Rise in health-care premiums outstrips rise in pay
The average worker spent nearly $4,000 for employer-sponsored family health care last year, 14 percent more than the year before. Since 1999, workers’ contributions to health-care premiums have increased 158 percent, while pay
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Airfares increase in second quarter
Domestic airfares rose more than 20 percent in the second quarter, compared with last year’s second quarter, while international fares rose more than 30 percent, according to travel site Orbitz.com.
The New York Times
Where the jobs are: nursing
Nursing is the hot occupation of the next decade, says the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The number of registered nurses is expected to swell to 3.2 million by 2018, up from 2.6 million today.
Fortune
Women leave financial services field
Since 2000, the number of women working in financial services has fallen by 141,000, while the number of men in the industry has grown by 389,000, says the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Analysts say women were laid off in disproportionate numbers after the financial crisis, and women also may be less willing than men to work in an industry with a negative image.
WSJ.com
Back-to-school sales create optimism
U.S. discount retailers reported better-than-expected sales during August, the key month for back-to-school shopping. Warehouse club Costco said sales at stores open a year or more rose 5 percent from August 2009, while sales at Family Dollar Stores rose 6.1 percent. The reports buoyed hopes that consumer spending is rebounding.
Financial Times