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US Applications For Jobless Claims Fall To Lowest Level In 9 Weeks

Fewer Americans applied for unemployment benefits last week as the labor market continues to hold up despite higher interest rates imposed by the Federal Reserve in its bid to curb inflation. The Labor Department reported Thursday that unemployment claims for the week ending April 20 fell by 5,000 to 207,000 from 212,000 the previous week. That’s the fewest since mid-February. The four-week average of claims, which smooths out some of the weekly up-and-downs, ticked down by 1,250 to 213,250. Weekly unemployment claims are considered a proxy for the number of U.S. layoffs in a ...

Rising Costs

WASHINGTON — Consumer inflation remained persistently high last month, boosted by gas, rents, auto insurance and other items, the government said Wednesday in a report that will likely give pause to the Federal Reserve as it considers how often — or even whether — to cut interest rates ...

Content Creation Holds Appeal For Laid-Off Workers

With a compact mirror in one hand and an eyelash curler in the other, Grace Xu told her roughly 300,000 TikTok followers she was likely about to be laid off. She was right, she tells them in a subsequent clip. But she was planning to pursue a different career anyway: as a content ...

Internet Providers Must Now Be More Transparent About Fees, Pricing, FCC Says

NEW YORK (AP) — Much like nutritional labels on food products, “broadband labels” for internet packages will soon tell you just what is going into the pricing of your service, thanks to new rules adopted by the Federal Communications Commission this week. “If you’ve ever shopped for home or mobile internet, you can understand how hard it can be to understand what you’re actually paying for,” said Jon Donenberg, Deputy Director of the White House National Economic Council, on a call with reporters. “The broadband nutrition label is a tool that can help consumers make ...

If You’re Retired Or About To Retire, Think Carefully About Your Tax Strategy

NEW YORK (AP) — Coming up with the best tax strategy in retirement can be much trickier than it seems, and tax pros agree it’s a time when people need to be especially careful to look at their entire financial picture before deciding on things like 401(k) withdrawal amounts and timing, or when to begin taking Social Security. “It’s the biggest change in life other than death. Don’t be so quick about deciding when to take Social Security benefits or 401 benefits. Talk to a tax professional before you make these decisions to avoid surprises. It may save you a lot in tax ...

LA. Lawmakers Reject Minimum Wage Raise, LGBTQ+ Protection In The Workplace

BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) — Measures failed in a House committe Thursday that would have gradually increased Louisiana’s $7.25 an hour minimum wage and make discriminating against LGBTQ people in the workforce illegal. The outcome of the two bills was unsurprising, after similar legislation succumbed in recent years to the same fate. Proponents were disheartened, maintaining that the measures would have improved life for some in the state. Louisiana is one of five states that technically has not adopted a minimum wage and as such the federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour applies. ...