A spot of good news -- for men, at least -- coming from Challenger, Gray & Christmas. According to the Chicago-based provider of executive outplacement services, the man-cession, as it has been called by some, saw employment among men plummet by more than 5.2 million between November 2007 and December 2009.

"Now, with the economy on the slow road to recovery, men's fortunes appear to be improving. Of the net 2.4 million newly created jobs since the June 2009, men have landed 74.7 percent of those, including 61 percent in the last year," its release states.