BAILEYVILLE — Gov. Paul LePage basked in the glow of a bright spot in Maine’s struggling pulp and paper industry Friday, participating in a ceremony marking construction at Woodland Pulp for a new tissue manufacturing plant. Woodland Pulp held a groundbreaking ceremony at its plant to showcase construction of the St. Croix Tissue mill, which […]
economy
Posted inBusiness, Maine
Economist expects Maine job growth to maintain slow but steady pace in 2015
Maine’s long-flagging economy will maintain a steady pace of recovery in 2015 as it continues to gain jobs in the wake of the Great Recession of 2008, according to Charles Colgan, a professor at the University of Southern Maine’s Muskie School of Public Service and a former state economist. However, the state economy faces significant challenges […]
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Posted inBusiness, sj-web
Cutler hits LePage hard on economic policy
AUGUSTA — Independent candidate for governor Eliot Cutler, who touted an economic development plan Thursday that rehashed some of the policy proposals he’s discussed in recent months, lashed out at Republican Gov. Paul LePage for talking more about jobs than planning to create them during his first term as governor. “A lot of people who […]
Posted inBusiness, sj-web
Maine economy grew 3 percent from 2009 to 2013
HARTFORD, Conn. — Economic growth in New England has been slowest in Connecticut and Maine since the end of the recession in 2009, according to new federal statistics released Wednesday. Quarterly gross domestic product — the value of all goods and services — from 2005 to 2013 was released by the U.S. Commerce Department, which said […]
Posted inMaine
Federal report on economic growth spurs partisan attacks in Maine
LEWISTON — A new federal report on economic growth — or lack thereof — is providing fertile ground for criticism from both Democrats and Republicans running for office in Maine. The federal Bureau of Economic Analysis on Tuesday released the latest data on economic growth in the U.S., including a state-by-state breakdown that shows Maine’s […]
Posted inBusiness, sj-web
Largest economies are operating at varying speeds
WASHINGTON — The global economy is plodding ahead in fits and starts as the largest countries struggle to achieve consistent growth. Europe is faltering again. Japan is suddenly surging. China is cooling. The U.S. is strengthening. In the background, central banks are aiming to administer just the right amount of stimulus — not too much, […]
Posted inNation / World, sj-web
April adds 288,000 jobs to U.S. economy
WASHINGTON — U.S. employers added a robust 288,000 jobs in April, the most in two years, the strongest evidence to date that the economy is picking up after a brutal winter slowed growth. The Labor Department also said Friday that the unemployment rate sank to 6.3 percent, its lowest level since September 2008, from 6.7 […]
Posted inNation / World, sj-web
Major economic powers express confidence about global growth despite variety of threats
WASHINGTON (AP) — Finance officials of the world’s major economies expressed confidence Friday that they can meet an ambitious goal of boosting global growth by $2 trillion over the next five years. That’s despite a variety of threats including rising political tensions over Russia’s actions in Ukraine. Finance ministers and central bank presidents of the […]
Posted inBusiness, Nation / World, sj-web
U.S. economy adds 192,000 jobs in March
WASHINGTON — U.S. employers added jobs at a solid pace in March and hired more in January and February than previously thought. Friday’s government report sent a reassuring signal that the economy withstood a harsh winter that had slowed growth. The economy gained 192,000 jobs in March, the Labor Department said Friday, slightly below February’s […]
Posted inFranklin
Phillips loses plow truck to fire
PHILLIPS — A fast-moving fire reduced the town’s 2010 International plow truck to charred rubble Wednesday. The driver was not injured. Public Works employee Matt Stevens was plowing the remote East Madrid Road when he saw the flames shooting from the hood of the double-axle wheeler, Town Manager Elaine Hubbard said. Stevens, also an experienced […]