Governors meeting: Gov. John Bel Edwards went to Washington, D.C., on Thursday evening for the National Governors Association winter meeting, according to his office. The Democratic governor will participate in four days of events through Monday. Among the plans, Edwards’ office says he’ll attend a Friday lunch with Vice President Mike Pence and a formal dinner Sunday evening at the White House. The National Governors Association meeting will includes discussions about infrastructure and public health and events with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
Workforce: Hiring jumped last month as U.S. employers added a robust 225,000 jobs, bolstering an economy that faces threats from China’s viral outbreak and an ongoing trade war. The Labor Department also said this morning that a half-million people streamed into the job market in January, though not all of them found jobs. That influx means that more people were counted as unemployed, and it boosted the jobless rate to 3.6% from a half-century low of 3.5% in December. Read the full report.
Money education: A growing number of states are requiring students to study money matters in high school, the Council for Economic Education found, reflecting a broader realization that “people are responsible for their own financial future,” the head of the group says, The New York Times reports. High school students in 21 states must now take a personal finance course in order to graduate, the nonprofit council reports this week, a net gain of four states since its last study two years ago. Read the full story.
