Initial unemployment claims drop by 1,000

Linda Young – AHN News Writer
Washington, D.C., United States (AHN) – First-time unemployment claims dropped slightly for the week ending May 5, the United States Department of Labor said Thursday. Some 367,000 newly jobless workers filed claims for unemployment benefits, a decrease of 1,000 from the previous week’s [...] Continue Reading…

IMF Sees Another Year of Tepid Growth for Mideast

The Media Line Staff
Cairo, Egypt (The Media Line) – After a 2011 that most of the region’s economies would rather forget, the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) looks set for more of the same this year as political turmoil continues to weigh on tourism and investment and strains [...] Continue Reading…

Job growth weaker in March than prior three months

Linda Young – AHN News Writer
Washington, DC, United States (AHN) – The U.S. economy created 120,000 new jobs in March, causing the unemployment rate to drop slightly to 8.2 percent, down from 8.3 percent in February, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday. Nonfarm employment rose in [...] Continue Reading…

Palestinians face deep economic crisis

The Media Line Staff
Palestinian Territory David Rosenberg (The Medi – As international donors meet in Brussels on Wednesday, the Palestinian Authority (PA) faces perhaps its biggest economic crisis since the end of the Second Intifada amid slowing growth and a massive government cash crunch. It is largely the [...] Continue Reading…

Diets downsized by financial crisis

Mbabane, Swaziland (IRIN) – It is 6 a.m. in rural Mliba in central Swaziland, and Melody Thwala and her 7-year-old granddaughter Thandi are busy with their daily task of harvesting wild “umbhidvo” weeds before Thandi goes to school. Thwala will use what they have gathered to make a spinach-like [...] Continue Reading…

First-time unemployment claims rise slightly

Linda Young – AHN News Writer
Washington, DC, United States (AHN) – First-time claims for unemployment were worse than expected, posting an increase of 8,000 claims during the week ending March 3, ending a trend of gradual decline. That means the unemployment rate is expected to stay unchanged at [...] Continue Reading…

Men helping out the recession by buying more

Diane Alter – AHN News Reporter
New York, NY, United States (AHN) – Men are at it again. They are buying more–for themselves. The male shopper, who laid low at the onset of the recession, is back. He is buying more and spending more, and retailers are delighted. [...] Continue Reading…

Wall Street opens higher Friday fueled by a strong jobs report

Diane Alter – AHN News Reporter
New York, NY, United States (AHN) – Stocks opened sharply higher Friday after the Labor Department reported the U.S. economy created jobs at the fastest pace in nine months. Shortly after the opening bell on Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average soared [...] Continue Reading…

More Gurkha soldiers to lose jobs in British Army

Anil Giri – AHN News Correspondent
Kathmandu, Nepal (AHN) – Hundreds of Nepalese Gurkha soldiers are expected to lose their jobs in the British army in the defense ministry’s latest round of reduction in military strength. “As part of further work on defense restructuring the British Army has announced [...] Continue Reading…

Nation’s Mayors Support Gay Marriage But Complain About Unemployment

Tom Ramstack – AHN News Legal Correspondent
DC, Washington, United States (AHN) – The U.S. Conference of Mayors wrapped up its winter meeting Friday in Washington, D.C., with Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel stepping into controversies on same sex marriage and education. Emanuel joined about 80 other mayors from across [...] Continue Reading…

Germany’s unemployment rate drops to record low in December

Linda Young – AHN News Writer
Berlin, Germany (AHN) – Germany’s unemployment rate dropped to 6.8 percent in December from 6.9 percent in November, its lowest rate since 1991, according to the German Federal Labor Agency. Strong German exports are behind the lower unemployment rate. The seasonally adjusted [...] Continue Reading…

UK unemployment hits 17-year high of 2.64 million

Linda Young – AHN News Writer
London, United Kingdom (AHN) – Unemployment in the United Kingdom has hit a 17-year high, rising to 8.3 percent for the second quarter of the year up from 7.9 percent the previous quarter. The number of jobless people in the UK increased by [...] Continue Reading…

Stagnant consumer price data sends U.S. stocks higher

Diane Alter – AHN News Reporter
New York, NY, United States (AHN) – U.S. stocks soared higher Friday after new data showed that inflation does not appear to be a problem. Just after the opening bell on Wall Street, the Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 82 points, the Standard [...] Continue Reading…

Jobless rate falls to 8.6 percent while employed rate falls to 64 percent

Linda Young – AHN News Writer
Washington, D.C., United States (AHN) – Employers added 120,000 jobs, the nation’s official unemployment rate dropped to 8.6 percent and the percentage of working-age Americans with a job dropped to 64 percent during November, the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics announced [...] Continue Reading…

Men’s apparel sales to be a bright spot this holdiay season

Diane Alter – AHN News Reporter
NYC, NY, United States (AHN) – Clothes make the man, and more and more men are making the move to more fashionable attire. That increased interest and demand may turn out to be a particularly bright spot for retail sales this holiday season. [...] Continue Reading…