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Initial, continued unemployment claims up

The Ohio Department of Job and Family Services reported Thursday that Ohioans filed 8,621 initial unemployment claims last week, which was 3,918 more than the previous week. Ohioans filed 34,591 continued unemployment claims last week, which was 909 more than the previous week. The total number of claims filed from Oct. 4-10 was 43,212. Ohio’s unemployment rate in August was 3.3%. The national unemployment rate in August was 4.1%. Ohio’s labor force participation rate in August was 61.3%. The national labor force participation rate in August was 61.6%.

America Makes selects companies to lead $12.4M defense project

Northrop Grumman Corp. and Fastech LLC have been selected this week to lead a $12.4 million project directed by Youngstown-based America Makes and the National Center for Defense Manufacturing and Machining. Funded through the U.S. Department of War, the project seeks to validate that metallic additive manufacturing (AM) materials can reliably replace traditional alloys in Department of War weapon system components. Project teams will select candidate parts, define performance requirements, and generate shared, validated data demonstrating that the AM material meets or exceeds the ...

Social Security recipients to get 3.6% cost of living boost

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Social Security Administration projected Wednesday that the annual cost-of-living adjustment for older adults and people with disabilities will go up by 3.6% beginning in 2027, with some recipients complaining that is not enough to offset soaring prices. The adjustment translates to $75 extra per month for the nearly 72 million people who receive monthly Social Security benefits and about 7.3 million beneficiaries who get Supplemental Security Income. The announcement comes as inflation adds pressure on household budgets and businesses and as midterm elections ...

Even with gas tax holiday, prices remain at highest levels

Gas prices are 10 cents lower in Northeast Ohio this week at $3.873 per gallon, according to Monday’s AAA East Central’s Gas Price Report. Gas prices remain the highest they’ve ever been for this time of year. Even though the national average dropped a penny this past week to $4.35, pump prices remain at record highs for autumn. The average price of unleaded self-serve gasoline Monday in Niles and Youngstown was $3.841 and $3.869, respectively. At this time in 2025, the average price in Northeast Ohio was $2.82. This is the first year the national average has been above $4 per ...

2 American economists win Nobel for work on managing economic shocks

STOCKHOLM (AP) — American economists Robert E. Hall and Michael Woodford won the Nobel Memorial Prize in economics Monday for their work on models that have helped governments and central banks manage economic shocks, such as energy crises and inflation. The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences announced the winners in Stockholm, noting that their work created the theoretical foundation to better understand how consumers decide whether to save or spend, insights that make it easier for policymakers worldwide to stabilize economies after fluctuations. “The laureates’ research has ...

Boosting US oil supplies with Russian diesel unlikely to have much impact on prices, experts say

A new pact that calls for Russia to boost the U.S. supply of diesel over the next few months is unlikely to make a dent in painfully high prices at the pump or elsewhere, energy policy experts say. Energy policy experts expressed doubts that a boost in diesel supply from Russia will have a significant impact on oil prices, whether in the U.S. or globally. “It’s kind of shuffling deck chairs on the Titanic,” said Michael Lynch, distinguished fellow at Energy Policy Research Foundation. “If we get diesel from Russia, basically it means that their existing customers are not ...