Many employees already made more than the state and national minimum of $7.25 per hour, but the hospital system said it wanted to be proactive. Workers who already made $11 to $12.99 an hour were also given a raise.
Economic growth in the final three months of 2015 didn’t slow as much as previously estimated, and consumers roared back to life in January, spending at the fastest clip in eight months.
While Americans of all stripes consistently put the economy at or near the top of their lists of most important issues, they may have very different concerns in mind when they do so.
The Indianapolis HVAC plant had taken numerous steps to improve efficiency, but they weren't enough to overcome the labor savings that go with shifting the work to Mexico.
A key question for the economy this year is whether consumer spending can keep growing and offset the impacts of stock market volatility and slowing growth overseas.
Employers raised pay, more people felt confident enough to look for work, and the unemployment rate dipped to 4.9 percent, its lowest level since 2008.
Much of the weakness last quarter reflected a slowdown in consumer spending, which grew at an annual rate of just 2.2 percent, compared with a 3 percent rate in the previous quarter.
American industry is struggling even as the overall economy appears solid. In December, utilities reduced output amid unusually warm weather and energy firms cut back in the face of falling oil prices.
American employers added a robust 292,000 jobs in December, suggesting that the U.S. economy is so far defying global weakness and growing solidly.
The number of Americans filing applications for unemployment benefits rose more than projected during the Christmas week.
Consumer confidence rebounded more than forecast in December as Americans grew more optimistic about the current state of the economy and job market.
U.S. industrial output fell for the third straight month in November, another sign that American manufacturers are under stress.
The National Association for Business Economics says the average forecast is for growth of 2.6 percent next year, down slightly from 2.7 percent in its previous survey conducted in September.
U.S. productivity this summer grew at a faster rate than first thought, though it still lagged the pace set in the spring. Labor costs were also revised up.
A business research group said Tuesday that its consumer confidence index fell to 90.4 in November, down from 99.1 in October. The index is at its lowest level since September 2014.
A survey of 500 chief financial officers at U.S. companies released Tuesday found them optimistic about the American economy, with more than half of them expecting to hire additional employees next year.
Real output growth in 2016 will average about 2.5 percent, which will be a little better than this year, but only equal to 2014, according to the forecast from Indiana University's Kelley School of Business.
In the past 12 months, pay and benefits have risen just 2 percent. That's below the 3.5 percent to 4 percent typical of a healthy economy.
Much of the September slowdown reflected a fall in energy prices, which resulted in a 1.2 percent drop in spending on nondurable goods such as gasoline.
The U.S. economy slowed sharply in the summer, reflecting a cutback in businesses' stockpiling of goods, which offset solid consumer spending.
