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The weak outlook for U.S. employment could hurt insurers that cover work-related injuries.
Persistently high unemployment translates to fewer workers to cover, which cuts into revenue. And “worker’s comp” providers face higher payouts because claiming workers are staying on benefits longer for lack of other jobs. Get the full story »
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper weighed in on miner BHP Billiton’s $39 billion bid to take over Saskatchewan-based Potash Corp. on Wednesday, calling it a proposal by an Australian-based company to take over an American-controlled company.
The Conservative government has until Nov. 3 to decide whether to approve the bid for Potash, the world’s biggest fertilizer producer. Ottawa is required to determine whether the bid would be a net benefit for Canada. Get the full story »
The U.S. economy grew sluggishly in recent weeks with scant inflation pressures, and employers were reluctant to hire or invest amid economic and policy uncertainties, the Federal Reserve said Wednesday.
The U.S. central bank’s Beige Book provided further evidence the economy is stuck in a weak recovery that is failing to generate jobs. Get the full story »
From Crain’s Chicago Business | Chicago-based company Sun-Times Media LLC is cutting jobs across the company, including at the Chicago Sun-Times, the Post-Tribune in Merrillville, Ind., and the Southtown Star in Tinley Park.
A string of Federal Reserve officials on Tuesday indicated the central bank will soon offer further monetary stimulus to the economy, with one saying $100 billion a month in bond buys may be appropriate. Get the full story »
Tate & Lyle PLC, the maker of Splenda, announced Tuesday that it will open a $26 million innovation center in Hoffman Estates. The company plans to relocate about 80 employees from Decatur to Hoffman Estates, where an additional 80 jobs will be created. Get the full story »
The U.S. Federal Reserve should pump more cash into the economy and temporarily stoke inflation to counter the stifling effects of high unemployment and undesirably low inflation, a top Fed official said on Tuesday.
“For many, my proposal will be a hard pill to swallow,” Chicago Fed President Charles Evans told a group of business leaders in Evanston. Get the full story »
Aon Corp., a Chicago-based insurance brokerage and consulting firm, said it will cut 1,500 to 1,800 jobs globally over the next three years as part of its merger with Lincolnshire-based personnel consulting company Hewitt Associates.
It also said the headquarters decision for Aon Hewitt — the consulting arm — is “being worked out.” Aon is currently headquartered in one of the tallest buildings in Chicago.
The restructuring of the combined workforce and of the merged firm’s real estate holdings will cost $325 million, of which $180 million will be due to employee severance costs. Get the full story »
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. won the right to open two more stores in Chicago this year, but does that mean the world’s largest retailer can eventually take Manhattan?
In remarks at the start of a two-day analyst meeting, Leslie Dach, Wal-Mart’s executive vice president for government affairs and corporate relations, said the retailer’s reputation has shown improvement with both consumers and elected officials. Get the full story »
A U.S. labor economist awarded the Nobel Prize in economics on Monday said a “dysfunctional” lending environment has made it hard for small service businesses — the source of most jobs — to finance hiring.
Northwestern University professor Dale Mortensen, whose work focused on labor market inefficiencies that make it difficult for workers to match up to job openings, said employers have fewer jobs to offer and government can do only so much about it.
“To bring unemployment down we need to create service jobs,” Mortensen said, speaking to reporters from Aarhus University in Denmark, where he is a visiting faculty member. Get the full story »
Wal-Mart employees Robert Dion, left, and Jean-Philippe Barrere collect shopping carts in front of a store in Brossard, Quebec. (AP Photo/Ryan Remiorz)
Wal-Mart Stores Inc. plans to end automatic profit-sharing contributions it has given employees for 39 years as part of a benefits overhaul that the world’s largest retailer says will let employees get more cash up front.
Starting in February, the company will end the profit-sharing contributions, which had equaled up to 4 percent of pay. It will instead offer more funds for bonuses, a 401(k) retirement plan contribution match and cash for medical expenses, according to a memo to Wal-Mart employees that was obtained by Reuters.
The profit-sharing, which has been in place since 1971, went into a program that let employees access the funds only at retirement, Wal-Mart spokesman David Tovar said. Get the full story »
Sanofi-Aventis SA, the world’s fourth-biggest drugmaker, said Friday it is eliminating 1,700 jobs in its U.S. pharmaceutical business in a restructuring triggered by growing generic competition and other factors. Get the full story »
The nation’s bleak employment picture dimmed in September as private-sector hiring weakened and the economy lost a net 95,000 jobs over the month.
The Labor Department said Friday that the unemployment rate last month remained at 9.6 percent, but that reflected a stagnant labor force in which people did not enter or return to the labor market to look for work. In what may be a more meaningful indicator this time, a broader measure of unemployed and underemployed workers, including part-timers who can’t find full-time work, rose to 17.1 percent last month from 16.7 percent in August.
Battered by the downturn, suburbs around Chicago and other cities are bearing the brunt of poverty that has climbed to its highest level in almost a half century.
Job openings rose in August for the second straight month and layoffs dropped sharply, evidence that the job market is slowly healing.
