Economy, Layoffs | featured news

Employers appear to be laying off workers again as the economic recovery weakens. The number of people applying for unemployment benefits reached the half-million mark last week for the first time since November.

With the district in a financial crisis and hundreds of its members facing layoffs, the Milwaukee teachers union is taking a peculiar stand: fighting to get its taxpayer-funded Viagra back.

Initial claims for unemployment benefits rose last week for the second time in three weeks, a sign that layoffs are rising.

A government report Thursday on claims for unemployment aid signaled that layoffs are easing and that the economy could be on the verge of posting the first monthly gain in jobs in two years.

The U.S. labor market improved in November, with the number of jobs lost in the private sector falling again and the number of planned layoffs also easing, separate reports showed on Wednesday.

The number of newly laid-off workers seeking unemployment benefits fell for the third straight week, evidence that layoffs are continuing to ease in the earliest stages of an economic recovery.

The government says the number of newly-laid off workers seeking unemployment insurance fell last week, fresh evidence that layoffs are easing.

The number of newly laid-off workers filing initial claims for jobless benefits last week fell to lowest level since early January, largely due to changes in the timing of auto industry layoffs.

The pace of private-sector U.S. job losses slowed dramatically last month, while future planned layoffs also declined, and the hard-hit housing sector showed signs of improvement last week.

To get nervous consumers to buy, companies are promising refunds, and sometimes more, in the event of a job loss.