Jobs, Good News | featured news

The number of Americans filing new claims for jobless benefits fell last week while the trade deficit in June was the smallest in 1-1/2 years, hopeful signs for the struggling economy.

U.S. employers posted the most job openings in four years in June, a positive sign that hiring may pick up. The Labor Department said Tuesday job openings rose to a seasonally adjusted 3.8 million in June, up from 3.7 million in May. That's the most since July 2008. Layoffs fell. The data follow Friday's report that said employers in July added the most jobs in five months. A rise in openings could signal better hiring in the coming months. It typically takes one to three months to fill a job.

The number of Americans signing up for new jobless benefits last week fell to a four-year low but an unusual pattern for summer factory shutdowns marred what would have been a hopeful sign for the struggling labor market.

U.S. employers advertised more jobs in May than April, a hopeful sign after three months of weak hiring. Job openings rose to a seasonally adjusted 3.6 million, the Labor Department said Tuesday. That's up from 3.4 million in April. It's also the second-highest level in nearly four years, just behind March's 3.7 million.

No question about it, Friday’s jobs report was a disappointment ... But beneath the dreary headline lay some encouraging signs: Demand for labor was relatively strong ... Jobs growth is broad-based ... Workers are re-entering the labor force ...

The number of people seeking U.S. unemployment benefits fell last week, but the level of applications remains too high to signal a pickup in hiring.

Oil prices plunged as bleak reports on U.S. job growth and manufacturing heightened worries about a slowing global economy. Benchmark oil fell $3.49 to $83.04 per barrel Friday.

The jobs were there, more than 1,000, with everyone from the Detroit automakers to Korea’s Hyundai looking to hire. What was missing were the job-seekers.

Private-sector jobs in the U.S. increased 209,000 last month, according to a national employment report published by payroll processor ADP. The gain was just above economists' median expectation of 200,000 contained in a survey done by Dow Jones Newswires.

Consumer confidence rebounded to its highest level in more than a year in March as optimism about jobs and income overcame higher prices at the gasoline pump, said a survey released on Friday.