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From March 2008 to March 2009, employment declined in 323 of the 334 largest U.S. counties according to preliminary data, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. Elkhart County, Ind., located about 100 miles east of Chicago, posted the largest percentage decline, with a loss of 23.4 percent over the year, compared with a national job decrease of 4.2 percent. Nearly 80 percent of the employment decline in Elkhart occurred in manufacturing, which lost 22,100 jobs over the year. Arlington County, Va.,experienced the largest over-the-year percentage increase in employment among the largest counties in the U.S., with a gain of 2.6 percent.

McGraw-Hill Construction, part of The McGraw-Hill Companies, released its 2010 Construction Outlook, a mainstay of business planning for construction and manufacturing executives, which forecasts an increase in overall U.S. construction starts for next year. Due to improvement for housing from extremely low levels and broader expansion for public works, the level of construction starts in 2010 is expected to climb 11% to $466.2 billion, following the 25% decline predicted for 2009.

Ahead of the 4 th European Development Days, a Special Eurobarometer on "Development Aid in time of economic turmoil" shows that the crisis affecting European countries did not affect public support for development aid, which still remains high.

Median weekly earnings of the nation's 100.1 million full-time wage and salary workers were $738 in the third quarter of 2009, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. This was 2.5 percent higher than a year earlier. The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) fell by 1.6 percent over the same period.

As President Obama’s overall approval rating continues to slide, he cannot find much solace in Americans’ opinions on his handling of 12 different issues as he does not have a positive rating on any of these. The top one for President Obama is reducing the threat of terrorist attack with 41% giving his job on this a positive rating, down from 49% who said so in August. Two in five Americans also give the President positive marks on the environment (40%, down from 43% in August) and education (40% up from 37% in August).

A survey conducted by the ING Institute for Retirement Research found that, despite the uncertain market conditions and negative headlines during the past year, most Americans who participate in employer-sponsored defined contribution plans value these plans greatly and have continued to support them.

Natural gas vehicles (NGVs) have been in the marketplace for a long time, but despite technology advances and the ready availability of natural gas, it is still not widely accepted as a transportation fuel in many parts of the world. However, according to a new report from Pike Research, the NGV sector is poised for a new period of growth.

Entering the most uncertain budgeting season in history, the CIO Executive Board, a program of the Corporate Executive Board, collected and conducted detailed analysis on spending, staffing, technology adoption and performance data from nearly 200 large organizations spanning the globe and industries.

Fitch Ratings says in a report that the Spanish banking system has weathered the global financial crisis successfully to date with no need for capital support from the state. This is due to its retail banking focus, prudent regulation and limited exposure to structured products and complex instruments. However, the strong economic adjustment that Spain is experiencing, the sharp rise in unemployment in a short period and a large exposure to the Spanish property sector have had knock-on effects on revenue and domestic loan quality, affecting the banks' H109 operating profitability.

Due to cost-cutting measures such as renegotiation of union and supplier contracts, the "breakeven point" for the domestic automotive industry will decrease by more than 2 million units when comparing current industry conditions to those forecasted in 2010, according to Gary Dilts, senior vice president of U.S. automotive at J.D. Power and Associates.