Labor Markets

Despite a history of political hiring, Chicago Mayor Richard Daley is scoffing at a federal hiring monitor's demand for guarantees the threatened layoff of city employees due to a huge budget deficit won't turn into a political purge. Daley said Tuesday...

Boca Raton — Fire Explorer Post #315 and the Boca Raton Firefighters Benevolent Association partnered recently for the city's 14th annual school supplies for students drive. "They purchased hundreds of notebooks, paper, pencils and other supplies...

Casselberry voters will decide Aug. 26 whether to make many changes to the city charter. The changes are largely technical, making the city's charter fall in line with others but not making any substantial difference in how Casselberry is run. Heavy...

The largest single-site workplace raid in U.S. history may have cost a kosher slaughterhouse in Iowa nearly half its employees, but it's been a boon to labor recruiters around the country. After federal Immigration agents raided Agriprocessors, Inc.,...

As administrative manager for an Encino dental practice, Melody LeBlanc had trained the staff on what to do when an earthquake hits. Even her husband knew the rules for handling a disaster. But when the Chino Hills quake hit last month, one worker ran...

WASHINGTON (AP) _ The number of newly laid-off workers filing applications for unemployment benefits fell less than expected last week, indicating continued stress in labor markets from the weak economy. The Labor Department reported Thursday that...

The Los Angeles City Council is scheduled to vote today on an ordinance that would help mitigate community concerns over men searching for work at large home improvement stores. This ordinance, which The Times opposed in an Aug. 10 editorial, deserves...

Economists keep talking about the fragile state of the consumer, but it might be time to look at how businesses are spending too. Construction of new plants, stores and more is growing at a brisk pace, factory orders are at six-month highs and...

Gambling and construction executives working to build a new $2 billion mega-casino here were among the eight victims of a plane crash in Minnesota on Thursday. The morning crash that killed employees of Revel Entertainment Inc. and Tishman...

Labor rates for cars not high I read with great interest the article about auto insurance rates ["Insurers cautioned," News, Aug 7]. The auto collision repair industry will attest to the fact that collision repair labor rates have not increased in any...

The nation's unemployment rate climbed to a four-year high of 5.7 percent in July as employers cut 51,000 jobs, dashing the hopes of an influx of young people looking for summer work. Payroll cuts weren't as deep as the 72,000 predicted by economists,...

The nation's employers eliminated 51,000 jobs in July, the seventh consecutive contraction in the labor market, as the unemployment rate reached a four-year high, signs that the pressure on business owners and consumers was likely to continue. Still,...