Homebuyers are regaining leverage at the negotiating table as the housing market slows, new data from Redfin shows. On average, U.S. homes purchased during a four-week period in August sold for less than the asking price. That hasn’t happened since at least March 2021, according to the real estate brokerage. Years of soaring home prices and sharply higher mortgage rates remain hurdles for many would-be homebuyers.
The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits last week fell to its lowest level since May despite repeated attempts by the Federal Reserve to cool the economy and bring inflation under control. Applications for jobless aid for the week ending Sept. 3 fell by 6,000 to 222,000.
A new report has found that clean energy now provides more employment than the fossil fuel industry. The International Energy Agency says a post-pandemic jobs rebound in the sector has been driven by emissions-cutting technologies such as electric vehicle production, building insulation, solar projects and wind farms.
The Labor Market Information Center has released the latest Online Job Openings Report (OJOR), a monthly summary of online job openings and active résumés from Job Service North Dakota’s labor exchange system. North Dakota had a total of 18,280 open and available online job openings in August 2022, a change of +3.6 percent (+637) from the prior month.
Exports of manufactured, agricultural, and mining goods from Minnesota were valued at $6.7 billion in the second quarter of 2022 – the highest level on record. Minnesota exports grew 12 percent between the second quarters of 2021 and 2022. Minnesota’s top three largest exports markets remain Canada ($2.3 billion), China ($704 million) and Mexico ($637 million).
The North Dakota State Board of Animal Health has amended the statewide suspension of poultry/bird events due to avian influenza (HPAI). Comingling events such as poultry and bird shows, sales and swaps are now prohibited in the affected county and adjoining counties. Currently, the restricted counties are Cass and the adjoining counties of Traill, Steele, Barnes, Ransom and Richland due to the case detected last month in Cass.
Target is dropping the mandatory retirement age for its CEO, allowing its Chief Executive Brian Cornell to stay on for three more years. Cornell would have passed mandatory retirement age in that span. Sales have grown steadily for the Minnesota-based retailer since Cornell took the top job in 2014.
The former LISTEN Center building on North Washington may soon have a new use. A Child Care and Learning Center has an option to buy the property. The Grand Forks Planning and Zoning Commission has approved a B-3 zone for the site. The center is planning to care for 48 babies and 96 children.
UPS plans to hire more than 100,000 workers to help handle the holiday rush this season, about on par with the previous two years. Holiday-season volumes usually start rising in October and remain high into January. While online shopping has slowed from the height of the pandemic, it’s still well above historic norms.
The next location for a digital billboard in Grand Forks is tentatively planned for 1401 South Washington. Grand Forks recently removed the cap on the number of billboards along the arterial street. As part of the move the giant oversized milk carton that sits atop the nearby building would be removed. The 11 x 27 foot sign would be up and down rather than the traditional horizontal look. The P & Z will consider the request next month.
Apple revealed its next line-up of iPhones will boast better cameras, faster processors, and a longer lasting battery at the same prices as last year’s model, despite the mounting pressures of inflation that has driven up the cost of other everyday items. The four new models, with starting prices ranging from $799 to $1,099, will be in stores beginning Sept. 16.
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