Applications for unemployment benefits rose to a seasonally adjusted 429,000 last week, the Labor Department said Thursday.
It was the biggest jump in a month and marked the 11th straight week that applications have been above 400,000.
Elevated unemployment benefit claims signal a worsening job market.
In a separate report, new-home sales fell in May to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 319,000, the Commerce Department said.
The figure is far below the 700,000 homes per year that economists say must be sold to sustain a healthy housing market.
Steuben development chief moving to Calif.
Susan Miller assumed the post of executive director of Steuben County Economic Development Corp. in March, but she will leave the organization by year’s end, she said Thursday.
Miller informed the board at the time of her appointment that her husband was eyeing an engineering position in Ventura County, Calif., and that if it worked out, she would be moving on.
“He has an opportunity, and so the search process is under way,” said Miller, who spent four years at the EDC as assistant director and in the business retention and expansion area. “I’m from Southern California, but I’ve been here for 20 years. We’ll probably come back to retire.”
Miller replaced Gary Nielander, who retired.
State says efforts will spur 11,000 jobs
Indiana’s 2011 economic development efforts are on pace with last year, according to data released Thursday by the Indiana Economic Development Corp.
The economic development group, based in Indianapolis, has worked with 123 companies on expansion and relocation projects this year for a total of more than 11,000 projected new jobs over the next five years. That compares with 200 decisions in all of 2010, promising a projected 23,000 new jobs.
Wages for the new positions average $22.88 an hour, more than 20 percent above the state’s average wage of $18.71 an hour, the IEDC said in a news release.
Total planned investment so far in 2011 is $1.76 billion. The state’s incentive offers to employers average $8,622 for each new job. Last year’s average was $9,981 for each position, the IEDC said.
100 jobs to disappear as timer plant closes
Nearly 100 workers will be out of jobs with the closing of a central Indiana factory that makes timers for washing machines.
Officials of Nidec Motor Corp. have told state officials that permanent layoffs from the factory in Frankfort are expected to start in August and be completed by the end of the year. The Japanese company acquired the factory last year when it bought Emerson Motor Co.
The Lafayette Journal & Courier reported the electro-mechanical timers made at the factory are being phased out by the appliance industry.
Saab lacks money to pay employees
Saab, the Swedish car company renowned for its sometimes quirky designs, moved closer to bankruptcy Thursday.
After months of production stoppages and problems with paying suppliers, Saab said the situation is so dire that it won’t be able to pay its 3,700 employees, raising doubts over how long the brand can survive.
