throughout last year. According to a recent report from the Urban Institute, more than half of unemployed workers 50 and over were out of work at least six months in 2010, and nearly a third were unemployed for more than a year. According to the report, over the past decade older workers have grown to account for a larger portion of the country's labor force. In 2010, people 50 and over made up 31 percent of the country's work force, up from 20 percent in 1995.

Roseanne Barr, Nut Farmer: She went from housewife to stand-up comic to TV star to tabloid queen for her out-sized language and behavior. Now Roseanne Barr is trying her hand at farming on a 50-acre macadamia nut farm in Hawaii. The comedienne, whose namesake TV show ruled the airwaves in the 1990s, talked about her Green Acres switch on a recent visit with Oprah. Though she says she's never been happier, Barr hasn't completely ditched show biz. She just published a new book, Roseannearchy, and is filming a 16-episode reality TV show about her family's down-on-the-farm life. "I got the fame and the fortune that I always wanted," Barr tells Oprah. "But I have to say what I have now, it's even better."

Sheen's Out, Laurie's In as TV's Highest-Paid: With CBS stopping production on Two and a Half Men for the rest of the season, TV's highest-paid actor is no longer Charlie Sheen, who was making $1.25 million an episode. The honor now goes to 51-year-old Hugh Laurie, who, according to a ContactMusic report, makes $400,000 for each episode of House.

Ex-NFL Player's Second Act: Eason Ramson played for the San Francisco 49ers in the early 1980s and made it to the Super Bowl before a drug addiction landed him in prison. Out and clean for more than a decade, Ramson now heads the Center for Academic Re-entry and Empowerment at the YMCA in Bayview Hunters Point, a Bay Area program to help teenage dropouts go back to school. Ramson's work earned him a Jefferson Award, an honor established in 1972 to recognize public service work by individuals and institutions."I feel like I've been given a gift, and the gift has been my experiences and my experiences are people who stood by me and I'm giving back," Ramson told CBS San Francisco.

Life of Pie: Beth Howard has baked pies for Barbra Streisand and Mel Gibson, judged pies at national championships and state fairs, taught pie baking, and published a pie blog, The World Needs More Pie. This month, on the brink of turning 50, the Eldon, Iowa, resident landed a book deal to tell her life's story, including how pie helped her heal after her 43-year-old husband's sudden death. The book, Making Piece: A Memoir about Love, Loss and Pie, will be published in June 2012 by Harlequin Nonfiction. Read the first chapter here.

Living Longer, Living Better: The Boston Globe joins the ranks of news organizations addressing the interests and needs of older Americans, with the debut of a special section, Living Longer, Living Better, "A Guide to Health, Wealth and Happiness in Later Years." The quarterly publication's inaugural edition includes stories on adult art classes, downsizing and volunteer travel. It also features this SecondAct.com story on affordable retirement communities.

Last Word: "I found in my research that the biggest reason people aren't more self-compassionate is that they are afraid they'll become self-indulgent. Most people have gotten it wrong because our culture says being hard on yourself is the way to be." -- Kristin Neff, human development professor at the University of Texas at Austin, as quoted in The New York Times