Report

Jobless numbers still show economy recovering slowly

For a second straight week, fewer people filed new claims for unemployment insurance, but the level of claims was still high in an indication that the job market remains sluggish.

Claims dropped by a seasonally adjusted 12,000 to 410,000 the lowest level since March for the week ending May 25, the Labor Department reported Thursday. Claims fell by 3,000 in the prior week.

“We’re going in the right direction, just way too slow,” said economist Clifford Waldman, president of Waldman Associates. He noted that even with the recent declines, claims have remained above the 400,000 mark for 10 straight weeks.

Although the economic recovery is encouraging some companies to lay off fewer workers, the lingering effects of last year’s recession are still evident.

The number of unemployed workers continuing to draw jobless benefits rose to 3.89 million for the week ending May 18, suggesting there’s not a lot of hiring.

Energy Company

Enron board begins change

Two Enron board members who joined the company in 1999, when the now-bankrupt energy trader was climbing into the top 10 of the Fortune 500, have resigned, the company said Thursday.

During their tenure, Frank Savage and John Mendelsohn participated in reviews of the company’s arrangements with its auditor, Arthur Andersen LLP, and in the decision to waive internal ethics rules so then-chief financial officer Andrew Fastow could head partnerships that acted as smoke screens against Enron’s losses.

Andersen’s role in the company now is the focus of a federal criminal trial in Houston. The firm, one of the nation’s largest, is accused of obstruction of justice for destroying documents related to Enron as federal regulators began investigating Enron’s collapse late last year.

Commerce and Housing

Tonganoxie wins grant

The city of Tonganoxie has received a $400,000 Community Development Block Grant to improve its sewage system, state officials announced recently.

The grant, which was awarded by the Kansas Department of Commerce and Housing, will be used to renovate the city’s wastewater treatment facility. The city will contribute $2.02 million to the project.

The Kansas Department of Commerce and Housing this week awarded a total of $5.91 million in grant money to 18 communities.

Wall Street

H&R Block declares dividend

Kansas City Mo.-based H&R Block announced Thursday that its board of directors has approved a first quarter cash dividend of 16 cents per share, payable July 1. The financial services company expects to announce its fourth quarter and year-end result on June 12.