Business Highlights
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US job market ends year in better shape
WASHINGTON (AP) — The long-suffering job market is ending the year better off than it began.
The number of people applying for unemployment benefits each week has dropped by 10 percent since January. The unemployment rate, 8.6 percent in November, is at its lowest level in nearly three years.
Factory output is rising, business owners say they're more optimistic about hiring and consumer confidence has jumped to its highest level since April. Even the beleaguered housing market is looking slightly better.
On Thursday, the Labor Department said the number of people applying for unemployment benefits last week rose 15,000 to 381,000. But the four-week average, a less volatile measure, dropped to 375,000 — the lowest level since June 2008.
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Contract signings for US homes up in November
WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of Americans who signed contracts to buy homes in November rose to the highest level in a year and a half.