>>Jobless Claims Down
(Washington, DC) -- Jobless claims are down. The Labor Department says initial claims fell to 228-thousand for the week ending July 15th. That's down from 237-thousand jobless claims in the previous week. Most economists had been expecting today's number to come in at right around 240-thousand.
>>Oregon Adds Jobs, Unemployment Declines
(Salem, OR) -- Oregon's unemployment rate dropped from three-point-seven percent in May to three-point-five percent in June as the state added 57-hundred jobs. The unemployment rate is near the record low of three-point-four percent that was reached in 2019. Several sectors added jobs including government, other services, leisure and hospitality, and professional and business services. Wholesale trade, transportation, warehousing, utilities and manufacturing lost jobs. Over the last year, the number of jobs in Oregon increased two-point-three percent.
>>Popular Rental Companies Promise To Show All Fees Upfront
(Washington, DC) -- Popular housing rental companies are promising to show so-called "junk fees" on their websites. The Biden administration announced on Wednesday that Zillow, Apartments-dot-com, and Affordable-Housing-dot-com have pledged to include all fees upfront, so prospective renters know what they're getting into. That means things like application fees and the cost of trash pickup will be included in listings. >>Netflix Ends Cheapest Basic Ad Free Option In U.S. (Los Gatos, CA) -- Netflix is ditching its cheapest basic ad free option. The basic plan was ten-dollars per month and didn't include ads. The option is no longer available for rejoining or new members. Current subscribers of the plan won't be impacted unless they change their plan or cancel it. This comes after the streaming giant began cracking down on password sharing.
>>Biden Convenes Meeting With Competition Council
(Washington, DC) -- President Biden is announcing new actions to increase economic competition and reduce costs for Americans. Just before a meeting Wednesday with his "Competition Council," Biden laid out initiatives to crack down on anticompetitive practices in the food and agriculture sectors, as well as hidden junk fees in the rental housing market. The president said capitalism without competition is "exploitation." The president has prioritized doing away with junk fees in a range of industries.
>>SpaceX Launches 15 Starlink Satellites To Orbit, Lands Rocket At Sea
(Lompoc, CA) -- SpaceX is celebrating the successful launch of 15 Starlink satellites into orbit overnight, then landing its Falcon 9 rocket on a ship at sea. The rocket lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base on the Central California Coast shortly after midnight after a one-day delay. It was SpaceX's 48th orbital mission this year.
