The four-week moving average of claims, which flattens out some of week-to-week volatility, fell by 250 to 196,250, remaining below the 200,000 threshold for the ninth straight week.
Existing home sales jumped 14.5% last month from January to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 4.58 million, the National Association of Realtors said.
The report also says that home construction slowed in the second half of 2022.
About 46% of people are carrying debt from month to month, up from 39% a year ago, according to Bankrate.com, an online financial information site. read more >
Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac reported Thursday that the average on the benchmark 30-year rate fell to 6.42% from 6.6% last week. The average rate a year ago was 4.42%. read more >
U.S. consumer price increases eased slightly from January to February but still pointed to an elevated inflation rate that is posing a challenge for the Federal Reserve at a delicate moment for the financial system. read more >
Arkansas' unemployment rate remained unchanged in January at 3.4%, the state Division of Workforce Services reported Monday. read more >
The Contingent will use online technology to help fill the gaps for children and families involved in foster care. read more >
Now entering its fourth decade, the Walmart's warehouse club is riding high on bulk buying and deal hunting. read more >
Layoffs remain historically low as the labor market continues to be largely unaffected by the Federal Reserve's interest rate hikes. read more >
Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac reported Thursday that the average on the benchmark 30-year rate climbed to 6.73% from 6.65% last week. The average rate a year ago was 3.85%. read more >
Job openings fell from 11.2 million in December but remained high by historical standards, the Labor Department reported Wednesday. Employers also hired more workers in January. But layoffs rose. read more >
Powell's comments raise the possibility that the Fed will increase its key interest rate by a half-percentage point at its next meeting March 21-22, after having carried out a quarter-point hike in early February. read more >
The U.S. median rent rose 2.4% in January from a year earlier to $1,942, the lowest annual increase since June 2021. read more >
Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac reported Thursday that the average on the benchmark 30-year rate rose to 6.65% from 6.5% last week. The average rate a year ago was 3.76%. read more >
Fifty-eight percent of 48 economists who responded to a survey by the National Association for Business Economics envision a recession sometime this year, the same proportion who said so in the NABE's survey in December. read more >
The Bureau of Labor Statistics projects the leisure and hospitality industry to add 1.9 million jobs from 2021-31. read more >
Friday's report from the Commerce Department showed that consumer prices rose 0.6% from December to January, up sharply from a 0.2% increase from November to December. read more >
Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac reported Thursday that the average on the benchmark 30-year rate rose to 6.5% from 6.32% last week. The average rate a year ago was 3.89%. read more >
It's the third straight week that the four-week moving average has been below 200,000 and the ninth straight weekly decline. read more >
The data is the latest available from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. read more >
Gains were reported in manufacturing and education, while retail payrolls declined. read more >
Health care, including costs, is the second-most frequently mentioned priority. read more >
The most common way that Americans bet on sports is with friends or family. read more >
Sales this year are estimated to rise between 6% and 8% to as much as $960.4 billion. read more >
Arkansas' unemployment rate rose from 3.6% in October to 3.7% in November, according to the Arkansas Division of Workforce Services. read more >
Measured from month to month, which gives a more up-to-date snapshot, the consumer price index inched up just 0.1%. read more >
The number of accountants and auditors in the United States totaled 1.32 million in 2021, according to Statista, a provider of market and consumer data based in Hamburg, Germany. read more >
Last year around this time, I identified a few business news items with implications for 2022. And with 2023 on the horizon, it's time to do it again — and check on a couple of last year's forecasts. read more >
The state Division of Workforce Services says Arkansas' seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose one-tenth of a percentage point, from 3.5% in September to 3.6% in October. read more >
What does the next generation need to be successful in the workforce? Is it digital fluency? Or a well-rounded education? Turns out, it's soft skills like resiliency, problem-solving and creativity. read more >
