Consumer Confidential: Jobs, DVDs and gold

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Here’s your full-frontal-Friday roundup of consumer news from around the Web:

--The unemployment rate hit 10.2% last month. OK, we’ve seen it coming for weeks, and President Obama and Fedatollah Ben Bernanke have been doing their best to prep us for the eventuality. But now that it’s here, well, it stings a bit. The pencil pushers say things will probably grow even worse on the jobs front before they get better, with the jobless rate perhaps hitting 10.5% by the summer. Time for all those employers who are seeing their profits creep back up to do their thing ... please.

--But for those with jobs, there’s always some shopping to do. And our friends at Target are offering some of their most popular DVDs at a bargain-basement price of just $10, with free shipping. The move is intended to match a similar price point from Walmart, and signals that heavyweight retailers are prepared to duke it out for what little consumer spending we can expect this holiday season.

--Gold futures have jumped to a new record -- more than $1,100 an ounce. Note to wife: Forget about any jewelry this Christmas.

-- David Lazarus