BALTIMORE — U.S. companies added 202,000 jobs in December, led by robust hiring in construction, trade, transportation and utilities, according to a private survey. Payroll processor ADP said Wednesday that the bulk of the hiring was among smaller and mid-sized businesses with fewer than 500 employees. Hiring in November was...
Walters: New Year, Old Confounding Issues for California
California has always been a basket of contradictions, and as we begin a new year and a new decade, they seem destined to become even more confounding. As 2019 closed, we learned from the state Department of Finance that California, whose population boomed into the nation’s largest thanks to waves...
Fed Leaves Low Rates Alone and Sees No Moves in Near Future
WASHINGTON — Chairman Jerome Powell made clear Wednesday that the Federal Reserve is prepared to keep its benchmark interest rate very low through at least next year — and possibly longer. Fueling that expectation is the growing belief of Fed officials that inflation will remain tame even as the economy...
US Gains a Robust 266,000 Jobs; Unemployment Falls to 3.5%
WASHINGTON — Friday’s November jobs report will provide insight into whether steady hiring remains a source of strength for the U.S. economy even as the Trump administration’s trade conflicts have heightened uncertainties for employers. Economists have forecast that the government will report that employers remained confident enough to add a...
668,000 Will Lose Food Stamp Benefits Under New Work Rules
WASHINGTON — Hundreds of thousands of Americans who rely on the federal food stamp program will lose their benefits under a new Trump administration rule that will tighten work requirements for recipients. The move by the administration is the latest in its attempt to scale back the social safety net for...
Iraqi Police Fire Shots, Tear Gas at Protesters; 8 Killed
BAGHDAD — Iraqi police fired live shots into the air as well as rubber bullets and dozens of tear gas canisters Friday to disperse thousands of anti-government protesters, sending young demonstrators running for cover and enveloping a main bridge in the capital Baghdad with thick white smoke. Eight protesters were...
US Adds 136K Jobs, Unemployment Dips to 5-Decade Low
WASHINGTON — The U.S. economy added a modest 136,000 jobs in September, a gain that managed to help lower the unemployment rate to a new five-decade low of 3.5% but also suggested rising caution among employers. The additional hiring and the drop in the jobless rate will likely ease worries...
California Unemployment Rate Held Steady at 4.1% in August
SACRAMENTO — California's unemployment rate held steady at the record low of 4.1% in August as the state's period of job gains reached 114 months, exceeding the expansion of the 1960s. The California Employment Development Department says Friday the state's employers added 34,500 nonfarm payroll jobs last month. The rate...
July US Jobs Report Shows Solid Gains Amid Trade Frictions
WASHINGTON — U.S. employers slowed their hiring in July but still added a solid 164,000 jobs to an economy that appears poised to extend its decade-long expansion. The unemployment rate remained at 3.7% for a second straight month, the government said Friday. Average hourly earnings rose 3.2% from a year...
US Worker Annual Compensation Slows Slightly Through June
WASHINGTON — The annual wages and benefits for U.S. workers rose in the second quarter at a slightly slower pace than the first, suggesting that the lowest unemployment levels in a half century have not triggered rapid gains in worker compensation. The Labor Department reported Wednesday that pay and benefits...