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United Continental Holdings Inc.’s Continental Airlines will cut about 500 jobs at the carrier’s Houston offices between April 1 and June 30, the Houston Chronicle reported Monday, citing a letter from Continental to the Texas Workforce Commission.
Around the time of its Oct. 1 merger with United Airlines to form the biggest U.S. carrier, Continental said it would continue to employ its Houston-based management and administrative workers through March. Get the full story »
The U.S. labor force has been split into two groups: the relieved and the desperate. Those who have a job are less likely to lose it than at any point in at least 14 years.
Those who are unemployed are in trouble. Finding a job remains a struggle 20 months after the recession technically ended. Employers won’t likely step up hiring until they feel more confident about the economy. Get the full story »
The U.S. economy added a paltry 36,000 jobs in January, the government said Friday. Bad weather likely contributed to the weaker-than-expected hiring, but the report also suggests that many employers remain reluctant to hire despite a strengthening economic recovery.
Even so, the nation’s unemployment rate fell dramatically for the second month in a row. It dropped to 9 percent in January, from 9.4 percent in December and 9.8% in November. Get the full story »
The U.S. service sector, which employs nearly 90 percent of America’s work force, grew in January at the fastest pace in five years. The report capped a string of data Thursday that pointed to an expanding economy and stronger hiring. Get the full story »
The number of people applying for unemployment benefits plunged last week, following a week where bad weather contributed to a spike in applications.
The Labor Department says the number of people seeking benefits dropped by 42,000 to a seasonally adjusted 415,000 in the week ending Jan. 29. Applications had surged in the previous week after snow storms in the South disrupted work and led to temporary layoffs. Get the full story »
U.S. private employers added more jobs than expected in January, the 12th consecutive month that companies took on staff, adding to hopes that the weak American labor market is slowly improving. Get the full story »
The number of planned layoffs at U.S. firms in January rose 20 percent from the previous month to 38,519, but the tally was still the lowest for a January since at least 1993, according to a report released on Wednesday. Get the full story »
There are two problems with the jobs recovery: Employers haven’t added enough jobs. And those they have added aren’t particularly good ones.
The former problem has gotten a lot of attention, with many economists and politicians talking about job growth averaging less than 100,000 a month last year, not enough to keep up with population growth or make a significant dent in unemployment.
But experts say the low-wage jobs that have been added are also a serious problem — putting downward pressure on wages and keeping consumer spending in check. Get the full story »
Gov. Pat Quinn says the American Aluminum Extrusion Co., an aluminum extruder and fabricator based in Beloit, Wis., is investing $7.5 million to open a plant in the Winnebago County town of Roscoe. Quinn says the plant is expected to employ 130 people. Get the full story »
Nearly 1,100 people turned out to apply for the 50 full-time jobs available at a Joliet distribution center. The jobs with Central Grocers drew long lines of applicants interested in the positions, which are union jobs and pay benefits. Get the full story »
Lake County officials are bracing for the loss of more than 1,000 jobs at the Abbott Laboratories headquarters near North Chicago. Today, one county board member called the job losses “tragic,” and the chairman said he was “upset, disturbed and alarmed.”
The job cuts in Lake County are more than half of the company’s national cuts slated for the next two years. The blow could be particularly hard in Lake County because Abbott Inc. is its second largest employer — with about 15,700 workers, according to statistics compiled by Lake County Partners. Get the full story »
The Walt Disney Co. is confirming layoffs amid a restructuring of its video game division, a money-losing unit that is focusing more on mobile and social games and away from expensive-to-produce console games.
The company didn’t specify the number of people affected, however. Get the full story »
More than a quarter of Illinois teenagers looking for jobs last year could not find one, according to preliminary data by the Employment Policies Institute, a think-tank that focuses on entry-level employment issues.
Illinois’ rate climbed to a record high of 27.6 percent, up from 25.8 percent in 2009 and well above the national average of 25.9 percent. Get the full story »
Hiring for construction jobs may be on the rise this year, after a severe downturn in the industry in 2010, and Illinois may be among the states where hiring is likely to improve.
A new study released Monday showed that 27 percent of construction firms nationally said they planned to add staff this year, while 20 percent plan layoffs. Get the full story »
