Business news in brief

REGION

Free marketing services

BOARDMAN — Seven Northeast Ohio and One Northwest Pennsylvania nonprofit organizations will be the beneficiaries of free marketing and creative services provided by Ace In The Hole Marketing in its first CreateAThon Æ. The 24-hour work-around-the-clock effort will begin Sept. 17 at 8 a.m.

Organizations selected as CreateAThon Æ clients this year include: Warriors Inc., Help Hotline Crisis Center, Mercer County Head Start, The Youngstown Community Food Center Inc., Gleaners Food Bank, Beatitude House, Habitat for Humanity of Mahoning County, and St. Vincent de Paul Society - Youngstown District.

Ace In The Hole Marketing expects to produce between 20 and 25 projects for the organizations selected with an estimated market value of more than $50,000. The projects range from logo, letterhead and business-card design to audio and video public-service announcements and commercials, to full-out marketing campaigns.

Pa. jobs figures for June

HARRISBURG – Pennsylvania’s seasonally adjusted civilian labor force — the number of people working or looking for work — fell by 36,000 in June to 6,436,000. Resident employment was down 38,000 in June, and unemployment was up 2,000 for the month. Since June 2008, the labor force was up 45,000.

Pennsylvania’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was unchanged in June at 8.3 percent. The state rate remained below the United States’ unemployment rate, which increased by 1‚Ñ10 of a point to 9.5 percent in June. Pennsylvania’s rate was up 3.0 percentage points over the year, while the U.S. rate was up 3.9 percentage points.

Pennsylvania’s seasonally adjusted total nonfarm jobs count was down 3,400 jobs in June – the smallest decrease over the past 10 months – to 5,630,700 jobs. More than half of the 11 supersectors showed job growth in June, though the majority of the overall growth was limited to education and health services — up 7,400 — which can often be affected by shifting seasonal patterns in private education.

Since June 2008, Pennsylvania jobs were down 3 percent. Nationally, jobs were down 4.1 percent over the same period.

NATION

Six Flags bankruptcy

WILMINGTON, Del. — A plan filed Friday calls for Six Flags creditors to own a majority stake in the amusement-park company when it emerges from Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

According to court documents, banks that loaned the company money will wind up owning 92 percent of Six Flags common stock.

Six Flags sought federal bankruptcy protection in June from the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware

Meanwhile, top executives at the New York-based company will receive emergence bonuses totaling more than $5 million.

They also stand to get 10 percent of the new stock in options and restricted stock. That’s a perk that’s potentially worth tens of millions of dollars.

The plan still must be approved by the court.

Staff and wire reports