BUSINESS DIGEST || Mercy Health plans open house at mall

Mercy Health plans open house at mall

NILES

Mercy Health-Youngstown is inviting the public to attend an open house celebrating the expansion of St. Joe’s at the Mall, Eastwood Mall, 5555 Youngstown-Warren Road. St. Joes’s at the Mall is in the Sears Concourse across from Tilt Studio.

The open house will take place from 5:30 to 7 p.m. May 10.

SJATM is a community outreach of St. Joseph Warren Hospital. It has offered health screenings, health information and health education programs for more than 10 years.

Strong Bones Strong People, a strength- training program, was started seven years ago.

Two years ago, SJATM expanded to add more space and exercise machines.

The expansion of SJATM was funded in part through donations to Mercy Health Foundation-Mahoning Valley.

Sears closures announced

HOFFMAN ESTATES, Ill.

Sears Holdings announced Thursday that the company will close 68 Kmart and 10 Sears stores this summer, including Sears in Butler County and New Castle, Pa.; and Kmarts in Beaver Falls, two in Pittsburgh, Reading, Philadelphia and Uniontown, Pa.

Kmart stores closing in Ohio are: Eaton, Fremont, Lima and Springboro. Super K stores closing in Ohio are: Lorain and Ashtabula.

The Kmart locations in Boardman and Warren closed this year.

In February, the company said that it would accelerate the closing of unprofitable stores. Today’s announcement follows a comprehensive evaluation of the company’s store portfolio that took into account historical and recent store performance, and the timing of lease expirations.

US applications for jobless aid fall to four-decade low

WASHINGTON

The number of Americans seeking unemployment benefits fell to a four-decade low last week, a sign that employers are unconcerned about weak economic growth in the first three months of 2016.

The Labor Department says weekly applications for jobless benefits declined to a seasonally adjusted 247,000, the lowest reading since November 1973. The four-week average, a less-volatile figure, dropped 4,500 to 260,500.

More Americans expected to remodel

WASHINGTON

A rising number of Americans are preparing to renovate their homes this year, a potential boost for the economy, according to projections released Thursday by Harvard University’s Joint Center for Housing Studies.

The report estimates that spending on remodeling and repairs will climb 8.6 percent this year to $310 billion. The gains would bring renovations close to the 2006 peak of an inflation-adjusted $327 billion.

The additional spending likely would contribute to broader economic growth, creating more jobs for construction workers and building supply firms.

Staff/wire reports