Employee-Paid

Service firms that employ 90 percent of the U.S. work force expanded at a slightly slower pace in September than the previous month.

Stocks edged higher Wednesday after a trade group reported that the U.S. service sector continued to grow in September. Private company hiring also increased.

States that borrowed billions from the federal government to keep unemployment benefits flowing through the recession now have to start paying those loans back, and they're hitting businesses with new assessments and higher taxes to make that happen.

President Barack Obama says he expects Congress to vote on jobs legislation this month and plans to press legislative leaders from both parties to act quickly on the $447 billion proposal he delivered three weeks ago.

In the early months of the recession, human resources consultants advised small business owners to take steps to boost their employees' morale, or risk losing them when the economy got better. That advice still stands.

Despite lingering health reform uncertainty and a still-sluggish economy, brokers remain oddly optimistic about their own individual futures but worried about the industry.

They don't have a deal yet, and they are just about out of time.

Several dozen school employee unions have notified the state they plan to hold votes to see if they can continue to formally represent their members at the bargaining table.