WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. employers extended a streak of solid hiring in May, adding 223,000 jobs and helping lower the unemployment rate to an 18-year low of 3.8 percent. Average hourly pay rose 2.7 percent from a year earlier, a slightly faster annual rate than in April, the Labor Department reported Friday. But pay growth […]
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Posted inBusiness
Why it could be harder to get an entry-level job at a store these days
NEW YORK (AP) — Asia Thomas knew she was at a disadvantage. It had been 16 years since she quit a job at McDonald’s to raise her kids. When she left, restaurants didn’t have kiosks to take orders, people didn’t use smartphones to pay, and job seekers did applications on paper. “Things have changed,” said […]
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Posted inLewiston-Auburn
Lewiston sees turnover in planning and code department
LEWISTON — Four new city employees have joined the Lewiston Planning and Code Enforcement Department. At the end of the month, the department’s leadership will change as longtime Director Gil Arsenault retires after 34 years, and current Deputy Director David Hediger takes over. There will be a collection of new employees helping to steer the department, including […]
Posted inBusiness
Maine’s unemployment rate dips below 3 percent
Maine’s unemployment numbers in February dropped to the lowest rate in 42 years. The state’s preliminary rate of 2.9 percent hasn’t been seen since 1976, according to a release from the Maine Department of Labor. The number of unemployed Mainers dropped by 3,000 from January levels to 20,000 in February — also a level not […]
Posted inNation / World, sj-web
Hiring surge added 313,000 jobs in February, most in 1½ years
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. employers went on a hiring binge in February, adding 313,000 jobs, the most in any month since July 2016, and drawing hundreds of thousands of people into the job market. At the same time, average wages rose 2.6 percent over the past 12 months, a slowdown from January’s accelerated pace, which […]
Posted inBusiness, sj-web
Verso upgrading paper machine, adding 120 jobs at Androscoggin Mill
JAY — Verso Corp. announced a $17 million project Thursday that will upgrade the No. 3 paper machine and create 120 full-time jobs. The announcement coincided with news from the Maine Technology Institute that Verso had won a $4 million challenge grant toward the Androscoggin Mill project. The company had idled the No. 3 machine […]
Posted inBusiness, sj-web
Economy sees biggest wage increase in eight years as U.S. adds a robust 200K jobs
WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. employers added a robust 200,000 jobs in January, and wages rose at the fastest pace in more than eight years, encouraging trends that suggest that the economy may accelerate this year. The unemployment rate remained 4.1 percent, the lowest level since 2000, the Labor Department said in its monthly jobs report […]
Posted inLewiston-Auburn, Maine
Lewiston state senator questions tax breaks for Carbonite
AUGUSTA — A state senator said it’s “really inappropriate” for Carbonite to slice its workforce in half over the past three years by shipping some jobs overseas while getting a state tax break for hiring in Maine. Sen. Nate Libby, D-Lewiston, said he was shocked Wednesday to read in the Sun Journal that Carbonite, a […]
Posted inBusiness
Maine unemployment fell again in December
AUGUSTA (AP) – Maine’s unemployment rate fell slightly again in December. The Maine Department of Labor says the preliminary seasonally adjusted unemployment rate of 3.0 percent in December was down 0.3 percentage points from November. It was also down from 3.8 percent a year ago. Maine’s unemployment rate was lower than the national rate of […]
Posted inBusiness
Cianbro announces plan to hire 300 new construction workers
Buoyed by several new projects in its pipeline, Pittsfield-based construction company Cianbro Corp. is looking to hire 300 additional workers in 2018. The company, which already employs 1,350 people in Maine, said Thursday it was looking for new hires in a number of jobs and trades needed for large projects across the state, such as […]