Benefits Manager

The number of people applying for unemployment benefits rose for the second straight week, a sign the hiring market is recovering at a slow and uneven pace.

The economy is picking up. If only job growth would follow.

House Republicans are drafting legislation to renew an expiring unemployment benefits program, officials said Thursday, and intend to add it to a planned extension of a Social Security payroll tax cut due to run out on Dec. 31.

Employers believe hiring for professional-level positions will grow in the first quarter; however, they are still concerned that finding qualified candidates could be difficult, according to a new survey by Robert Half, a specialized staffing firm.

New Jersey and New York rank as the two states with the highest average gross pay for state employees in 2010, according to an analysis of recent U.S. Census of Governments data by CGR Govistics, a project of the Center for Governmental Research.

The National Labor Relations Board on Wednesday moved ahead with plans to speed the pace of union elections, even as Republicans in Congress threatened to derail the process.

Republican congressional leaders stressed a willingness Wednesday to extend a Social Security payroll tax cut due to expire Dec. 31, setting up a year-end clash with Democrats over how to pay for a provision at the heart of President Barack Obama's jobs program.

The wellness business is hot, and Uncle Sam wants in.