Nairalanceblog – Business and career guide

U.S. jobs: Unemployment claims dip to 206,000

September 10, 2026 by AdminNo Comments

WASHINGTON — Slightly fewer Americans filed for unemployment claims last week as jobless claims remain at historically low levels and layoffs are still relatively rare.Filings for benefits dipped to 206,000 last week from a revised 207,000 the week before, the Labor Department reported Thursday. The four-week average of claims, which smooths out week-to-week volatility, also fell modestly to 206,000.Claims for jobless benefits are a proxy for layoffs, and economists watch them because they can be a sign of where the job market is headed. For the past year, claims have mostly stayed within a historically low range of 200,000 to 230,000 a week.The American job market has remained sturdy despite higher gasoline prices that have squeezed businesses and consumers since the fighting with Iran began Feb. 28.Layoffs are low. Businesses, remembering the labor shortages that followed the end of pandemic lockdowns, are reluctant to let go of staff. They’re hiring — but modestly by the standards of recent years.So...

US rolling out new standards to make it easier to get government jobs without a degree

September 10, 2026 by AdminNo Comments

By Richard Johnstone on 16/04/2026 | Updated on 16/04/2026 Image by Satheesh Sankaran via Pixabay The Office of Personnel Management (OPM) has set out new skills and competency standards for the US federal government that aim to make it easier for those without degrees to get government jobs.The updated guidance, set out by OPM director Scott Kupor, is intended to move the US government from relying on degree classifications to “truly evaluating the actual skills demonstrated by the applicant and determining their fitness for the task at hand”.Setting out the changes in a blog, Kupor said that the OPM was determined to hire for merit, and that proxies for this – such as degree qualifications and minimum work experience – were imperfect.“So, we have begun a (too) lengthy process of re-writing all 604 federal occupational series – yes, there are really 604 – to ensure that any of these imperfect proxies for merit do not serve as gating mechanisms,...

USA Rare Earth breaks ground on Upstate facility, promising 490 jobs

September 10, 2026 by AdminNo Comments

BLACKSBURG, S.C. (FOX Carolina) - USA Rare Earth broke ground Wednesday on a new metal and magnet manufacturing facility in Cherokee County, a project slated to bring hundreds of jobs to the area. The facility is scheduled to begin operations in April 2028 and is expected to create about 490 jobs. It will produce rare earth materials essential for automotive, defense, and energy technologies.USA Rare Earth Senior Vice President of Manufacturing David Bushi, Chief Global Policy Officer Greg Bowman, and South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster spoke at the groundbreaking ceremony.Feel more informed, prepared, and connected with FOX Carolina. For more free content like this, download our apps.Copyright 2026 WHNS. All rights reserved. Source link...

What a surprisingly strong March jobs report means in the face of war

September 10, 2026 by AdminNo Comments

The latest jobs report showed that the US economy likely added 178,000 jobs in March, nearly triple expectations. The unemployment rate dipped to 4.3%. Forecasts had it holding steady at 4.4% or even rising to 4.5%. Health care and social assistance was once again the workhorse sector, accounting for half of the month’s gains; however, job growth was the most widespread across industries since December 2023. At first glance, Friday’s report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that the labor market wasn’t on life support as previously feared, but rather was on solid footing at a much-needed time – when war-driven economic...

Bombardier says it wants to fill 500 open US jobs despite Trump’s threats | WIN 98.5 Your Country | WNWN-FM

September 9, 2026 by AdminNo Comments

By Allison Lampert and David ShepardsonMONTREAL/WASHINGTON, Sept 9 (Reuters) – Bombardier is continuing to recruit American workers to fill 500 open jobs in the U.S., the Canadian private jet maker told Reuters on Wednesday, even as it faces threats ‌from President Donald Trump to ban its planes from the U.S. market.Some of the jobs are for a new service center in Fort Wayne, Indiana, which is set to open in mid-November.Bombardier planes are still able to be ‌delivered to U.S. customers despite Trump’s threat to ⁠ban the Montreal-based company from ⁠the market amid an escalating trade dispute with Canada, industry sources said.The aerospace sector was not impacted by the latest round of retaliatory measures introduced by the U.S. against Canada on Tuesday.A White House official said on Wednesday the Trump administration is preparing options and actions on Bombardier. Trump agreed last ⁠year to reinstate a multi-decade deal that ⁠places tariff-free status on airplanes and components.Fears that Bombardier could lose access...

Bombardier says it wants to fill 500 open US jobs despite Trump’s threats

September 9, 2026 by AdminNo Comments

MONTREAL/WASHINGTON (Sept 10): Bombardier is continuing to recruit American workers to fill 500 open jobs in the US, the Canadian private jet maker told Reuters on Wednesday, even as it faces threats from President Donald Trump to ban its planes from the US market.Some of the jobs are for a new service center in Fort Wayne, Indiana, which is set to open in mid-November.Bombardier planes are still able to be delivered to US customers despite Trump's threat to ban the Montreal-based company from the market amid an escalating trade dispute with Canada, industry sources said.The aerospace sector was not impacted by the latest round of retaliatory measures introduced by the US against Canada on Tuesday.A White House official said on Wednesday the Trump administration is preparing options and actions on Bombardier. Trump agreed last year to reinstate a multi-decade deal that places tariff-free status on airplanes and components.Fears that Bombardier could lose access to a market which accounts for about...

Canadian economy adds 75,100 jobs in July, U.S. sheds 23,000 positions

September 9, 2026 by AdminNo Comments

The Canadian economy added a surprisingly large number of jobs in July, and the unemployment rate fell to a two-year low. The increase in Canadian jobs is in sharp contrast to the United States, which unexpectedly shed positions last month. Canada added a net 75,100 jobs in July, outpacing economists’ expectations of 20,000 positions, Statistics Canada reported on Friday. The unemployment rate fell to 6.4 per cent from 6.5 per cent in June.In the U.S., employment decreased by a net 23,000 positions in July, a far cry from the additional 80,000 jobs that were expected by economists.Labour outcomes in the two countries have diverged of late. Where overall U.S. employment appears to have stalled, hiring in Canada has flourished over the late spring and early summer, part of a recent run of strong data that shows the Canadian economy is snapping out of a prolonged slump. “Despite all the see-sawing in the headlines, I think the main story here is...

Unemployment rate fell in July, but for ‘wrong reason,’ experts say

September 9, 2026 by AdminNo Comments

Aug. 8, 2026, 5:06 a.m. ETThe U.S. unemployment rate ticked lower in July, a decline that would be considered good news if economists weren’t saying that it is falling for “the wrong reason.”The unemployment rate is a function of how many Americans are looking for work but can’t find it. After holding steady at 4.3% for three months, it fell to 4.2% in June and to 4.1% in July. Pointing to a declining labor force participation rate, analysts said the unemployment rate was likely falling not because more people were getting hired, but because many had stopped applying to jobs all together.After the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ July jobs report showed not only did the U.S. economy shed 23,000 jobs in July, but that the labor force participation rate fell further, those concerns compounded.“While the unemployment rate is falling, that is mostly for the wrong reason — not enough workers,” Fifth Third Commercial Bank’s chief U.S. economist Bill Adams said...

The US lost jobs in July. Here’s why unemployment didn’t rise.

September 9, 2026 by AdminNo Comments

It’s a topsy-turvy labor market these days. In July, the economy lost jobs, but unemployment actually improved.Get used to the new dynamic, many analysts say. The workforce isn’t growing by much. It might even be shrinking, partly because of a plunge in immigration. That means that the United States could create only a few jobs or even lose jobs in any given month and the unemployment rate would remain stable.“Net migration is very likely to be negative again for 2026,” says Tara Watson, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution and co-author of a January study that estimated that more migrants left the U.S. last year than came in. “Zero or even negative job growth would not necessarily be a sign of a recessionary situation.” Why We Wrote This The United States lost more jobs than expected last month, though the unemployment rate improved slightly. That’s due in part to more migrants leaving the country than coming for the first time in...

Male Gen Zers are dropping out of the US job market in droves

September 9, 2026 by AdminNo Comments

Male Gen Zers have been dropping out of the labor pool in droves — and experts warn that the spread of artificial intelligence could accelerate the ugly trend even further. Last month, the US unemployment rate — the percentage of Americans who are jobless and actively looking for work — dipped to 4.1%, its lowest level of the year and well below the 5.6% average since the end of World War II. But there’s a grim corollary to the rosy-looking numbers: Also in July, the labor force shrank by more than a quarter million people versus a year earlier, hitting its lowest levels since the pandemic. One key point of worry: the share of men aged 16 to 24 participating in the labor market dipped to 56.1% – tumbling nearly 13 percentage points from 69% in 2000, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Some of the largest declines in labor force participation are coming from young men. REUTERS What’s more, the...