shows paychecks are flat. for families, even with both parents working, there's still not enough money for the basics. >> they are getting squeezed because their prices that they're paying are going up faster than their wages. >> mike viqueira is nbc news white house correspondent. peter mariucci, conservative economist says we have to add 13 million private sector jobs the next three years. that's 360,000 each month in the private sector if we're going to see unemployment down around 6% again. how much pressure is the white house under to keep moving this momentum? >> reporter: they're under a lot of pressure and you have heard from mike morel and other members of his base as well as 13.5 million out of work and those that quit working. they call it the participation rate. off the unemployment rolls and driving down ironically the unemployment rate. but this is being greeted by many not only here at the white house but on wall street as well standing up and cheering. only ticked down 0.1 from 8.nine

to 8.10 in the course of a month but represents the last four months ticking down of an entire percentage point. peter ma reesy at the university of maryland and the president a stone's throw at landover, maryland at an event emphasizing fuel efficient trucks at a u.p.s. plant in landover, maryland and talk about the unemployment rate. we can expect him to say, yes, we still have a lot of work to do but look at all the things my administration has done, that payroll tax cut part of the last minute tax deal at the end of last year. energy policy he talked about last week, education. these are all long-term goals that won't do much to spur the economy in the short term but the president expected to emphasize the positive everything that he is doing as others point to the fact that inflation, food and grass prices as well as the housing market which started this entire crisis

some two years ago, three years ago still showing signs of profound weakness. that is certainly not a good sign going forward. >> we just got a note from the white house that the president will speak about jobs when he's there talking about these fuel efficient fleet vehicles, u.p.s. among the companies that is really investing in those fuel efficient vehicles. mike, it's interesting because as much as the white house is doing to try and push forward on jobs, are they concerned about getting credit for what's already been done? >> reporter: well, of course they're always concerned about getting credit. the white house will tell you had he don't look at the polls although they remon straight if you have show spopolls that shot down or fluctuating. the president of course expected to formally announce his candidacy -- very low key announcement we expect over the course of the next month or so. from charlie cook, political experts all the way down the line will tell you so much

depends the president's political fortunes depend on where the unemployment rate is, the gdp growth, expected to be another 3% over the course of the first quarter this year after a 3% growth in the fourth quarter of last year. that's good but the question is will it be good enough not only for the 13.5 million that remain unemployed but for the president's political prospects as well. >> mike viqueira, thank you so much. and "usa today" reports 75% of the nation's ceos got raises last year, some of them whoppers. for instance, the head of stanley black & decker saw a 253% pay raise. john lundgren now making $32.6 million. viacom's chairman making $84.5 million. my big question. how do the companies explain the mega paychecks when some of their employees have seen pay cuts or at the very least stagnant wages. let's hear your thaufts. you can reach me on twitter or facebook. e-mail contessa@msnbc.com.

ceo median pay up 27% in 2010. many new jobs added in the economy meantime won't pay enough for families to pay for their basic needs. cnbc's melissa frances joins me live. where businesses are interested in profits and making money, how do they go about balancing the needs of certainly compensating ceos with the fact that wages are flat? >> the difference is if you look at the details of this survey, it shows that one of the reasons why the ceos' pay went up so much is because they were paid in stock and the value of the stock went higher. you quoted the 27%. the stock went up 21% if you had just owned the stock of that company. so the money isn't coming from inside the company from the profits they're taking in and giving it to the ceo. it's from the rising value of the stock, what other people and other investors on wall street are willing to pay these ceos for their stock. so it's not coming from the

employees' salary. >> so let's talk then about employees' salary. we know that wages are stagnant. we know in the last few years companies have had to find ways to do more with less either by cutting pay rolls or going back and telling employees, look, we want to keep you on but in order to stay on, you have to take a pay cut. a recent survey showed family of four with two working parents needs $67,900 to meet expenses but the median income is well short of $50,000. >> i think it's a huge problem. if you look at the ceo pay as well it is down. even though it's astronomical. you're right, they make more money than anyone needs. that is for sure the case. but they're also not back to 2000 levels. they have also taken pay cuts as well. the wage thing is a huge problem. we saw that in today's jobs

number as well. it showed that wages are flat. that's a function of how many peep are looking for work. they know they don't have to raise wages because they can find someone else willing to do the job for the exact same price. that happens in a downturn and that's a huge problem especially when you look at the price of oil and the price of gasoline and you hear the government saying there isn't inflation. but there is inflation of these very basic things and it's squeezing the average person for sure and it's a huge problem. >> good to see you. thank you. >> you too. have a great weekend. major development in libya today with an opposition leader setting conditions for a possible cease-fire to the fierce battle between moammar gadhafi's regime and rebel fighters. rebel forces now say they will accept the u.n. demand to cease-fire if gadhafi pulls his troops from all cities and allows peaceful protests, something gadhafi has refused to do. nbc's richard engel has the latest from benghazi. >> reporter: even as members of gadhafi's inner circle continue to defect the libyan leader

remains defiant. in a statement read on libyan television he accused the west of starting a crusader war. here in benghazi the rebels are doing better than they have in recent days. they're trying to hold a defensive line about 120 miles outside of the city of benghazi. they are refusing to give up further territory and are not just retreating, as we've seen them do over the last several days. instead, we've watched the rebels firing mortars and rockets directly on to gadhafi's troops. even when the rebels are attacked, some are scattering but others are holding the line and that is the first time we've seen them do that since this conflict began. richard engel, nbc news, benghazi. witnesses say security forces in southern syria killed at least three protesters in what is kaud a day of martyrs. activists are encouraging mass demonstrations across the country to honor the more than 70 people killed.

earlier this week syria's president dashed expectations he would announce sweeping reforms and instead blamed the unrest on foreign conspiracy. in yemen, hundreds of thousands of protesters packed a square in the capital of sanaa while others gathered in villages and cities across the country. in the largest demonstrations yet in that country. they are demanding yemen's longtime ruler step aside. negotiators in washington have just one more week to pass a budget and avoid a government shutdown. right now the two sides can't agree on a base line number and some senior republicans are reportedly getting tired of the stalemate. at issue freshman republicans many with tea party support who insist on slashing at least $61 billion and want to cut funding for planned parenthood, national public radio an the environmental protection agency. social goals. democrats are not on board. >> we've got to send a signal that you can't take the position

that unless we get everything that we want, including trying to impose a social agenda, that we're going to shut down the government. >> i'm joined by indiana congressman mike pence, the former republican conference chair. congressman, good to see you today. >> thank you. >> listen, you have a lot of experience in the ways of washington. you know to get things done especially in a split congress here it takes compromise and it takes negotiation. i know they are dirty words now but unless you're a dictator, you've got to find common ground. is that in the future? >> well, you know, i expect we are going to find a way forward. but house republicans believe that hr-1 with $61 billion in budget cuts that respects our treasury, respects our values was a compromise. we had more than 90 hours of debate. many amendments passed on a bipartisan basis. and when you're looking at a $1.65 trillion deficit this year

alone, it's hard to say you're slashing $61 billion. that feels a little more to the american people like a paper cut. but it's a start. it's a small step in the direction of fiscal discipline and think it's worth fighting for. >> if it respects the treasury but doesn't respect women's rights or the environment. is it going to undermine potential success here if you have force social issues on to the budget table? >> well, let me say i am -- i was the champion and the author of the pence amendment which would deny federal funding to planned parenthood of america but nothing in the pence amendment would deny funding to title x to women's health services. it says the largest abortion provider shouldn't be the largest recipient of funding. >> they treat all kinds of needs. it's not just an abortion

provider. >> that's true but they are the largest abortion provider in the country. performed over 300,000 abortions in the last year and received more than 350 -- >> i get that you want that and it's important to you. >> i think it's important to a majority in congress. 240 members of congress, a bipartisan majority voted to deny federal funding to planned parenthood. >> -- in control in the senate are unlikely to move on something like that. >> well, we'll see. >> without their support you're facing now without a deal -- you're facing a government shutdown. are you prepared for those consequences? >> welt, look, i think that really is, con tessa -- i think that is the important question. i think if liberals in the senate are unwilling to embrace even this modest step toward fiscal discipline in washington, d.c., then i say shut it down. you know, look, i think the

american people sent this historic new majority to congress to see the change in this direction. >> 800,000 federal workers got furloughed. the omb says it costs $1.25 billion in '95 when newt gingrich led a government shutdown. those furloughed workers go home. they don't get paychecks. but you do. >> well republicans are moving legislation on the floor that would change that and say members of the house and senate not be paid in the event of a government shutdown. we'll address that. i just think most americans know that we're facing a fiscal crisis, a sea of red ink of unprecedented proportions. and it's important when we finish the budgets work this year that we find at least -- we take one small step in the direction of fiscal discipline. $61 billion when you're facing a $1.65 trillion deficit this year is really just a down payment on fiscal discipline. and house republicans are

determined to fight for it. >> i think you're right. i think the vast majority of americans will agree that financially speaking something has got to be done. i just think that where we stand is the big disagreement on how it gets done and what should be done. congressman, i really appreciate your time today. thank you. so why the fbi is calling in the experts to help solve an unsolved murder case. plus, a woman in oklahoma fights to save her exotic animal, which also happens to be her therapy pet. a partially paralyzed kangaroo. and a deadly cobra back at the bronx zoo. unfortunately, back in captivity. what the snake says now. make a wish!

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a developing story sti hour. an american airlines flight can i verted to ohio after several people complained of feeling sick headed from washington, d.c. to chicago. passengers were complaining about air quality. an official at the dayton airport says one person had an asthma attack and two others went to the hospital. an american airlines spokesperson says there might have been a pressurization issue. it's april fools' day but for folks in the northeast this is no joke. a wicked blast of snow is punishing the region making it feel more like the middle of winter than spring. this is concord, new hampshire. fluffy snow making for not a great commute this morning even though it's very pretty if you like snow in spring. the snow started falling in parts of of massachusetts late last night. precipitation is expected to taper off finally by this afternoon and some areas could

get as much as a foot and a half of snow. are you kidding me? in florida, the clean-up is under way after a nasty storm system unleashed at least five confirmed tornadoes. rain, hail, wintd. seven people were hurt and the storm damaged more than two dozen homes and flipped over small planes in st. petersburg. a freak skydiving accident turned deadly on the west coast. two skydivers were killed in midair collision over paris valley airport in california. their parachuting collided causing both canopies to deflate that sent both hurdling to the ground. a group of women say they lost their jocks at an atlantic city casino when their bosses told they they were unfit to wear a new uniform. going for a 1920s theme. 15 servers were let go after a selection process. the women said we don't have a problem wearing the new uniform

as long as we can get one in our size, thank you very much. an oklahoma woman fighting to keep her paralyzed pet kangaroo. christy carr battles depression and says irwin the kangaroo helps because he's a therapy pet. she met him while volunteering at an animal sanctuary, nursed him back to health but city officials worry the animal could be a safety risk and it's going to decide later if she can keep this pet. later this month that decision is expected. we'll stay on top of it. two mysteriously encrypted note could hold the answer to a decades-old murder and the fbi is asking for the public's health cracking the code found in the pants pocket of a man killed in 1999 and they are the only clues in the case. joining me now is investigative crime reporter michelle sigona. set the scene. they find the notes and what's in the notes? >> it's basically an alphabet soup of information. there's upper case, lower case,

parentheses, all kinds of odd codes. and so when i spoke to the lieutenant from the sheriff's offers in the st. louis area earlier today, he said the victim's body was found off the main roadway. it's not really very accessible. something that you have could get to by a car. when they brought his body in he was in a pretty decomposed state. they reached in his pocket and that's when they found the notes. >> why don't they think -- or are they considering the possibility that this is a drug user like someone on meth or has mental illness and not making sense? why do they believe it is code? >> that is possible and that is something they are considering. what they have found is that the victim in this ricky mccormick, he had been developing the notes as a chitd. he dropped out of high school. he had a few brushins with the law over his life before he was found dead but he was known to sit down and sort of write these things out. what's important in this case

and what folks need to realize is that the information contained in these notes could possibly uncover his whereabouts a few days before his body was found. his body has not been deemed a homicide. it is deemed suspicious in nature. so they could not because of the decomposing state say, okay, yes, he was murdered by a bullet or he was stabbed or whatever the case may be. but where his body was found, the condition his body was found in, the notes in his pocket, this is really the only main clues, the golden nuggets. that's why when the sheriff's office handed it over to the fbi and they couldn't crack it, the emerging media -- the fbi has embraced emerging media in a great manner. so there are some writers i'm told by the fbi this morning that some of the writers were looking through some of the cases and said this is a really interesting component. let's get it out to the public. >> they've put it out there. they're hoping some amateur cryptologist -- is that the name for the solvers -- can crack the

code. thank you for bringing the story. >> hopefully someone will crack it. on the front lines americans are heading to japan to help save the country from a nuclear disaster. plus, apparently even a prince gets prewedding jitters. jane carroll's floral arrangements were big hits with celebrities like oprah. in 2009 she opened jane on main in pearl river, new york, adding a coffee shop to help sustain the flower business. it needed help so we sent in the experts for a small business makeover. my cream is what makes stouffer's fettuccini alfredo so delicious. my peppers and broccoli... they really make the dish. cream is really what makes it. i think you'll find it's the vegetables. the crunch... the texture. deliciously rich. delicious. fantastic! flavorful. [ cow moos ] hey, maybe we could... work together?

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to help you choose the plan that's right for you. as with all medicare supplement plans, you can keep your own doctor and hospital that accepts medicare, get help paying for what medicare doesn't... and save up to thousands of dollars. call this toll-free number now. welcome back to msnbc. i'm contessa brewer. we have live pictures from andover, maryland, where president obama is expected shortly to talk about the jobs report and to focus on clean vehicles that companies are using to save money and how in turn that helps the environment. this is a u.p.s. facility. the president is going to talk about the new partnership with corporate giants like u.p.s., at&t, pepsico to reduce oil use in the fleets. hot on the web today and the bronx zoo cobra is captured and back in captivity.

zoo keepers found the serpent coiled near the reptile house only a couple hundred feet from its cage. it's alive, well, but still nameless? after this kind of fame, you'd think the snake should have a name and somebody should probably tell the human behind the cobra's twitter account, who is still posting. i highly doubt that zoo keepers would let a snake keep a cell phone. hello, time for the twitter to end. the "jersey shore" snooki will be paid $32,000 to peek at rutgers invited to talk about her reality show, her tanning, her poof. her advice to students, study hard, but party harder. brilliant. by the way, snooki is getting paid a couple thousand dollars more than the university is reportedly paying nobel prize winning author toni morrisson for her commencement address. how is that fair or equitable or right. topping trends in searches

the last week. google's prank today a new feature that allows you to control g mail with only your body. not a keyboard or mouse. >> for example, to open a message, make a motion as if you were opening an envelope. to reply simply point backward with your thumb. to reply all, use both hands. >> the great thing about that prank is that your whole office knows if you have fell for it. we'll be right back. i'm good about washing my face.

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[ whispering ] shhhh... did you hear that? it sounded like the chocobeast. the what? half man, half beast. he'll stop at nothing to sink his fangs into people who steal other people's chocolate temptations. you guys have nothing to worry about, right? aaah! [ all scream ] nice job, chocobeast! thank you. [ male announcer ] six indulgent layered desserts, at 150 calories or less. new temptations. it's the first jell-o that's just for adults. welcome back to msnbc. highway detectives at their lowest level since 1949. the government credits better safety equipment and more people wearing seat belts. arizona governor proposes a $50 fee on obese medicaid enrollees who don't follow their doctors' weight loss program. smokers hit with the same fee.

august bush iv facing a wrongful death lawsuit filed by adrien martin's family. prince william admits he's nervous about his wedding. he says he's excited but there's still a lot of planning to do and the prince has said, no, he's not wearing a wedding band. not that it will matter. the whole world will know he's married. uk authorities reportedly meeting with representatives from moammar gadhafi's government in london and hope to meet with former representatives who have defected. for instance moussa koussa. he announced a resignation wednesday after flying too london. he holds valuable information because of his high position in the regime's inner circle. with me from paris christopher dickies on skype. good to see you. >> good to see you. >> here's the thing. don't you think at this point moammar gadhafi is rethinking how many envoys he should send

to london on the off chance they too plan to defect? >> yes, that's a really good question and i think it really is something that is probably bothering him a lot. who can he trust? he's already a paranoid. we should be clear about that. when people say gadhafi is crazy, they're not mincing their words. that's true. and so he -- it's been hard for him all of his life to figure out who he could trust. now he's finding out he can trust almost nobody especially anybody who has any contacts with western intelligence and diplomatic services. >> he's not only lost moussa koussa. he also lost ali ab del salam an a former fm. he announced a departure after moussa koussa did. and he is someone who brings to the table some knowledges of the way gadhafi works and things like that. how are the defections likely to influence what might happen on a

cease-fire? >> well, first of all, it's going to be hard to find somebody to negotiate a cease-fire. these were traditionally the intermediaries between gadhafi and the rest of the world. moussa koussa is by far the most important not all bone he was foreign minister. that's recent. since early 2000 -- >> i think we've just lost our skype shot there. that sounds i know well just from talking to family. that's christopher dickey. we are keeping our eye on developments coming to us from skype. again, the rebels are saying they would participate in a cease-fire if moammar gadhafi pulls his people out of the cities and allows the people to protest which is something gadhafi said he is not willing to do. a new report says an american recruiting company is hiring nuclear power workers here in the united states to help japan get its fukushima plant under control.

qualifications include willing to let you go work in a radioactive zone. the reward good pay and the challenge of solving a major crisis. nbc news has reached out to the recruiting firm for comment but they have not responded. in japan, mother of an engineer that worked at the plant fukushima 50 expected to die within weeks or months. unbelievable. here's a little positive news from japan. two giant pandas finally made their debut at the tokyo zoo. they were supposed to make their initial appearance last month but was postponed because of the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear crisis. about 3,000 lined up to see those cuties from china. a wisconsin judge gets in the middle of that state's union rights battle today. a hearing under way right now as judge mary ann sumi decides to block the legislation.

nbc's john yang has been covering the story and joins me. so far the judge said this law cannot take effect and the ways that you're trying to go around it aren't right either. >> this is the second day she's taken testimony and said the trial may not end today. there may be more. the debate or the issue is not over the substance of the bill but the way it was passed. opponents say that the senate did not -- or violated the open meeting law because they didn't give the public enough notice. the republicans are saying, well, even if we didn't -- even if we didn't do that, a judge can't strike the bill down because of that. so there are lots of issues in this that's going to go beyond this court probably to the state supreme court. >> where do we stand on the ohio battle on bargaining rights? >> governor john kasich signed it into law. it takes 90 days to be effective. in those 90 days the unions are launching a petition drive to

get enough votes to put a repeal on the ballot in september. if they succeed this will be a battle royale in a political year where there's no big election going on. this is going to be a proxy war on both sides. >> do you see this having enough steam where it goes from these midwestern states that are currently embracing the battle to other states and that it ends up being an issue in the elections of 2012? >> i think it's definitely going to be an issue in the election of 2012 you're going to see because with this on the ballot in ohio in november, you'll have people running for president especially republican presidential candidates. ohio will be a must stop place during that campaign. >> happening in places -- they're battleground states. every election we see this. a lot from wisconsin say i voted for the republicans. this is not at all what i anticipate s. was going to happen. to andover, maryland where president obama is at a u.p.s. facility there to talk about investment in clean fleets and

how it saves those companies money but of course big jobs report just out today. >> that means more packages. right? that makes 1.8 million private sector jobs created in the last 13 months and the unemployment rate has now fallen a full point in the last four months. the last time that happened was during the recovery in 1984 where we saw such a significant drop in the unemployment rate. now, despite that good news, everybody here knows we've got a lot more work to do. there are still millions of americans out there that are looking for a job that pays the bills. i know there's a lot going on in the world right now. and so the news has been captured by the images of the

middle east and what's happening, the tragedy to our friends in japan. you should know that keeping the economy going and making sure jobs are available is the first thing that i think about when i wake up in the morning. it's the last thing i think about when i go to bed each night. and i will not be satisfied until every american who wants a good job can find one and every american gets a shot at the american dream. that's what we're focused on. that's what we're fighting for. so although we got good news today, we have to keep the momentum going. and making the transition to a clean energy economy will help us do that in two very important ways. first, it reduces the chance that our families, our businesses and our economy will be held hostage at the whims of the oil market, will be held hostage to something that

happens on the other side of the world. second, invest in clean energy has the potential to create an untold number of new jobs and new industries right here in the united states. so for all these reasons, i set a new goal for america. when i was first elected, america imported 11 million barrels of oil a day. 11 million barrels. a decade from now, i want us to have cut that by one third. that is achievable. it is necessary. it's good for our future. and we are going to get it done. i'm confident we can get it done. now, to meet that goal, we're going to need to pursue a broad range of policies. new incentives for natural gas fleets, new research on advanced biofuels. and my hope is that members of both parties, republicans and

democrats, will support these kinds of proposals. this shouldn't be a partisan issue. this is an american issue. making sure that we've got energy security and energy independence. but one of the best ways to reduce our dependence on oil is by making our cars and trucks more energy efficient, because transportation accounts for more than 70% of america's oil consumption. and, by the way, using energy efficient cars and trucks can also make economic sense because transportation is one of the biggest costs for many businesses and certainly for many families. >> and could actually become a bigger cost if the price of oil keeps going up, if gasoline does hit what some analysts have said could be even $5 a gallon by the summer. u.p.s., pepsico, fedex, at&t, verizon communications some of the companies, they operate a of the 10 largest corporate fleets

and there you hear the president talk about how energy efficient vehicles save them a lot on oil, a lot on emissions and of course a lot on money. home stuck home. how a struggling housing market makes it tough for some to get a better job. president obama's approval ratings has dipped except for a key group of voters, young ones. why they could be one of the biggest backers in the presidential race. [ male announcer ] this...is the network. a living, breathing intelligence that's helping business rethink how to do business. in here, machines tell factories when they're thirsty. so soft drink companies can manage thousands of vending machines in real time. ♪

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the rate of hearing loss is climbing among older adults. a johns hopkins university study found 63% over 70 had mild to severe hearing loss. surprisingly african-americans had only one-third the rate of hearing loss compared to white participants. i'm andrea mitchell. coming up next on "andrea mitchell reports," american companies are adding jobs. the fastest two-month pass since before the recession. behind the numbers of today's jobs report with labor secretary hilda solis. in the battle for libya. we talk to republican congressman duncan hunter who says it's time for nato to step it up and former analyst ken pollack on the roll the u.s. is playing to help the rebels against gadhafi. even as the president's overall approval rating has taken a bit of a hit, a poll out this week suggests he's as popular as ever with young

voters. in the harvard university poll of young americans 55% they approve of the job he's doing. it comes just as he gets ready to launch his re-election campaign this month. karen finney is an msnbc political consultant and former communications director for the democratic national committee. how important will young people be to who is the next president? >> young people are going to be critical. one of the things in the 2008 election for the very first time you had more young voters voting than seniors, meaning there's been a real shift in terms of dynamics of the power of voting blocks that can have an impact on the election. that crop of young voters is now four years older and there's a whole new group of young voters to go after. one of the challenges the gop had in 2008, they didn't work shaas

hard to court young voters. that's a challenge to reach back out to young voters in the way we've seen -- president obama has cornered the market on that. >> it sounds like one of the challenges for the democrats is that they didn't see the kind of turnout in the midterm elections from young voters that they saw in the presidential election. so how do they ensure that young people are still actively engaged in politics? >> that's exactly right, contessa. a lot of people think that had a big part in some of the losses that democrats had. i think with the launch of the campaign, the goal is going to be to go back to some of the techniques, frankly, that worked so well in 2008, being online, on facebook. they've done some of those things throughout the course of time from the dnc and even from the white house. but it's different when you're trying to get people motivated around an idea or policy idea than when you're trying to galvanize support and get people motivated for a candidate in an election. >> can we have talk about women here, pivotal group? this has been an issue, on the

front burner. i talked to mike pence who said we want to pull all funding from planned parenthood. women's issues, is that enough to get women involved? >> it might be. women, that's another bloc that's very important in the elections both to democrats and republicans. democrats have been losing ground with women voters. and it's not -- the planned parenthood debate i think really shocked a lot of women across the country. democrats, republicans, independents. as you pointed out in that interview with pence, it's not just about abortion services but basic health care services that really shock so many women. i think between that and some of the other extreme measures -- >> arizona. >> arizona where we saw a measure passed. we saw in indiana there was a republican house -- state legislative member who said perhaps an exception for rape could create a loophole, that women would basically fake that they had been raped in order to be -- get an abortion.

that's the kind of thing that angers women arkansas cross the political spectrum. so it could create an opening particularly among independent women. >> thanks so much. have a great weekend. i grew up in the bronx. i just loved it here. i'm sam chernin. owner of sammy's fish box. my uncle owned a restaurant up on city island. and we started going to the restaurant in the summers. 8, 9, 10 years old. i knew immediately that this is what i like, never dreaming that i would own seven restaurants. i want people that work for me to feel that they're sharing in my success. so we purchase as much as we can on the american express open gold card. and we accumulate as many membership reward points as possible. and use those points to reward our employees. they get a trip with their family, and some wonderful memories. the average employee is with me over 20 years. i have busboys that are with me 30 years. when i tell them that i'm giving them a trip,

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a slumping house something market is forcing some unemployed americans to turn down job offers. more workers are willing to relocate and will even turn down a position because they can't sell their houses. even though hiring is improving most that turn down job offers that force them to move did it because of concerns over housing. with me consumer advocate tara nicole nelson. what happens here? they get an offer but the people say you have to move a state away, across the country. what happens in the housing market that prevents it? >> we keep the housing market and job be market intersect in detrimental ways. people said they couldn't get loans because of jobs, couldn't

keep homes because of jobs. now we're seeing as the jobs market gets stronger the issue surfacing is people are unwilling or unable to sell these upside down homes with negative equity in them even for a job. 1 in 4 americans under water on their loans. >> it happened to my brother. got offered a great job, a job he really wanted but really under water in his house and felt like he was trapped by the mortgage he signed up for. couldn't sell the house. so is there a way out in those situations? >> there are lots of alternatives. we see some people renting homes out. we see lots of people trying to seek loan modifications and short sales. a large number of the people that are stuck are people trying actively now to get banks to approve short sales and are getting caught up in that stuck short sale rig were a ma role we've been hearing about. once negative equity hits about 50% people are just walking away

from their homes in those situations. >> and if the companies are willing to offer somebody a job -- i mean, it means they want them to be employees -- are they ever been willing to step in and try to figure out a solution? >> that used to be something we would see fairly frequently when the market wasn't quite as impacted as it is now with the homes deeply under water but some job candidates are telling them they're less attractive candidates one the employer finds out they have an underwater home to unload. with the vast number of homes upside down employers don't want to take the burden on. >> are there certain parts of the country seeing more problems with this than others? >> definitely. most of the places we see home values decline a lot but not enough that people are walking away en masse. that's where we see it. even in the foreclosure hot spots we see this a lot with people who have put money into their homes, did put money down and are not willing to lock that loss in. >> i guess the good news is for

job candidates who live close to where the company is located, does that give them a better shot at moving forward with their lives, forward with their careers? absolutely. and it's also an interesting learning that we're seeing buyers today take advantage of. they're really not wanting to buy unless they're comfortable staying in that place for seven to ten years so they're pinpointing and targeting areas that have really strong job growth outlook over the long time. >> tara nicole, thank you for joining us. that wraps up the hour for me. in fact, wraps up this week for me. i'm contessa brewer. thank you so much for watching. i'll see you back here next week noon eastern, 9:00 a.m. out west. have a great weekend. "andrea mitchell reports." i don't have a good april fools' joke for you. >> that's okay. happy friday. happy weekend. thanks. up next, labor secretary hilda solis joining us to break down today's jobs number. plus the unemployment crisis in black america. atlanta's mayor joins us.

to arm or not to arm? big decisions for the president. final four bracket toology. only two fans got it right. big hint, it's not a science.

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right now on "andrea mitchell reports," are the jobs coming back? new numbers show unemployment is inching down to 8.8%, the lowest in two years. the president moments ago -- >> i know there's a lot going on in the world right now, and so the news has been captured by the images of of the middle east and what's happening -- the tragedy to our friends in japan. i'm focused on those issues. but you should know that keeping the economy going and making sure jobs are available is the first thing i think about when i wake up in the morning. it's the last thing i think about when i go to bed each night. >> this hour we'll break down the numbers with