Americans cranked up their use of credit cards in the third quarter, racking up more debt than a year ago, while also being less diligent about making payments on time. But though delinquency is rising, it's still significantly below historic norms.
Initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped 8,000 to a seasonally adjusted 355,000, the Labor Department said on Thursday. The report is a sign the labor market's slow recovery is gaining traction, although Hurricane Sandy's impact on the Northeast may have distorted the data.
The Federal Reserve said Wednesday that the U.S. economy is improving only moderately and still needs its support to help lower unemployment. The Fed took no new action after a two-day policy meeting. It wants time to assess whether aggressive steps launched in September will boost growth and job creation.
Unemployment rates fell or held steady last month in nine key swing states at the center of this year's presidential election. Rates dropped in Ohio, Florida, Wisconsin, Colorado, Iowa, Nevada and North Carolina. They were unchanged in New Hampshire and Virginia.
Complaints over higher tax brackets aside, one rule holds true when it comes to your paycheck: Bigger is better. Now, thanks to a recent report out of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, we now know exactly where to look to score the bigger paycheck.
The U.S. unemployment rate dropped to a near four-year low of 7.8 percent in September, even as more Americans come back into the labor force to resume the hunt for work.
After several weeks of lackluster showings, theaters were busy last weekend. Sony's Hotel Transylvania rang up $43 million in ticket sales, making it the largest September opening -- ever. The industry hopes to keep it going this weekend, relying on familiar franchises.
Unemployment rates rose in more than half of U.S. states last month, the latest evidence that hiring remains tepid across the country. Unemployment also rose in seven of the 11 key swing states in this year's presidential election.
The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits fell only slightly last week to a seasonally adjusted 382,000. The level suggests hiring remains weak -- too weak to lower the unemployment rate.
Apple has finally introduced the iPhone 5. Smartphone fans and Apple investors are naturally excited: The very nature of the shiny new handset and the bar-raising nature of some of its features will send out ripples far beyond Cupertino.
U.S. employers posted fewer jobs in July than in June, further evidence that hiring may stay weak in the coming months. Job openings fell to a seasonally adjusted 3.67 million, the Labor Department said Tuesday, down from June's 3.72 million job openings.
Small business owners are getting a little more optimistic about how their companies will do after the election, according to a survey released Tuesday by the National Federation of Independent Business.
U.S. employers added 96,000 jobs last month, a weak figure that could slow the momentum President Obama hoped to gain from his speech Thursday night to the Democratic National Convention. The unemployment rate fell -- but only because more people stopped looking for work.
General Motors says it will hire up to 500 people -- software developers, project managers, database experts and business analysts -- to staff a new computer center in Austin, Texas.
U.S. companies got more output from their workers this spring than initially thought. Productivity rose at a modest 2.2 percent annual rate in the April-June quarter, largely because employers cut back sharply on hiring.