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Associated Press | Lake Forest-based Solo Cup Co., which makes single-serving food and beverage containers,
said Tuesday that it will close three factories, eliminating 1,240 jobs,
because of growing capacity at its 10 other North American plants.
The company plans to shutter factories in North Andover, Mass., and
Springfield, Mo., in mid- to late 2011, and a plant in Owings Mills,
Md., in mid-2012.
Dow Jones Newswires | Job turnover in the U.S. economy remained
at depressed levels in April though there were signs of a slow thawing,
according to data released Tuesday by the Labor Department.
The number of people leaving their jobs was close to the lowest on
record as the number of layoffs fell to a three-year low. The number of
people quitting voluntarily ticked higher at an extremely low level.
Associated Press | About 900 General Motors dealerships that the
company had planned to cut loose appear to be getting a reprieve.
GM North America President Mark Reuss has told The Associated Press that
the automaker should wind up with about 5,000 dealers in July, the
deadline for a process that allows dealers to appeal GM’s decision.
By Kathy Bergen |
The demise of the 72-year-old Mercury brand may lead to the closing of
some dealerships in major markets but will not alter Ford Motor Co.’s
expectation for solid profitability this year and next, Alan Mulally,
Ford’s chief executive, said in Chicago Tuesday.
“We have a few too many dealers in the larger metro areas,” Mulally told
reporters immediately after his keynote address at the Chicagoland
Chamber of Commerce annual meeting, which drew 1,400 business people.
Associated Press | Job openings jumped in April by the most in 16 months, a sign that
hiring by private employers is healthy despite last week’s disappointing
jobs report. The Labor Department says the number of jobs advertised at
the end of April rose to 3.1 million from 2.8 million in March. That’s
the most openings since December 2008.
Associated Press | A northern Indiana cargo trailer maker says
it may close its plant in the city of Middlebury — a move that would
cost 150 workers their jobs. Illinois-based Pace American Inc. notified
the state of the possible closing late last week, saying it is in the
process of selling its business operations and assets.
By Phil Rosenthal |
The parent of public broadcaster WTTW-Ch. 11 said Friday it plans to cut around 12 percent of its workforce as part of an effort to cut $3 million in operating costs in response to declining revenue.
Get the full story: Tower Ticker.
By Don Lee | A burst of hiring of temporary census workers helped push down the
unemployment rate in May, but the nation’s private-sector employers
added a mere 41,000 new jobs last month, the Labor Department said
Friday.
The jobless rate edged down to 9.7 percent in May from 9.9 percent in
April, but that was because the federal government added 411,000 jobs
for the decade population count. Those jobs were expected and will
disappear quickly over the summer. Business payrolls increased by only 41,000 in May — a fraction of the
175,000 or so jobs that many analysts had projected. By comparison, the
nation added 218,000 new private-sector jobs in April and 158,000 in
March.
Ben Bernanke at a luncheon in May 2010. (Reuters/Tom Mihalek)
Associated Press | Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said Thursday that even though the
U.S. economy has been expanding for almost a year now, the persistently
high unemployment rate remains an important concern.
Speaking in Detroit at a meeting of Michigan’s small business community,
Bernanke said the Fed has been urging banks to lend to creditworthy
small firms, which play a key role in creating jobs and improving
employment security.
Dow Jones Newswires | The job market in April was tougher for hundreds of U.S. metropolitan
areas compared to a year ago, according to new data the U.S. Labor
Department released Wednesday.
Specifically, April unemployment rates were higher in 291 of the 372
metropolitan areas covered by the Labor Department report. It was lower
in 73 areas and unchanged in eight areas.
The national unemployment rate in April was 9.5%, on a non-seasonally
adjusted basis. But 14 areas — 11 of which were in California — reported
unemployment rates of at least 15%.
Reuters | Whirlpool Corp will close a Michigan machining plant ,
the No. 1 U.S appliance maker said Tuesday, resulting in the loss of
216 jobs.
Whirlpool said its newest, most efficient laundry appliances would be
made at its Clyde, Ohio plant, eliminating the jobs at a plant in Benton
Harbor, Mich., where the company is based, at year end or early in
2011.
Reuters | The manufacturing sector expanded in May for a tenth straight month but at a slower pace than in April while employment rose slightly to its best level in six years, according to an industry report released on Tuesday.
The Institute for Supply Management said its index of national factory activity slipped to 59.7 in May from 60.4 in April. The median forecast of 73 economists surveyed by Reuters was for a reading of 59.0. A reading above 50 indicates expansion in the sector.
The report’s employment component rose to 59.8, the highest since May 2004, from 58.5, while new orders held steady at 65.7, suggesting slower growth in the euro zone has yet to have much effect on U.S. manufacturing.
Reuters | The House of Representatives Friday passed a
scaled-back economic-stimulus package of tax breaks and safety net
spending that would raise taxes on fund managers and multinational
corporations.
Democrats say the bill will help bring down the 9.9 percent
unemployment rate, but it comes too late for hundreds of thousands of
Americans who will see their jobless benefits expire starting next week.
Job seekers outside the Wit hotel in Chicago on April 12, 2010. (Antonio Perez/Chicago Tribune)
By Sandra M. Jones
| The unemployment rate rose in the Chicago area in April, but at a slower
pace, providing a glimmer of hope that the job market is improving.
The jobless rate in metropolitan Chicago rose to 10.7 percent in April,
compared to 9.8 percent in April 2009, according to a report released
Thursday from the Illinois Department of Employment Security. The
figures are not seasonally adjusted.
Reuters | U.S. unemployment claims fell last week, suggesting
the battered labor market is recovering but only slowly, the Labor
Department said on Thursday. New applications for state jobless
benefits dropped to 455,000 in the week ended May 22 from an upwardly
revised 474,000 in the prior week.
