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First Posted: 8/16/2013

Pa. jobless rate

unchanging

For the third consecutive month, the state’s unemployment rate held steady at 7.5 percent, according to employment statistics released today by the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry. This remains the state’s lowest unemployment rate since March 2009.

Over the year, the unemployment rate was down six-tenths of a percentage point and the labor force was up 47,000, with the amount of people working up 78,000 and unemployment down 31,000.

The number of people unemployed was 492,000, matching the third lowest level in the past four years.

Apartments fuel

new housing starts

U.S. developers broke ground on new homes at a faster pace in July. But the rise was all due to apartment construction, which is typically volatile. By contrast, builders began work on fewer single-family homes — the bulk of the market — and sought fewer permits to build them.

Friday’s report from the Commerce Department suggests that home building is maintaining its recovery but might be starting to feel the effects of higher mortgage rates.

Last month, builders began work last month on houses and apartments at a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 896,000, the Commerce Department said. That was up 6 percent from June, though below a recent peak of just over 1 million in March. Construction began on 26 percent more apartments but 2.2 percent fewer single-family houses.

Overall housing starts remain below the 1.5 million-a-year rate that’s consistent with a healthy market.

Cadillac unveils

concept car

Cadillac is showing off a low-lying two-door coupe that likely is the prototype for the brand’s re-entry into the big, elegant and expensive luxury car market.

The four-seat Elmiraj concept car, with steep angles at the corners, vertical LED headlamps and huge 22-inch wheels, was unveiled this week at a luxury car event in Carmel, Calif.

The car, about the length of an Audi A8 or Mercedes S-Class, is built on the underpinnings of a new full-sized Cadillac sedan that is under development, said David Caldwell, a spokesman for the General Motors brand. GM CEO Dan Akerson has said a new ultra-luxury rear-drive Cadillac is coming in the next two years.

The look of the Elmiraj could show up in the new sedan, and a coupe is an option as a variation of the new car, Caldwell said.