Jobless claims drop to 7-week low in state
Initial claims for unemployment fell last week to the lowest level in seven weeks in Tennessee, although the level remains elevated by historic standards.
The Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development said Thursday that 9,498 Tennesseans filed new claims for jobless benefits last week, including 400 newly laid-off workers in Hamilton County and another 170 newly unemployed persons in Bradley County.
Nationwide, there was a similar drop in the number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits, dropping by 21,000 from the previous week to 793,000.
The numbers point to a still-elevated number of layoffs. Before the virus erupted in the United States in March, weekly applications for jobless aid had never topped 700,000, even during the Great Recession.
"There's no real relief from unrelenting jobless claims when one looks at the broader picture," said Mark Hamrick, senior economic analyst for Bankrate."The clock is again ticking for millions of Americans on the edge of a fiscal cliff, facing the threat of a mid-March cut-off of increased and extended unemployment benefits."
On Wednesday, Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell underscored the Fed's focus on the struggling job market and said he thought that any worrisome surge in inflation would be unlikely. If it did arise, Powell said, the Fed has the financial tools it needs to quell inflation. For now, inflation remains below the Fed's target rate.
Mortgage rates stay near record lows
U.S. long-term mortgage rates were flat this week for a second straight week. Home-loan rates stayed near record lows as the economy, especially in the services sector, remains burdened by the coronavirus pandemic.
Mortgage buyer Freddie Mac reported Thursday that the average rate on the benchmark 30-year fixed-rate home loan remained at last week's 2.73%. By contrast, the rate stood at 3.47% a year ago.
The average rate on 15-year fixed-rate loans, popular among homeowners seeking to refinance their mortgages, eased to 2.19% from 2.21%.
Bombardier to end Learjet production
WICHITA, Kan. The iconic Learjet, which carried generations of business executives and was made famous in pop songs, is about to fade into aviation history.
Canada's Bombardier said Thursday it will end production of the Learjet later this year. The company will eliminate 1,600 jobs in Canada and the United States.
The plane first flew in the 1960s and was among the first private luxury jets. Frank Sinatra let Elvis Presley borrow his Learjet to elope with Priscilla Beaulieu. But the Learjet's fate was sealed in 2015 when Bombardier dropped plans to build a new model. The pandemic also hurt demand for planes.
- Compiled by Dave Flessner