July jobs report: U.S. economy adds 163,000 new jobs [August 3, 2012]

July jobs report: U.S. economy adds 163,000 new jobs

8/3/12

The U.S. economy added a better-than-expected 163,000 new jobs in July, according to preliminary data from the U.S. Department of Labor, but the official unemployment rate rose from 8.2% to 8.3%.

After a promising start to the new year in January and February, when more than 200,000 jobs were reported each month, the spring and summer period had been marked by a job-creation slowdown.

However, the number of jobs created in July was higher than expected. One forecast, from Business Insider, had projected payrolls to increase by 106,000 net jobs during July.

The July jobs data follows several recent reports that the economy is slowing down, including news that manufacturing activity has declined and that the economy grew by only 1.5% in the second quarter of 2012.

In a somewhat contradictory bit of data, the Labor Department said labor force participation decreased by 155,000 in July. Normally, when jobs increase by more than 150,000 and the unemployment rate rises, it's because more people are entering the labor force.

The July data are preliminary and subject to revision in subsequent months. The government revised the June employment report downward from 80,000 new jobs to 64,000.

Economists say the U.S. must create 150,000 new jobs each month just to keep pace with changes in the labor force, and it must create about 250,000 new jobs each month to quickly bring down the unemployment rate

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Developer says Edgewater renovation will create hundreds of local jobs

8/2/12

Robert Dunn, developer and new owner of the soon-to-be renovated Edgewater Hotel in Madison, estimates the project will create 700 temporary construction jobs, 250 permanent hotel jobs, and between 100 and 150 indirect jobs in the area by the time the hotel opens in 2014. As part of a management agreement, public access to the terraced area will be allowed daily, from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m, but the hotel will be allowed to close all or part of the upper terrace up to 15 times annually, and nonprofits or community groups will be able to use the public space at least eight times a year.

Developers submit plans for Union Corners site

8/2/12

Four developers or teams and one neighborhood group submitted plans to the city for the long-vacant Union Corners site on the corner of East Washington Avenue and Milwaukee Street.

Gorman & Co., C.D. Smith Construction/Eppstein Uhen Architects, Community By Design, Livesey Co./Stone House Development, and the neighborhood group submitted separate plans costing as much as $108 million for the 11.4-acre site. The proposals included a variety of suggestions, from housing units, office and retail space, and health facilities to a public market, grocery stores, a library, hotel, parking, and more. The proposals also included requests for as much as $14.8 million in public assistance.

The City Council is expected to choose a developer this fall.

BD to close Monona facility by 2014

8/2/12

Monona medical technology firm BD (Becton, Dickinson and Co.)? announced it will close by March 2014, cutting about 135 area jobs as the company trims costs and consolidates its operations at its Baltimore, Md. headquarters. The plant, at 2801 Industrial Drive, makes material used to grow bacteria and monitor contaminants in the air. The company employs 29,000 in 50 plants worldwide.

Anchor BanCorp's unpaid TARP account among highest in U.S.

8/2/12

Coming in at number 13 on a list of the biggest recipients of Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) funds is Madison-based Anchor BanCorp, which reportedly has one of the largest unpaid TARP accounts in the nation. Anchor BanCorp CEO Chris Bauer says the bank has been following terms of the investment by the U.S. Treasury, adding that it continues to look for an investment source, according to an article in the Wisconsin State Journal. In 2009, Anchor received $110 million from the Treasury Department in return for preferred stock.

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Source: http://ibmadison.com/businessreport?businessreport_id=2623

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