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WASHINGTON >> Fewer Americans applied for unemployment benefits last week, a sign that the job market appears to be increasingly secure for workers.
Weekly applications for unemployment aid plunged 25,000 to a seasonally adjusted 234,000, the Labor Department said Thursday. The four-week average dipped to 250,000.
Over the past year the number of people collecting benefits had tumbled 7.2 percent to 2.03 million.
U.S. workers face a lower risk of losing their jobs, since applications are a proxy for layoffs. The weekly figure has remained below 300,000 for 109 weeks. That’s the longest such stretch since 1970, when the U.S. population was much smaller.
30 of Asia’s economies will proceed to grow
HONG KONG >> Asia’s developing economies will see steady growth this year and the next, though the evolving policies of President Donald Trump’s administration are a major uncertainty, the Manila-based Asian Development Bank said in a report Thursday.
The lender forecast growth in developing Asia at 5.7 percent in 2017 and said it would continue into 2018.
It said 30 of the 45 countries covered in the report will see sustained growth that will help offset the gradual slowdown in China.
However, the risks include unexpected changes to U.S. government policies in areas such as interest rates. The ADB said the uncertainty could undermine the outlook for the region, which accounts for 60 percent of global economic growth.
ON THE MOVE
Central Pacific Bank has promoted the following three employees:
>> Christine Daleiden to senior vice president and division manager of Operations and Process Design. Daleiden has been with CPB since 2011 and was previously a senior vice president and legal counsel.
>> Adrienne Chee to senior vice president and division manager of Information Technology Solutions. Chee has been with CPB since 1986 and previously served as a vice president and IT and Deposit operations manager.
>> Vicki Hasty to vice president and senior legal manager of Commercial Documentation Center. Hasty has been with CPB since 2016 and was previously a vice president and legal counsel.
Starn O’Toole Marcus and Fisher has announced that John W. Kelly has joined the firm as a litigation associate. He previously served as an associate at one of the nation’s oldest intellectual property firms that is based in New York.
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