October jobless rate higher in Tennessee
Unemployment in Tennessee edged up a tenth of a percentage point last month to match the national jobless rate of 3.7 percent.
State officials said Tennessee’s jobless rate remains near its all-time low of 3.3 percent reached a year ago and Gov. Bill Haslam said the historically low rate “continues to prove how well the state’s economy is performing.”
Between September and October, Tennessee employers added 6,000 new nonfarm jobs, bringing the total number of new jobs created since October 2017 to more than 59,000.
VW Chattanooga is ‘first choice’ for EVs
A top Volkswagen brand official said Thursday that Chattanooga’s VW production plant is “first choice” to assemble electric vehicles in the North American market, according to Bloomberg.
Thomas Ulbrich, the VW brand’s head of electric-cars, told reporters in Zwickau, Germany, that talks are ongoing with a final decision expected in a few weeks.
Volkswagen AG plans to invest about $1.4 billion to revamp Zwickau plant into Europe’s largest electric-car factory.
In 2020, VW plans to ramp up electric-car output at two factories in China, the Bloomberg report said. “We will lead e-mobility out of the niche and make the e-car accessible for millions of people,” said Ulbrich.
Mortgage rates rise to highest in 8 years
U.S. long-term mortgage rates were steady to slightly up this week, at their highest levels in nearly eight years and dampening home sales.
Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac said Thursday the average rate on a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage was unchanged from last week at 4.94 percent. That’s the highest level for the benchmark rate since February 2011. A year ago the rate stood at 3.95 percent.
The average rate on a 15-year, fixed-rate loan rose to 4.36 percent from 4.33 percent last week.
Mortgage rates have risen along with the yield on the key 10-year Treasury note, which has been propelled higher in the past year by indications of quickening economic growth, expected interest rate increases and potentially higher inflation.
Amtrak cuts loss to lowest since ’73
Amtrak says its $168 million operating loss this year was the smallest since 1973, its second full year in business.
The government-owned railroad said Thursday it took in a record $3.4 billion in revenue in the 2018 fiscal year.
Amtrak has been shrinking its annual operating losses in recent years and says it plans to eliminate them by 2021.
Amtrak said ridership remained steady at 31.7 million passenger trips. It blamed the lack of growth on service disruptions such as a second summer of repairs at New York’s Penn Station.
The railroad received about $1.9 billion in federal subsidies in the 2018 fiscal year. It invested about $1.5 billion in capital improvements.
Also Thursday, Amtrak’s board authorized the purchase of new locomotives for service outside the Northeast Corridor.