New data brightens Indy area’s jobs picture
Bureau of Labor Statistics revises numbers, but region is still 30,000 jobs short of pre-recession peak.
Economy
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U.S. weekly jobless claims fall to lowest level in four years
The Labor Department said Thursday that weekly unemployment benefit applications fell by 5,000, to a seasonally adjusted 359,000. That's the smallest number of applicants since April 2008. The four-week average, a less volatile measure, declined to 365,000.
State unemployment rate dips to 8.7 percent
Indiana’s unemployment rate fell to 8.7 percent in January as the state added 13,000 private-sector jobs, the largest monthly increase in more than a year.
State economy finally gaining traction
Leading indicators for Indiana’s economy are looking up: Banks are increasing lending, real estate developers are pulling the trigger on long-shelved projects, manufacturers are expanding, and consumers are even buying big-ticket items, including automobiles.
New-home construction off to mild start
Building permits filed in the nine-county Indianapolis metropolitan area totaled 194 in January, a 2-percent dip from the same time last year. But industry leaders are cautiously optimistic.
Economy could lift drug, device firms
The U.S. economy is showing signs of bouncing back and, if it does, look for drugmakers and medical-device companies to benefit. But if the economy has another summer stall like last year, expect health insurers to benefit.
U.S. jobless rate falls as employers add 200,000 jobs
The Labor Department said Friday that employers added a net 200,000 jobs last month and the unemployment rate fell to 8.5 percent, the lowest since February 2009.
State’s economy still stuck in neutral
The year started with a sense that slowly—not fast enough for anyone’s liking—but steadily, Indiana’s economy was coming back. But then a spike in gas prices and the never-ending sovereign debt crisis in Europe created a summer of setbacks.
Stocks soar on Europe hopes, strong housing starts
The Dow Jones industrial average surged 337 points following encouraging signs out of Europe and a jump in apartment construction in the U.S. It was the best day for U.S. stocks this month.
Indiana jobless rate stays at 9 percent
The state’s unemployment rate held steady in November at a seasonally adjusted 9 percent, slightly higher than the overall U.S. rate that dropped to 8.6 percent, the state’s Department of Workforce Development said Tuesday morning.
GOP candidate Wallace outlines $500M economic plan
Republican candidate for governor Jim Wallace says Indiana can boost start its economy by spending $500 million on infrastructure and new tax credits for business.
Unemployment aid applications drop to 9-month low
Employers added a net total of 120,000 jobs last month. The economy has generated 100,000 or more jobs five months in a row — the first time that has happened since April 2006.
Third-quarter economic growth revised downward
The Commerce Department said Tuesday that the economy grew at an annual rate of 2 percent in the July-September quarter, lower than an initial 2.5-percent estimate made last month. The government also said after-tax incomes fell by the largest amount in two years.
IU experts: Economy to stay ‘lousy’ in 2012
Economists from the Kelley School of Business predict the national economy will grow a modest 2.5 percent to 3 percent next year, while unemployment will remain high.
Economy grew 2.5 percent in third quarter
Buoyed by a resurgent consumer and strong business investment, the economy expanded at an annual rate of 2.5 percent in the July-September quarter. The modest expansion followed anemic growth in the first half of the year
Strategist: Uncertainty still holding back U.S. economy
In order to get the U.S. economy to grow at a respectable 3-percent annual rate, the government needs to get a grip on the debt crisis while corporations needs to start spending the money they've stockpiled.
Riley doctor on quest to quell class warfare
A Riley Hospital for Children doctor is launching a training center for a national anti-poverty program called Circles, which matches poor people with middle-class “allies.” The idea is that people find their own way out of poverty by expanding their personal networks to include the middle class.
Senate nears vote to defeat Obama’s jobs bill
Despite President Barack Obama's exhortations, the Senate prepared to swiftly kill his jobs package Tuesday and the White House and congressional leaders were already moving on to other ways to cut the nation's painfully high unemployment without raising taxes.
Economy added 103,000 jobs in September
The burst of hiring followed a sluggish summer for the economy—and at least temporarily calms fears of a new recession that have hung over Wall Street and the nation for weeks.
Elkhart led U.S. counties in employment increase
The Bureau of Labor Statistics said Elkhart County saw its employment increase 6.2 percent from March 2010 to March 2011.