WASHINGTON — Americans paid more for food and gas in February, as consumer prices rose at the fastest pace in nearly two years. The Consumer Price Index rose 0.5 percent in February, the largest increase since June 2009, the Labor ...

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WASHINGTON — The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits rose last week, only the second increase in six weeks. The Labor Department says applications rose by 26,000 to a seasonally adjusted 397,000 during the week ended March 5. The rise ...

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WASHINGTON — Fewer Americans requested unemployment benefits last week, pushing the average number of applications over the past four weeks to the lowest level in more than two and a half years. Applications for unemployment benefits dropped by 22,000 last ...

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NEW YORK — The era of falling clothing prices is ending. Clothing prices have dropped for a decade as tame inflation and cheap overseas labor helped hold down costs. Retailers and clothing makers cut frills and experimented with fabric blends ...

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Maryland added 2,100 jobs in November, the sixth straight month of gains but not enough to bring the state’s unemployment rate down from 7.4 percent. Maryland has now generated approximately 39,000 net jobs since January, state officials said. That’s the ...

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WASHINGTON — Applications for unemployment benefits dropped last week to the second-lowest level this year, evidence that companies are cutting fewer jobs. The Labor Department says first-time claims for jobless aid fell by 17,000 to a seasonally-adjusted 421,000 in the ...

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Maryland’s labor department is prepared to take out another loan in early 2011 to pay jobless benefits following a year in which and lawmakers scrambled to secure federal funds to shore up a benefits system stressed by continued high unemployment. ...

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BALTIMORE — Baltimore’s police union has voted to reject a proposed labor contract that included a 2 percent pay cut and five additional days of vacation. The city’s offer was the rough equivalent of a furlough. Nearly all city employees ...

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BALTIMORE — Employees at Baltimore Gas & Electric will vote next month on whether to unionize one of the country’s few nonunion utilities. About 1,500 employees are eligible to vote on whether to join the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers. ...

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WASHINGTON — A Connecticut woman who was fired after she posted disparaging remarks about her boss on Facebook has prompted a first-of-its-kind legal case by federal authorities who say her comments are protected speech under labor laws. The National Labor ...

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