WASHINGTON — Applications for weekly unemployment benefits spiked last week, largely because companies let go of thousands of workers after the holiday season. Weekly applications rose by 24,000 to a seasonally adjusted 399,000, the Labor Department said Thursday. That’s the ...

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WASHINGTON — Americans are feeling confident enough in the economy to go back to a time-honored tradition — taking on a little extra debt. Consumer borrowing surged in November by $20.4 billion, the Federal Reserve said Monday. It was the ...

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As the millions of Americans who recently devised resolutions will tell you, the new year offers a fresh start. It offers an opportunity to correct the mistakes of the previous year, or set forth on a better path, or even ...

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WASHINGTON — The nation added 200,000 jobs in December in a burst of hiring that drove the unemployment rate to its lowest in almost three years. The figures raised hopes that the economy might finally be healthy enough to power ...

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WASHINGTON — The job market is looking a little brighter at the start of the new year. Weekly unemployment benefit applications have fallen to levels last seen more than three years ago. Holiday sales were solid. Service companies grew a ...

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WASHINGTON — 2012 looks to be another year of opportunity for the few who can afford to buy or refinance a home. The average rate on the 30-year fixed mortgage fell to 3.91 percent this week, Freddie Mac said Thursday. ...

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WASHINGTON — The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits fell further last week, ending the year on a three-month run of declines that point to stronger hiring in 2012. Weekly applications dropped by 15,000 to a seasonally adjusted 372,000 last ...

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ANNAPOLIS — Gov. Martin O’Malley will press for greater infrastructure spending in this year to continue job growth that he said stacks up well against Maryland’s neighbors’. The state lost some 140,000 jobs during the Great Recession, a contraction of ...

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WASHINGTON (AP) — The long-suffering job market is ending the year better off than it began. The number of people applying for unemployment benefits each week has dropped by 10 percent since January. The unemployment rate, 8.6 percent in November, ...

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WASHINGTON — The number of people seeking unemployment benefits rose last week after three weeks of decline. Even with the gain, applications remained at a level consistent with modest hiring. And the broader trend over the past month suggests job ...

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