Strong consumer demand pushed a key measure of the economy’s service sector to its highest level in more than four years, the latest evidence that the economy is gaining strength and job growth could pick up in the new year. The Institute for Supply Management, a trade group of purchasing execu
tives, said Wednesday that its index of service sector activity rose to 57.1 in December. Any reading above 50 indicates growth. Last month’s reading was the highest since May 2006 and marked the 12th straight month of expansion for the sector, which employs 80 percent of the work force. The index plummeted to 37.2 in November 2008, at the height of the financial crisis. A major reason for the gains is that people are spending more money.
Local home prices continue to fall
The combined median home price for condominiums and single-family homes in Snohomish County fell to $245,700 last month, the Northwest Multiple listing service reported Wednesday. That’s a $35,000 drop, or 12.25 percent, from a year ago. As expected, sales also fell last month, from 770 in December 2009 to 684 a month ago. But pending sales increased by 9.5 percent to 787.
Everett’s Zumiez reports sales growth
Everett-based Zumiez Inc., which sells action sports apparel and equipment, said Wednesday that net sales increased 14 percent for the five-week period ended Jan. 1. Sales hit $88.5 million, compared to $77.6 million for the same period a year ago. The company now has 400 stores, primarily located in shopping malls.
December hiring increases strongly
Private businesses hired new workers at a surprisingly energetic pace in December, according to a widely tracked job-tracking report released Wednesday. The ADP National Employment Report showed that private-sector employment rose by 297,000 in December. That’s the highest monthly gain since the report’s inception in 2000, and it’s double or triple what was expected by mainstream economists.
Lawyer ordered to pay $2.6 million
An arbitrator has awarded Toyota Motor Corp. $2.6 million in damages from a former in-house attorney who accused the automaker of withholding evidence in rollover cases and made confidential documents public to bolster his allegations. Retired federal Judge Gary Taylor ordered Dimitrios P. Biller to pay Toyota $2.5 million for unauthorized disclosures of confidential information and $100,000 in punitive damages. Taylor also issued a permanent injunction instructing Biller to return the confidential documents that he obtained during his employment. In his ruling, Taylor said Biller believed he was acting as whistleblower, but that did not give him the right to disseminate a client’s confidential information.
From Herald news services
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