Free Republic

TRENTON — Gov. Chris Christie touted New Jersey employment gains on Monday during a Statehouse news conference at which he also warned voters to choose his successor carefully or risk undoing the economic progress made during his nearly eight-year tenure. The hourlong news conference was Christie's last in the governor's outer office, as he and his staff are expected to move to temporary offices nearby on State Street while the executive branch of the Statehouse undergoes about $300 million in renovations.

Lockheed Martin is planning to add 500 new jobs at its Missiles and Fire Control plant in South Orlando, and the defense contractor is seeking $3.5 million in incentives for the expansion. Lockheed will pay the 500 new employees an average salary of $87,000, according to a proposed county resolution to authorize the tax refunds. The hiring would be phased in over the next five years. The Orange County Board of County Commissioners is set to vote Tuesday on its portion of the incentive package, $700,000. According to the resolution, other regions are competing for the Lockheed expansion, but it...

ROBESON COUNTY, N.C. — Looking back, the sign-stealers were a portent of sorts, an early indication that 2016 would be like no election in recent memory. While it is not uncommon for people to steal campaign signs from other people's lawns in the heat of an election campaign, normally people confiscate the signs of candidates they oppose. But something quite different happened in Robeson County, N.C., as Donald Trump started to gain traction in the presidential campaign. As Bo Biggs, treasurer of the county's Republican Party, tells it, "People were stealing [Trump] signs to put them in their own yard."...

Abu Dhabi: The supersized deals between Saudi Arabia and the US are expected to create thousands of jobs bolstering trade ties between the two countries, experts said on Sunday. Deals worth in excess of $380 billion were signed during US President Donald Trump’s visit to Saudi Arabia on Saturday including $110 billion arms agreement with the US companies and $50 billion worth deal between Saudi Aramco and different firms from the US. “American investments will increase in Saudi Arabia and will create jobs for Saudis, transfer technology and bring into the fore small and medium sized businesses that will benefit...

U.S. private equity firm Blackstone and Saudi Arabia's main sovereign wealth fund said on Saturday they planned to create a $40 billion vehicle to invest in infrastructure projects, mainly in the United States. Blackstone and the Public Investment Fund (PIF) signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding for the project, which will depend on further negotiations. The proposed venture was announced during the visit to Riyadh of President Donald Trump, who has said he wants to rebuild crumbling U.S. infrastructure....

WHEELING — West Virginia’s congressional delegation is showing a unified front in pushing for an ethane storage hub for central Appalachia, and they hope state leaders in Ohio and Pennsylvania join them. U.S. Sens. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., were joined Thursday by Rep. David McKinley, R-Wheeling, and American Chemistry Council President Cal Dooley for a news conference to tout the economic benefits of placing the hub near oil and gas reserves in Appalachia rather than near chemical industry operations on the Gulf Coast. Manchin and Moore, along with Sen. Rob Portman, R-Ohio, last week introduced the...

RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (CBSMiami/AP) — President Donald Trump called the first day of his maiden international trip “tremendous.” The president was largely kept away from reporters during a busy day of meetings and ceremonies in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. But late in the day, he said deals the U.S. government and private sector reached would lead to “tremendous investments” in the United States. He says the deals will also create “jobs, jobs, jobs.” Trump and Saudi King Salman also signed a series of agreements cementing their countries’ military partnerships, including tanks, combat ships, missile defense systems, radar and communications, and cybersecurity...

As Washington debates what actions to take to rev up economic growth, the free-market private sector, which waits for no one, is witnessing the beginning of a new trend. For a decade, America has been a tale of two economies: a strong one for skilled workers and a worrisome, poor one for workers without skills. The gap, however, is now diminishing, as low unemployment, rising expectations and economic reality are causing a recruitment war to begin, a war that’s good for workers, including those with no skills. I hear it from employers across the country – if they don’t raise...

Barracuda Networks, Inc. is expanding in Ann Arbor with support from the Michigan Strategic Fund (MSF) and Ann Arbor SPARK. The project will generate a total capital investment of $2.3 million and create 115 new jobs. Ann Arbor“Barracuda’s investment means Michigan residents will have good job opportunities that could well have gone to other states,” said Steve Arwood, CEO of the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, the state’s chief marketing and business attraction arm that administers programs and performs due diligence on behalf of the MSF. “The company’s decision to expand in Ann Arbor demonstrates that our business climate and our...

A Gramercy chemical manufacturing plant’s $35 million expansion will bring 250 new jobs to the area, officials said Friday. The announcement was made by Gov. John Bel Edwards and Noranda Bauxite & Alumina CEO David D’Addario. Noranda will expand and upgrade its alumina refinery in St. James Parish and will also establish its company headquarters at the site, a 40-minute drive northeast from Thibodaux and another 30 minutes from Houma. The project will create 65 new direct jobs, including 15 corporate headquarters jobs, at an average annual salary of $90,000, plus benefits, officials said. Louisiana Economic Development estimates the project...

If you’re looking for a six-figure job, you might consider becoming an engineer, a role that continues to be in high demand. Paul D’Arcy, senior vice president at job search engine Indeed, explains, “We are seeing many companies turning into digital versions of themselves and hiring more software engineers than ever before.” Indeed analyzed one million job postings to find the companies hiring for the most six-figure jobs as of May 10, 2017. To see the top ten, open the gallery below....

CINCINNATI, OH--(Marketwired - May 16, 2017) - Shipt, an app-based grocery delivery service that serves 40 major metropolitan areas across the country, today announced the company will hire 750 additional Shipt Shoppers to serve the Cincinnati, Dayton, and Columbus metros. Shipt provides members in Ohio with home delivery from Meijer and the company is now looking to grow its local workforce by 750 shoppers to meet increased demand. "Over the past several months we have seen tremendous growth across Ohio, thanks in large part to our partnership with Meijer," said Bill Smith, founder and CEO of Shipt. "Meijer is an...

Dive Brief: •International engineering and construction giant AECOM on Wednesday announced a six-month hiring initiative that will aim to add more than 3,000 workers to support its North American infrastructure operations. •The open positions range from skilled labor to architects and engineers, and the new hires will work on the company's transportation, building, environment, water, defense and energy projects. •AECOM said the massive hiring spree is in response to the country's renewed focus on repairing its highways, bridges and other public assets. Dive Insight: This announcement comes on the heels of the company's decision to form a federal contracting division,...

James Hardie Building Products will invest nearly $220 million and create more than 200 jobs with a new manufacturing facility in Prattville, officials announced today. “Welcome to what you will soon come to know as sweet home Alabama,” Gov. Kay Ivey told James Hardie officials at the announcement at the Marriott Prattville Hotel & Conference Center at Capitol Hill. The new manufacturing facility will be constructed on a 103-acre site in Prattville’s South Industrial Park, an AdvantageSite-certified park located between U.S. Highway 82 and Autauga County Road 4. Joe Blasko, general counsel and chief compliance officer for James Hardie Industries,...

BERKELEY COUNTY, S.C. (WCIV) — Berkeley County leaders want everyone who wants to work at the upcoming Volvo plant to have their best chance. They're launching a program with Trident Technical College to provide training to county residents that will teach them everything they need to know to snag a manufacturing job. While the training doesn't guarantee a job at Volvo, it does give participants a leg up over someone who is just coming in off the street. "This pilot program shows that Berkeley County leaders are keeping our promises and connecting Berkeley County citizens with jobs," said Berkeley County...

Here’s why some of the economy’s hottest new jobs are as old as time Craft beer makers. “Mixologist” bartenders who have far more up their sleeves than a gin and tonic. Barbers who hark back to a bygone era of style. Butchers who slice and dice their way through entire animals, with a modern focus on sourcing and sustainability. Are these the types of jobs—in fields that have been around for decades, but which have lately taken on a more specialized, artisanal focus—that can power the economy in the coming years? Richard Ocejo may not quite go that far, but...

Taco Bell, the Yum Brands Inc. YUM, +0.36% fast-food Mexican chain, said Tuesday that it will fill 3,500 newly-created jobs in May, and seeks to fill 50,000 more jobs by the end of the summer. The hiring spree is part of a previously-announced plan to create about 100,000 U.S. jobs over the next five years through an additional 1,000 U.S. locations. Yum Brands shares are unchanged in premarket trading, and up 17.4% for the past year compared with a 16.6% rise in the S&P 500 index SPX, -0.22% [continued]

President Donald Trump says shovel-ready projects will be the priority in the estimated $1 trillion infrastructure-improvement initiative over the next decade that he hopes to unveil later this year. “If you have a job that you can’t start within 90 days, we’re not going to give you money for it,” Trump said on Feb. 4 during a White House town hall session with 52 business leaders.Meanwhile, as reported by the Wall Street Journal on March 10, the American Society of Civil Engineers, in its latest “Infrastructure Report Card” that’s issued every four years, gave this country’s infrastructure the below-standard grade...

HUGER, S.C. — Safely stationed in the control pulpit, Chris St. Amand is watching the pot boil. Working the day shift at the sprawling Nucor Steel plant along the Cooper River here, Mr. St. Amand monitors a four-foot-wide lasagna noodle of steel as it is dunked into a molten broth of protective shimmering zinc. He tracks every step of this galvanization process — from the caldron’s 865-degree temperature to the line speed — on a bank of flashing screens. Except, that is, for the screen at the bottom right. “I watch our stock and the Dow Jones on that one,”...

Job seekers will be able to apply for work at some 30 area employers Thursday during a job fair from 3-7 p.m. at Walker County Civic Center, 10052 U.S. Highway 27. The job fair is co-sponsored by the Georgia Department of Labor along with the Chattooga, Dade and Walker counties chambers of commerce. Employers who have registered and offer a variety of jobs include: Amedisys Home Health and Hospice Care, Audia Plastics, Clumpies Ice Cream, Coca Cola, Dixie Collision, Dollar General, EnviroGuard, Hammer Down OC, Hayes State Prison, Jimmy Simpson Foundation, Komatsu America Corporation, Lake Winnepesaukah and Lookout Mountain Community...