Economy News

The dollar struck a near 11-month high versus the euro on news of slumping industrial output in Germany, Europe's biggest economy, and as the market awaited key US jobs data(AFP/Getty Images/File/Annie Tritt)

Jobless rate jumps to 5-year high of 6.1 percent

AP - 1 hour, 54 minutes ago

WASHINGTON - The nation's unemployment rate zoomed to a five-year high of 6.1 percent in August as employers slashed 84,000 jobs, dramatic proof of the mounting damage a deeply troubled economy is inflicting on workers and businesses alike.

  • Summary Box: Jobless claims jump, productivity up AP - Thu Sep 4, 3:26 PM ET

    JOBLESS CLAIMS JUMP: The number of people filing new claims for unemployment benefits rose 15,000 to 444,000 last week. Economists expected that number to drop.

  • Productivity up strongly while labor costs dip AP - Thu Sep 4, 9:12 AM ET

    WASHINGTON - Americans' productivity soared in the spring while labor costs declined, two welcome outcomes that should relieve concerns that inflation is getting out of hand.

  • ECB, BoE expected to leave interest rates steady AP - Thu Sep 4, 12:02 AM ET

    FRANKFURT, Germany - The European Central Bank and Bank of England will likely leave interest rates unchanged on Thursday as they face mounting inflation and slowing growth.

  • In this July 1, 2008 file photo, construction crews work on a huge commercial residential and retail complex in Richmond, Va. Construction spending took a bigger-than-expected tumble in July as housing activity dropped to the lowest level in seven years and nonresidential activity fell for the first time in seven months, the Commerce Department announced Tuesday, Sept. 2, 2008. (AP Photo/Steve Helber, file)
    Construction spending fell 0.6 percent in July AP - Tue Sep 2, 10:28 AM ET

    WASHINGTON - Construction spending took a bigger-than-expected tumble in July as housing activity dropped to the lowest level in seven years and nonresidential activity fell for the first time in seven months.

  • Evacuees from New Orleans arrive at Union Passenger Terminal in New Orleans from Memphis, Tennessee. People too poor or ill to flee Hurricane Gustav on their own began returning Friday by buses and trains to storm-battered neighborhoods in New Orleans.(AFP/Matthew Hinton)
    Gustav loses stranglehold on energy prices AP - Mon Sep 1, 6:00 PM ET

    HOUSTON - The punch of Hurricane Gustav appeared to fall softly Monday on the nation's vast energy complex along the U.S. Gulf Coast, and was overshadowed by growing anxiety over the state of the global economy.

  • Two men stand atop the wreckage of their houses after the passage of Hurricane Gustav, in Paso Real de San Diego, Pinar del Rio province, 100 km west of Havana, in August 2008. The US government has offered Cuba humanitarian aid for its citizens affected by Hurricane Gustav, but through non-government channels, the State Department said Friday.(AFP/File/Str)
    Hundreds of thousands lose power in the Gulf AP - Mon Sep 1, 4:55 PM ET

    BEAUMONT, Texas - Three years after being punished by Hurricane Katrina, utilities along the Gulf of Mexico were buffeted by 110 mph plus winds from Gustav with customer outages topping 500,000 and growing.

  • Jobless claims fall for 3rd straight week AP - Thu Aug 28, 9:07 AM ET

    WASHINGTON - The number of people signing up for jobless benefits declined last week, the third straight drop from a six-year high reached earlier this month, the government said Thursday.

  • Number of uninsured drops; poverty holds steady AP - Tue Aug 26, 12:19 PM ET

    WASHINGTON - The number of people lacking health insurance dropped by more than 1 million in 2007, the first annual decline since the Bush administration took office, the Census Bureau reported Tuesday.

  • Byron Rodas works on the roof line of a modular home at the Westchester Modular Homes factory in Wingdale, N.Y. Thursday, Aug. 7, 2008. The employee-owned company produces about 400 modular homes annually. Sales of new homes posted an unexpected gain in July as heavily discounted properties enticed cautious house hunters to become home buyers. (AP Photo/Craig Ruttle)
    New-home sales rose slightly in July, prices fell AP - Tue Aug 26, 12:08 PM ET

    WASHINGTON - Sales of new homes rose in July, but still fell short of economists' expectations, and home prices continued to sink.