WASHINGTON — In the most impressive surge for the job market since early last year, the United States added 243,000 jobs in January, far more than economists expected. The unemployment rate dropped to 8.3 percent, the lowest in three years. ...

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ANNAPOLIS — As lawmakers prepare to consider tax hikes to pay for transportation projects, Maryland’s lieutenant governor is directing an effort to pump private dollars directly into state roads, bridges and rail lines and the port and airport. The administration’s ...

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WASHINGTON — Builders increased their spending in December for the fifth consecutive month, ending a weak construction year on a hopeful note. Spending on construction projects rose 1.5 percent in December after a revised 0.4 percent gain in November, the ...

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The blue sofa bed means everything to Robert Hicks Jr. Hicks, whose 5-year-old son spent his first five months fighting for his life at Johns Hopkins Hospital, would sleep in the waiting room or on a couch in the pediatric ...

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WASHINGTON — Fewer people bought new homes in December. The decline made 2011 the worst year for new -homes sales on records dating back nearly half a century. The Commerce Department said Thursday new-home sales fell 2.2 percent last month ...

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ANNAPOLIS — The chief executive officer of Baltimore’s public schools has told state lawmakers that he hopes to borrow $1.2 billion to overhaul the city’s public school buildings. Andres Alonso spoke Tuesday to the Senate Budget and Taxation committee, telling ...

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WASHINGTON  — Builders ended 2011 with a third straight year of dismal home construction and the worst on record for single-family home building. But improvement at the end of the year lifted hopes for an eventual recovery. In December, builders ...

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More than five years ago, Baltimore County officials held a festive celebration to mark the opening of a $75.6 million, four-mile extension of Route 43 that connected White Marsh to Middle River. But not long after a parade and the ...

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WASHINGTON — U.S. manufacturers ended 2011 with their best month of growth since the late spring. And the struggling construction industry spent more on projects for the third time in four months. The data bolstered hopes that the economy is ...

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WASHINGTON — A surge in apartment construction gave home builders more work in November. And permits, a gauge of future construction, rose largely because of a jump in apartment permits. Some analysts say the gains, though coming off extremely low ...

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