US jobless claims tick up from near a pandemic low

WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of Americans applying for unemployment aid rose last week for a second straight week to 351,000, a sign that the delta variant of the coronavirus may be disrupting the job market's recovery, at least temporarily. Thursday's report from the...

US jobless claims tick up to 351,000 from near a pandemic low as delta variant hangs over a rebounding economy

Fed: On track to slow support for economy later this year

WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell signaled Wednesday that the Fed plans to announce as early as November that it will start withdrawing the extraordinary support it unleashed after the coronavirus paralyzed the economy 18 months ago. Powell said...

Tight job market is causing costs to rise at FedEx

NEW YORK (AP) — FedEx is getting hurt by the tight job market. The package delivery company said Tuesday that its costs are up $450 million in the most recent quarter, as it paid higher wages as it got harder to find new workers and demand for shipping increased. FedEx...

Review paints dire picture of Virginia employment commission

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A year and a half into the coronavirus pandemic, the Virginia Employment Commission is still swamped with backlogged claims, its call centers are underperforming and serious staffing problems persist, according to a scathing interim report the state’s legislative...

Kansas passed on earlier plan to upgrade unemployment system

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A software company urged Kansas to uprade its computer system for handling claims for unemployment benefits but the state didn't heed that advice five years before a flood of fraudulent claims across the U.S. during the coronavirus pandemic. ...

Fed likely to signal a coming pullback in economic support

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Federal Reserve is expected this week to send its clearest signal yet that it will start reining in its ultra-low-interest rate policies later this year, a first step toward unwinding the extraordinary support it's given the economy since the pandemic struck 18 months...

Unemployment in Maine holds at a little less than 5%

AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) — The jobs picture held steady in Maine through the summer, as the state's unemployment rate held at 4.9% last month, officials said Friday. The Maine Department of Labor said the number of non-farm payroll jobs fell by 1,200 to 617,200 in August....

Nebraska unemployment rate of 2.2% is lowest on record

LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska's unemployment rate for August of 2.2% was the nation's lowest and the lowest on record for the state, a state agency reported Friday. The Nebraska Department of Labor said the August rate was down slightly from July's rate of 2.3%. ...

Pennsylvania's labor force shrank, payrolls flat in August

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — Pennsylvania’s unemployment rate dropped to another post-pandemic low, according to state figures released Friday, but the labor force shrank in August and payrolls remained virtually flat as employers, such as restaurants and school bus companies, struggle to find...