take & the economy

0Hello everyone,02br
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00I have some problems in figuring out exact meaning of some words in the dialogue below.02br
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00I have guessed some but can't be sure about them so... if you have any idea about them, would you care to comment some?02br
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00Thanks a lot ~ ^ ^02br
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00pb02br
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00--------02br
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00The words I need to figure out the meanings of are 'take' in first line and 'The economy' in second line and eighth line.02br
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00My guess for 'take' is 'income' or 'any accomplishment in trying to get a job'. 02br
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00As for 'The economy', my guesses are 'overall economical situation in the society' for the second line and 'attitudes to save money or frugality'02br
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00Here is the dialgue:02br
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0100StartFragment00>02br
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00M: What is your 01b01u00take02u02b00 on the current job market?02br
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00W: It00’00s not very positive. 01b01u00The economy02u02b00 was great for a couple of years, but it looks like it00’00s about to take a nosedive.02br
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00M: That00’00s our assessment as well. We00’00re positive a number of companies are going to begin laying off workers relatively soon.02br
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00W: But that00’00s not the case for your firm.02br
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00M: Not at all. If it were, you and I wouldn00’00t be talking today. However, that means we can be picky about whom we choose to employ.02br
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00W: I suppose I00’00m up against some stiff competition.02br
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00M: Yes, that00’00s true, but we00’00re impressed with your qualifications. Depending upon how well you do today, we may call you in for a second round.02br
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00W: That00’00s exactly what I00’00m hoping for. 01u00Like I said earlier02u00, I00’00m not confident in 01b01u00the economy02u02b00, so I need to secure some employment really soon.02br
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00M: Going by your transcript and qualifications, I00’00d say you00’00ll be sure to do that. Now, why don00’00t I introduce you to some of the other people with whom you00’00ll be speaking today?02br
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00W: That sounds great to me.0-