Business Notebook

Out-of-work aid hits 42-year low

Six years after a brutal recession that wiped out more than 8.5 million jobs, Americans are now enjoying a nearly unprecedented level of job security.

The number of people seeking U.S. unemployment aid plunged last week to the lowest in nearly 42 years. Applications for jobless benefits are a proxy for layoffs, so the low level indicates that employers are keeping their staffs and likely hiring at a steady pace.

Weekly applications for unemployment benefits fell 26,000 to 255,000, the fewest since November 1973, the Labor Department said Thursday. If the data were adjusted for the growth of the U.S. population since then, last week’s figure would likely be an all-time low.

IN BRIEF

▪  MAIREC, a Germany-based metals recycler, is opening a $4.6 million operations in Spartanburg County that is to create 35 jobs during the next five years.

▪  Big profits from trucks and SUVs helped General Motors overcome a sales slowdown in China, economic problems in Venezuela and payments to ignition switch crash victims as the automaker’s second-quarter net income rose sixfold to nearly $1.12 billion.

▪  The Federal Trade Commission is investigating General Motors because of dealers who advertised certified used cars for sale even though they still needed repairs under existing recalls.

▪  A dropoff in customers at its U.S. restaurants contributes to a 13 percent decline in McDonald’s second-quarter profit.

From Staff and Wire Reports