REGION

REGION
Jobless rate declinesin Mercer County
SHARON, Pa. -- The unemployment rate in Mercer County dropped from 5.6 percent to 5.3 percent in September. The number of people seeking work declined from 3,200 to 3,100. The unemployment rate in Lawrence County dropped from 6.3 percent in August to 5.4 percent in September. The number of people seeking work went from 2,600 to 2,200.
NATION
Flailing AOL plans to cut700 jobs, source says
NEW YORK -- America Online, which has been trying to turn its fortunes around as users leave the service for broadband connections, plans to cut about 700 jobs next month, or 5 percent of its U.S. work force, in a bid to meet financial targets, a person familiar with the matter said Tuesday.
The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said the job cuts would occur mainly in northern Virginia, where the online service is based. Jim Whitney, an AOL spokesman, declined to comment.
Word of the job cuts came one day before AOL's parent company, the giant media conglomerate Time Warner Inc., reports earnings for its third quarter. AOL is expected to be a key topic for investors, including its efforts to seek new kinds of revenues as its dial-up users migrate to high-speed Internet connections.
AOL employs about 13,000 people in the United States and 20,000 worldwide.
From Vindicator staff and wire reports