Employer-Paid

National health care spending jumped 4.2 percent in July for an increase from the 3.9 percent growth rate in June, according to the September Health Sector Economic Indicators briefs released by Altarum Institutes Center for Sustainable Health Spending.

Mayor Rahm Emanuel asked a state court Monday to force Chicago school teachers back to work and end a week-long strike he calls illegal.

City revenues are falling because of financial troubles caused by infrastructure, health care and pension costs, leading to job cuts, delayed infrastructure project and reduced local services, according to a new report by the National League of Cities.

Chief information officers say they're expecting to see a modest rise in staffing for positions in information technology during the fourth quarter, according to the Robert Half Technology IT Hiring Index and Skills Report.

Christian-oriented Hobby Lobby Stores Inc. has filed a federal lawsuit over a mandate in the health reform law that requires employers to provide coverage for the morning-after pill.

Small business owners are losing confidence as they see the economy weaken, according to a survey released Wednesday that is at odds with another just-released look at owners' sentiments.

Manufacturing jobs in West Virginia fell 1.3 percent between July 2011 and July 2012, which means the state now employs 83,225 workers from 1,947 manufacturers, according to the 2013 West Virginia Manufacturers Register, an industrial directory published annually by Manufacturers' News Inc. in Evanston, Ill.

The U.S. government's debt rating could be heading for the "fiscal cliff" along with the federal budget.