The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
The Spokesman-Review Newspaper The Spokesman-Review
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883
Current Temperature
36°F
Current Conditions
Moderate rain
View complete weather report

Color Scheme

Subscribe now

Briefcase

Hispanic jobless rate reached 15 percent

BOISE – The University of Idaho says a new report shows the unemployment rate of Hispanics in Idaho climbed to 15 percent during the worst of the recession.

The university announced Friday the findings of the report, which was prepared with help from the Idaho Commission on Hispanic Affairs and analyzed jobless data over a three-year period.

The report says the Hispanic unemployment rate more than doubled from 7 percent in 2007 to 15 percent in 2009, when the Idaho economy appeared to have bottomed out.

Idaho’s overall unemployment rate at the end of last year was 9.2 percent, the highest it had been since the early 1980s when the jobless rate climbed to 9.4 percent.

Associated Press

Lab contractor plans layoff of 600 workers

IDAHO FALLS – A cleanup contractor at the Idaho National Laboratory in the eastern Idaho desert has announced plans to lay off about 600 workers, about 35 percent of its work force at the site.

Officials with CH2M-WG Idaho on Thursday announced that the workers will be laid off in three stages, first in January, then June, and finally September.

Company spokeswoman Natalie Packer said workers will be offered a severance package to quit.

“It’s usually those who are considering retirement anyway, and so the severance is just an added bonus,” Packer told the Post Register.

Packer said layoffs would begin after that. It’s unclear how the company will decide on which workers to lay off.

Officials say much of the cleanup was scheduled to be finished by 2012.

Associated Press

FedEx raising rates beginning Jan. 3

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – FedEx Corp. is raising rates for ground shipping and home delivery by an average of 4.9 percent next month.

The world’s second-largest package delivery company said Friday that the new rates will take effect Jan. 3. The full rate increase of about 5.9 percent is being partly offset by adjusting when the fuel surcharges kick in, which trims the surcharge by 1 percentage point.

FedEx also said rates for its SmartPost service – contracts with individual shippers – will change, but it declined to give details.

In September, FedEx announced it would raise rates for its FedEx Express package and freight delivery services on Jan. 3. Those increases will average 5.9 percent for domestic and U.S. export shipments, but total 3.9 percent after the fuel surcharge is lowered.

Associated Press