Applications for unemployment benefits rose to 471,000 last week, up by 25,000 from the previous week, the Labor Department
said Thursday. It was the first increase in five weeks and the biggest jump since a gain of 40,000 in February.
Arcadia Resources Inc. is planning a $3.9 million expansion of its Indianapolis headquarters and pharmacy operations, the
company said Thursday morning, confirming that it plans to add as many as 930 jobs by 2013.
Employers, encouraged by a recovering economy, are hiring again. But they are not doing it at the level needed to reduce the
jobless rate.
The number of jobs in Indiana rose by 16,600, marking the largest month-to-month increase since September 2005, the Department
of Workforce Development said.
The Labor Department said Thursday that first-time claims increased by 18,000 in the week ending April 3, to a seasonally
adjusted 460,000.
Buoyed by good news on the jobs front, the White House claimed credit Sunday for reversing the downward economic spiral while
bracing out-of-work Americans for a slow recovery.
Edy's Grand Ice Cream expects to fill 120 full-time production positions — paying about $13 an hour — at its
Fort Wayne plant in the next three months because of demand for its popular Nestle Drumsticks.
The state’s jobless rate has been either 9.8 percent or 9.7 percent the past four months.
New claims for unemployment benefits fell more than anticipated last week—partially due to changes in the calculations—as
layoffs ease and hiring slowly recovers.
The Indiana General Assembly finally adjourned its 2010 legislative session early Saturday with deals including a one-year
delay on unemployment insurance tax increases and aid for schools reeling from state budget cuts.
The Labor Department figures suggest the job market is slowly healing but that significant hiring has yet to occur.
Out of six professionals IBJ profiled a year ago, three have found jobs, although all have accepted lower pay than
they were getting before. One could not be reached, but she still lists herself as looking for work on LinkedIn.com. Two tried
to start their own businesses, with one giving up and one, Bruce Flanagan, still trying.
New claims for unemployment benefits jumped unexpectedly last week, mostly because state agencies processed a backlog of
claims caused by snowstorms the previous week.
Indianapolis-based Vortek Surgical LLC will relocate to Brownsburg, expanding its headquarters, manufacturing and distribution
operations and creating more than 60 jobs in the next three years.
The economy is as good or better in Hendricks County than anywhere else in the Indianapolis area.
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’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.
Multimedia products maker World Media Group Inc. will invest more than $2 million to expand its manufacturing operations on
the east side of Indianapolis, increasing its workforce by 20 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.
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.
