Business in brief
Jobless rates remain near lows
Kootenai County’s unemployment rate was 3.6 percent in May, remaining near historic lows. Other Panhandle counties also posted low numbers, due to robust job growth over the past two years.
May unemployment rates edged down to 5.8 percent in Benewah County and 3.9 percent in Bonner County, due to a relatively short and early spring break-up. During spring break-up, logging activity slows down in the woods.
Weather also influenced unemployment rates in Boundary County, which posted a 6.4 percent rate in May, compared with a 5.6 percent rate in April. A few more Boundary County residents were out of work in May, due to rain-caused delays with agricultural activities, said Kathryn Tacke, regional economist for the Idaho Commerce & Labor Department.
In Shoshone County, the May unemployment rate was 7.1 percent, compared with 6.4 percent in April. Layoffs at call centers prompted some of the increase in numbers of people looking for work, Tacke said.
Sunnyvale, Calif.
Yahoo boss gets 6 million options
Yahoo Inc. on Friday said that Chairman Terry Semel’s annual salary will be reduced to $1 through 2008 in exchange for millions of company stock options that will give its chief executive an opportunity to build upon the $429 million windfall that he has reaped during the past three years.
The Sunnyvale, Calif.-based company awarded Semel with 6 million stock options at an exercise price of $31.59 – the closing price on the Nasdaq Stock Market on Wednesday when Yahoo’s board approved the grant.
Pittsburgh
Alcoa, union reach late deal
Thousands of union workers would receive annual wage increases but would have to start paying health care premiums under a tentative four-year contract with Alcoa Inc., the United Steelworkers said Friday.
The agreement reached in St. Louis late Wednesday, less than two hours before an existing contract was due to expire, averted a strike by about 9,000 workers at 15 of the aluminum company’s plants nationwide.
Spokane
Chamber bestows business awards
The Spokane Regional Chamber of Commerce announced its annual Agora Award winners this week. They are: Spokane Guilds’ School & Neuromuscular Center, small nonprofit category; Second Harvest Inland Northwest, large nonprofit category; BCiCreative, small business category; Wheatland Bank, medium business category; Northern Quest, a Kalispel Casino, large business category; ISR/SprayCool, entrepreneurial spirit award; and Spokane Cardiology, C. Michael Archer community service award.
The chamber’s Agora Awards recognize “businesses in our region that exemplify leadership in supporting a strong economy and quality of life,” the organization said in a press release. The awards program is in its 21st year.