As he coasts toward probable reelection, Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak can boast of something that hasn't happened since at least 1990: parity between the unemployment rates of the city and the seven-county metro. Both averaged 5.1 percent last year, after several years of a steadily narrowing gap. The 13-county metropolitan unemployment rate was 5.2 percent. Although there's no way to determine ...

A bipartisan group of House lawmakers on Friday urged the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility to take a hard look a military spending as the panel weighs options for reducing the nation's growing budget deficit. Specifically, the legislators backed a list of cuts outlined in a new report by the Sustainable Defense Task Force, a diverse group of experts the lawmakers ...

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The unemployment rate jumped to 9.7 percent in August, the highest since June 1983, as employers eliminated a net total of 216,000 jobs. The level of job cuts is less than July's upwardly revised total of 276,000 and is the lowest in a year. Analysts expected the unemployment rate to rise to 9.5 percent from July's 9.4 ...

WASHINGTON, D.C. - A historic two-day nuclear summit is getting underway in Washington Monday, with the Obama administration stressing the urgency of the threat of nuclear terrorism and residents of the nation's capital bracing for potentially massive traffic disruptions due to motorcades, street closures and security checkpoints. Even as President Obama met Sunday with a succession of global leaders to discuss ...

State governments are rushing to borrow money to take advantage of cheap and plentiful credit at a time when tax collections are tumbling. Investors, lured by the safety of taxpayer-guaranteed debt, are lending states money at the lowest interest rates in decades. The borrowing has helped governments increase spending during the recession and avoid some painful spending cuts. Lower interest rates ...

Gamblers can now play the ponies without leaving the comfort of home after the Illinois Racing Board gave permission Tuesday to three companies to host online horse betting. The decision means gamblers can place bets on horses through approved Web sites or by phone, interactive television and mobile devices. Previously, wagers could be made only at a horse track or an ...

The Supreme Court said Monday that it will decide whether two people can do the work of five when it comes to resolving labor-management disputes in the workplace. The National Labor Relations Board, which for decades has had the responsibility of policing similar disputes, has operated with two members -- and three vacancies -- for more than a year. The reason ...

BELCAMP, Md. - Defense contractor ManTech International Corp. says it expects to create 300 to 500 technology jobs near Aberdeen Proving Ground within three years. The Fairfax, Va.-based company celebrated the groundbreaking Monday for a building in Belcamp that will house the workers. It is scheduled for completion in March. ManTech Chairman George Pederson says the company has about 700 Maryland ...

NEW YORK — It's a good time to borrow money for a home, car or small business. A year after a global freeze in the credit markets prompted massive government intervention to prevent the financial system from collapsing, interest rates remain at historic lows. But banks are demanding more collateral, bigger down payments and detailed financial histories from borrowers. And that's ...

The General Services Administration's Office of the Inspector General says its work in the second half of fiscal 2009 saved the agency more than $466 million. In its semiannual report to Congress, covering April 1 to Sept. 30, the inspector general said it made more than $268 million in financial recommendations for better use of government funds. The office also made ...

When we think of Uncle Sam's men and women overseas, our thoughts understandably go toward the troops in uniform who risk their lives in the name of the United States. But there are many other federal employees, with no uniforms or weapons, who also subject themselves to daily war zone dangers. The civilians, however, face an inconsistent set of compensation, benefits ...

WASHINGTON (AP) - The economy grew for a second straight quarter from October through December, posting a 5.7 percent annual rate, the fastest pace since the third quarter of 2003. The Commerce Department report is the strongest evidence to date that the worst recession since the 1930s ended last year, though an academic panel that dates recessions has yet to officially ...

Civil servants are no longer in danger of being forced off the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program under the Senate Finance Committee's version of health care reform legislation. Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, agreed to scale back a proposal that would have required all federal employees to move from FEHBP to state-based health exchanges so it applied only to members of Congress ...

WASHINGTON — First-time claims for unemployment benefits dropped for the third consecutive week, a sign the job market is slowly recovering. The Labor Department said Thursday that initial claims for unemployment insurance fell by 7,000 to a seasonally adjusted 444,000. That's above economists' forecasts of 440,000, according to Thomson Reuters. Layoffs have dropped back to pre-recession levels and employers have slowly ...

The stimulus money flowing through state agencies has saved or created almost 4,500 jobs in Colorado so far, most of them in colleges and prisons. An analysis released Tuesday by Gov. Bill Ritter's economic recovery team also found that about 6,200 homebuyers have taken advantage of the one-time $8,000 federal tax credit for buying their first home. It also found that ...

WASHINGTON -- The Obama administration is holding off major decisions that could put its military forces on a firmer war footing in Afghanistan even as doubts grow about whether the United States can win there. Many military and diplomatic leaders have urged President Barack Obama to send thousands more Marines, Soldiers and pilots to try to reverse Afghanistan's crumbling security situation. ...

INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana's state tax collections are continuing to take a dive, prompting Gov. Mitch Daniels to warn Thursday that budget cuts that could include schools and employee layoffs might be needed soon. Revenue for September was $166 million short of a May forecast that lawmakers and Daniels used to put together a new two-year budget that took effect July 1. ...

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) ― It appears likely that state government will announce another round of layoffs soon. Gov. Ed Rendell said Monday that he might make an announcement on layoffs by the end of the week. The state has laid off more than 300 employees since July because of spending cuts. Rendell signed a state budget on Oct. 9 that cuts ...

Federally Employed Women plans to lobby Congress and the Obama administration to make changes in pay-for-performance programs after a majority of FEW members said in a survey they did not support their agencies' alternative pay systems. "We firmly believe that just pointing out problems does not help," said Sue Webster, national president of the employee affinity group. "We are also offering ...

BOSTON — Gov. Deval Patrick said Wednesday that the federal stimulus program has created or saved more than 23,000 jobs in Massachusetts since February. State agencies have received $4 billion from the national $787 billion package, and have spent $1.9 billion. The expenses include $1.3 billion for such benefits as unemployment insurance and $500 million on programs and infrastructure. The 23,533 ...