The state’s unemployment rate increased slightly in March to 9.2 percent, despite the addition of 1,100 jobs, the state Employment Security Department said Wednesday. It was 9.1 percent in February. A lot of those new jobs came from the Boeing Co. which increased its Washington workforce by 741 people in March, according to the company’s website. State officials said the continued increase in jobs was a good sign. But sectors like construction continued to lose jobs in March. An estimated 340,325 people in Washington were unemployed and looking for work, and 228,911 people received unemployment benefits from Washington in March.
Everett work party at Union Slough
The People for Puget Sound will celebrate Earth Day with a work party April 23 at a manmade saltmarsh at Union Slough in Everett. The marsh was created in 2005 by the Port of Everett, which removed some earthen dikes and excavated a channel system to benefit salmon. Volunteers will spread mulch to help native plants, weed blackberries and pick up trash. The work will begin at 10 a.m. and end at 2 p.m. The organization will provide tools, water and snacks. Volunteers should bring a sack lunch and water bottle. For more information or to register contact register@pugetsound.org.
Botnet computers seized by officials
The U.S. Justice Department and FBI said Wednesday they have seized computers and filed a civil complaint in a bid to disable a software attack used to infect millions of computers and pilfer unsuspecting Internet users’ personal and financial information. In a statement, the Justice Department said that a malicious system called “Coreflood” has been operating for nearly a decade, and is thought to have “infected more than 2 million computers worldwide.”
Fees help Chase increase profits
JPMorgan Chase & Co. reported a 67 percent jump in first-quarter earnings Wednesday on solid growth in investment banking fees and a drop in losses from credit cards. The bank’s mortgage business continued to be weak. The New York bank earned $5.6 billion, or $1.28 per share, compared with $3.3 billion, or 74 cents a share in the same period last year. The profits at JPMorgan, the first bank to report earnings, were way ahead of the $1.15 per share analysts surveyed by FactSet were expecting.
Washington apple sales hit record
Continuing sales of the 2010 Washington apple crop could make it the largest ever. Jon DeVaney with the Yakima Valley Growers-Shippers Association says warehouses in the Yakima and Wenatchee districts are expected to ship another 38 million boxes, bringing the total to nearly 109 million boxes, just above the 2008 record.
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