News
A 130,000 surge in US hiring last month is a stark contrast to the drastic job cuts of 2025
1+ hour, 56+ min ago (757+ words) By PAUL WISEMAN, AP Economics Writer The unemployment rate fell to 4.3%, the Labor Department said Wednesday. The report included major revisions that reduced the number of jobs created last year to just 181,000, a third the previously reported 584,000 and the weakest…...
Ticker: Retail sales flat in December; Commerce Secretary confirms Epstein meets
23+ hour, 9+ min ago (264+ words) Shoppers unexpectedly paused their spending in December from November, closing out the holiday shopping season and the year on a lackluster tone. The report, issued by the Commerce Department on Tuesday, surprised economists who were looking for growth despite mounting…...
Retail sales unchanged in December from November, closing out year on a lackluster tone
1+ day, 6+ hour ago (521+ words) By ANNE D'INNOCENZIO, Associated Press Retail Sales The report, issued by the Commerce Department on Tuesday, raised questions about shoppers' ability to spend this year as they worry about a slowing job market and uncertainty around President Donald Trump's tariffs…...
FACT FOCUS: Trump says tariffs have created an economic miracle. The facts tell a different story
5+ day, 3+ hour ago (898+ words) By PAUL WISEMAN and CHRISTOPHER RUGABER, AP Economics Writers He made his case in a recent opinion piece in The Wall Street Journal, chiding the paper and critics, including mainstream economists, who predicted that tariffs would backfire, raising prices and…...
Ticker: Labor Department delays January jobs report; Administration to create rare earth elements reserve
1+ week, 1+ day ago (232+ words) The Labor Department, citing the partial federal government shutdown, said Monday that it will not release the January jobs report on Friday as scheduled. In a statement, the department's Bureau of Labor Statistics said: "Once funding is restored, BLS will…...
Layoff notices hit Massachusetts hard as 260 to lose jobs
1+ week, 1+ day ago (573+ words) A trio of major layoff notices will soon cost 260 workers their jobs in Boston and western Massachusetts, adding to economic competitiveness pressures at play for the state and in this year's elections. Panera plans to lay off 92 workers in Franklin…...
Did artificial intelligence really drive layoffs at Amazon and other firms? It can be hard to tell
1+ week, 2+ day ago (1109+ words) By MATT O'BRIEN, Associated Press Technology Writer The one thing N. Lee Plumb knows for sure about being laid off from Amazon last week is that it wasn't a failure to get on board with the company's artificial intelligence plans. Plumb,…...
Warsh’s challenge: Navigating Fed independence and Trump’s demands
1+ week, 4+ day ago (294+ words) By CHRISTOPHER RUGABER and JOSH BOAK, AP Writers "He has to thread that needle," said Raghuram Rajan, an economist at the University of Chicago and former head of India's central bank. "If you are seen as too pliable to the…...
US producer prices rose 0.5% in December, more than expected, on uptick in services inflation
1+ week, 5+ day ago (258+ words) By PAUL WISEMAN, AP Economics Writer The Labor Department reported Friday that its producer price index " which measures inflation before it hits consumers " rose from November to December at the fastest pace in three months and faster than the 0.3% economists…...
US stocks dip and gold swings as markets react to Trump’s choice to lead the Federal Reserve
1+ week, 5+ day ago (383+ words) The initial reactions have been uneasy and sometimes quick to change because of the uncertainty. U.S. stocks fell modestly, with the S&P 500 down 0.1% in early trading. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down 118 points, or 0.2%, as of 9:40 a.m. Eastern time, and…...