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US applications for jobless benefits up modestly

WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of Americans filing for jobless benefits rose modestly last week, a sign that employers still retaining workers despite economic uncertainty related to U.S. trade policy. Jobless claims for the week ending Aug. 2 rose by 7,000 to 226,000, the Labor Department reported Thursday, slightly more than the 219,000 new applications that economists had forecast. The report is the first government labor market data release since Friday's grim July jobs report sent financial markets spiraling downward, spurring President Donald Trump to fire the head of the ...

Study highlights economic impact of supporting Michigan-based retailers

LANSING — Michigan could see nearly 12,000 new jobs and a $1.1 billion increase in economic activity by Michigan consumers shifting just 10% of their online spending back to local retailers. This significant potential impact is highlighted in the Buy Nearby Economic Study, conducted annually by Michigan Retailers Association (MRA) and Public Sector Consultants (PSC). The study, using data provided by the U.S. Census and Bureau of Labor Statistics, found that Michiganders spent $2.6 billion out of state in 2024. It illustrates that shifting just 10% of that spending back into Michigan ...

Average rate on a 30-year mortgage drops to lowest level since April

The average rate on a 30-year U.S. mortgage has fallen to its lowest level in four months, welcome news for prospective homebuyers who have been held back by stubbornly high home financing costs. The long-term rate fell to 6.63% from 6.72% last week, mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday. A year ago, the rate averaged 6.47%. Borrowing costs on 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, popular with homeowners refinancing their home loans, also fell. The average rate dropped to 5.75% from 5.85% last week. A year ago, it was 5.63%, Freddie Mac said. Elevated mortgage rates have helped keep ...

Come for the animals — stay for the auction

ESCANABA — To all of you who support the U.P. State Fair Junior Market Livestock and Poultry and Egg Auctions — thank you! Whether you’ve been coming for years or are just getting curious about it, we appreciate your interest and generosity in helping make this event such a success. By ...

US employers slash hiring as Trump advances trade agenda

WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S. hiring is slowing sharply as President Donald Trump's erratic and radical trade policies paralyze businesses and raise doubts about the outlook for the world's largest economy. U.S. employers added just 73,000 jobs last month, the Labor Department reported Friday, well short of the 115,000 expected. Worse, revisions shaved a stunning 258,000 jobs off May and June payrolls. And the unemployment rate ticked higher to 4.2% as Americans dropped out of the labor force and the ranks of the unemployed rose by 221,000. "A notable deterioration in U.S. labor market ...

What consumers can expect from import taxes

American businesses and consumers woke up Friday to find the contours of President Donald Trump's foreign trade agenda taking shape but without much more clarity on how import taxes on goods from dozens of countries would affect them. Late Thursday, Trump ordered new tariff rates for 66 countries, the European Union, Taiwan and the Falkland Islands. Among them: a 40% tariff on imports from Laos, a 39% tariff on goods from Switzerland and a 30% tariff on South African products. Other trade partners, such as Cambodia, had the tax rates on their exports to the U.S. reduced from levels ...