Unemployment rate stays flat as nation sheds 36,000 jobs
The Labor Department figures suggest the job market is slowly healing but that significant hiring has yet to occur.
Employment
Articles
Weather blamed for unexpected rise in jobless claims
New claims for unemployment benefits jumped unexpectedly last week, mostly because state agencies processed a backlog of
claims caused by snowstorms the previous week.
Go west (to Hendricks County)
The economy is as good or better in Hendricks County than anywhere else in the Indianapolis area.
Wintry weather testing work snow-day policies
Coping with wintery blasts is made easier by advancements in work-from-home technology. But different kinds of companies have
different policies when it comes to giving employees the option to telecommute or blow off the workday altogether.
Ivy Tech, IPIC snare $10M in job-training grants
Programs will bolster job opportunities for some 1,700 Indiana workers in sectors including health care and advanced manufacturing.
Columbia City plant to close, nixing 135 workers
Fort Wayne Foundry Corp. will shutter the auto parts factory for the second time in a year, as its jobs head to Mexico, according
to a union official.
State jobless fund tax increase becomes hot topic
Whether to delay increases in taxes that employers pay to Indiana’s unemployment insurance fund is becoming a
contentious issue in the General Assembly.
Kmart closing adds to Connersville jobless woes
Kmart’s announcement that it will close its store in Connersville in May will put 59 employees out of work. Fayette County,
where the city is located, already is strapped by steep job losses.
National unemployment rate drops to 9.7 percent
January’s report offers hope that employers may start adding jobs soon. Excluding the beleaguered construction industry, the private sector as a whole added 63,000 positions.
City program gives firms incentive to hire ex-offenders
A pilot project is providing jobs for 70 ex-convicts, with their $10-an-hour wages covered
by Uncle Sam for six months. City officials hope they can then transition into other jobs or receive recommendations that
help them to find other work.
Obama unveils 2011 budget with $3.8 trillion in spending
The president’s budget offers tax cuts for businesses, including a $5,000 tax credit for hiring new workers this year, help
for the unemployed and $25 billion more for cash-strapped state governments. Job creation will take precedence over stemming
a surging deficit.
Edy’s hiring 120 for Fort Wayne ice cream plant
Edy’s Grand Ice Cream says the new jobs are part of a company consolidation after an expansion of the Fort Wayne plant. The
hiring will increase the facilty’s workforce to about 600 people.
Ind. House muddies future of unemployment tax bill
The fate of a bill that would delay unemployment tax increases on businesses remains unclear in the Democrat-controlled Indiana
House.
More economy woes: Retail sales sink, jobless claims rise
For the year, retail sales fell 6.2 percent, the biggest decline on government records that go back to 1992.
Jobless claims fall unexpectedly as layoffs ease
The Labor Department said today that new claims for unemployment insurance fell by 22,000, to a seasonally adjusted 432,000,
the lowest since July 2008.
Consumer confidence up in December
The rise was fueled by a long-term outlook on jobs that reached its highest level in two years, but the reading of 52.9 is
still far short of the 90 that would signify a solid economy.
Humvee slowdown costs 250 jobs in northern Indiana
AM General Corp. plans to lay off 250 workers from its Humvee plant in Mishawaka, because the U.S. military is buying fewer
of the vehicles.
Slump sets Hoosier job levels back 14 years
The 131,000 jobs lost
in the 12 months ended in November amounted to a 7.2-percent decline and were nearly equivalent to the combined populations
of Carmel and Fishers.
Setbacks in diabetes market batter Roche
Roche Diagnostics Corp., once the darling of the U.S. diabetes-device market, is now licking its wounds. And
it’s mulling whether to keep fighting on all fronts or to pull back.