The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits rose last week from the lowest point of the pandemic, even as the job market appears to be rebounding on the strength of a reopened economy. Jobless claims increased to 419,000 from 368,000 the previous week. The weekly number of first-time applications for benefits, which generally tracks layoffs, has fallen steadily since topping 900,000 in early January. Economists say the increase is most likely a blip caused by some one-time factors.
Grand Forks County posted a 4.3 percent unemployment rate in June. That compares to 3.6 percent in Cass and 3.8 percent in Burleigh. The June 2021 not seasonally adjusted jobless rate for North Dakota was 4.4 percent.
Over the year in June, Minnesota gained 173,827 payroll jobs, up 6.4%. The private sector gained 157,070 jobs, up 6.8% over the year in June. U.S. employment grew 5.8% over the year with the private sector up 6.4% in June. In Minnesota, nine supersectors gained jobs over the year, with Leisure & Hospitality, up 32% or 61,007 jobs.
A pair of liquor license requests before the Grand Forks council this week could result in two local businesses making a move. Albatross Indoor Golf is looking to relocate into the former Shoe Carnival location in the Columbia Mall. The business is currently located at 2950 10th Ave North near the REA. On a related note the Northside Cafe is seeking a beer/wine license to relocate from their current site on Gateway Drive to 2950 10th Ave North.
The U.S. Department of Defense has awarded a $27 million dollar contract to U.S. Foods in Bismarck. The contract will be used for full-line food distribution and is appropriated by fiscal 2021 through 2026 defense working capital funds.
For months, anyone who wandered onto a dealer lot to look for a used car could be forgiven for doing a double take — and then wandering right off the lot. Prices had rocketed more than 40% since before the coronavirus pandemic began. The seemingly endless streak of skyrocketing used vehicle prices appears to be coming to a close. Average prices for cars, trucks and SUVs are gradually declining, they’ll likely remain near record levels.
General Motors is recalling some older Chevrolet Bolts for a second time to fix persistent battery problems that can set the electric cars ablaze. Until repairs are done, GM says owners should park the cars outdoors and limit charging to 90% of battery capacity. It covers about 69,000 Bolts worldwide from 2017, 2018 and part of the 2019 model year.
The eruption of COVID-19 across the United States last year caused the proportion of people working from home to nearly double, with the shift most pronounced among college graduates and workers in such fields as finance and professional services. The share of employed people working from home shot up from just 22% in 2019 to 42% in 2020. The American Time Use Survey details how people spent their time last year.
North Dakota’s eight commercial service airports posted a total of 81,499 airline passenger boardings during the month of June. This month experienced the highest level of passenger traffic that the state has seen since the Covid-19 pandemic began. The GFK posted 5,576 boardings last month. Passenger traffic is up over 16% in 2021.
The former Taco Johns building at 1111 South Washington is being transformed into a coffee house. The city of Grand Forks has issued a building permit to refit the building to the tune of $295,000. The name of the new business was not provided.
Carnival admittance during the Greater Grand Forks Fair brought in some $46,000 in 2021. County Commissioner Diana Knauf says that’s about $24,000 in additional revenue than in recent years. Knauf says that’s good news because “Fairs typically don’t make money.”
The dates are set for a series of free waste pesticide collection sites in the northwest Minnesota. The state Ag Department says residents from Beltrami, Cass, Clay, Clearwater, Lake of the Woods, Kittson, Marshall, Pennington, Polk, Red Lake, and Roseau counties may attend any of the five collection sites in August.
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