WASHINGTON — The U.S. economy is adding jobs at a steady pace — enough to show strength in the face of tax increases and government spending cuts if not enough to reduce still-high unemployment. Employers added 175,000 jobs in May, and the unemployment rate rose to 7.6 percent from 7.5 percent in April, the Labor […]
economy
Posted inBusiness
Economist says Maine to recover in 2016
2013 is off to a promising start — but don’t get used to it. In a preview of his Maine forecast for the New England Economic Partnership conference in Boston on Thursday, Charlie Colgan said that he revised his estimate for the end of recession in Maine to late 2016. One year ago, he’d forecast […]
advertisement
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Maine lags behind while New England economy improves
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — A group of economists says New England is recovering from the worst recession in decades, with the strongest gains in Massachusetts and Vermont, while Rhode Island and Maine lag. The New England Economic Partnership said Wednesday that external factors such as Europe’s recession and federal spending cuts made in Washington are […]
Posted inMaine
Workforce development bill sails through Maine Senate
AUGUSTA — A bill that’s being heralded as “first-of-its-kind” legislation aimed at closing the state’s so-called “skills gap” easily cleared the Maine Senate on Wednesday. The bill, LD 90 — the work of a special committee of the Legislature — was rolled out last week and broadly praised as a bipartisan solution to a problem […]
Posted inBusiness, sj-web
After near-stall in late 2012, economy picking up momentum
WASHINGTON — After nearly stalling in late 2012, the American economy quickened its pace early this year despite deep government cutbacks. The strongest consumer spending in two years fueled a 2.5 percent annual growth rate in the January-March quarter. The question is: Can it last? Federal spending cuts, higher Social Security taxes and cautious businesses […]
Posted inOp-Eds
Maine’s economic doldrums may be behind LePage turnabout
Consistency, we are learning, is not something one can expect from Gov. Paul LePage. The Republican governor came into office as the scourge of debt. He argued against borrowing in all its forms, whether bonds issued by state agencies or approved by the voters. He backed up his point by vetoing bond issues and refusing […]
Posted inMaine, sj-web
Expanding Medicaid would give state boost, report says
AUGUSTA — Expanding Medicaid in Maine would stimulate $350 million in economic activity, create more than 3,100 jobs and generate as much as $18 million in state and local taxes annually, according to a policy report released Tuesday. But if Maine decides against expanding Medicaid, it stands to lose to other states the $256 million […]
Posted inBusiness, sj-web
Businesses in military towns brace for budget hit
FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (AP) — Like many who make their living in the commercial strip outside the gates of Fort Bragg, Mike Thomas is confident the $85 billion in automatic military spending cuts will hurt sales at his used car lot and rim shop. The vast majority of his customers work on the base, and smaller […]
Posted inBusiness, Maine, sj-web
After summer glut, Maine mulls helping lobster biz
PORTLAND — Lawmakers are looking to boost Maine’s troubled lobster industry with proposals that would pump more money into marketing the state’s signature seafood and offer tax breaks to encourage more lobster processing. The moves follow last year’s chaotic fishing season that saw a lobster glut, a crash in wholesale prices and tensions boil over. […]
Posted inBusiness, sj-web
Hannaford parent company lays off 350 corporate employees; Scarborough affected
Delhaize America, owner of Hannaford, is laying off 350 corporate employees, including an unspecified number at the supermarket chain’s headquarters in Scarborough. Michael Norton, a Hannaford spokesman, wouldn’t confirm how many of the 350 layoffs would take place in Scarborough, where the company employs roughly 1,000 people in corporate, back-office functions. “We’re not parsing it […]