Gone too soon: Clyde Holloway, the chairman of Louisiana’s Public Service Commission and a former U.S. representative, has died, The Associated Press reports. Holloway, 72, had been a member of the utility regulatory agency’s board since 2009. He died at his home in Forest Hill on Sunday, according to his office. No cause of death was released. Holloway, a Republican who owned a nursery business, served three terms in the U.S. House from 1987 to 1993, when the 8th District seat was eliminated in congressional redistricting. His later efforts to return to Congress were unsuccessful. He was appointed as the state director of rural development for the U.S. Department of Agriculture in 2006 by then-President George W. Bush and served until 2009.
Small change: U.S. industrial production barely rose in September as a rebound in manufacturing and mining output was offset by surprisingly weak demand for utilities, pointing to a moderate acceleration in economic growth in the third quarter. As Reuters reports, the mixed report from the Federal Reserve today suggests that the industrial sector downturn has probably run its course. Gains in output are likely to be muted as the sector remains constrained by the lingering effects of the dollar’s past rally, a collapse in oil prices and weak global demand. The Fed says industrial output edged up 0.1% last month after declining 0.5% in August. Last month’s gain was in line with economists’ expectations. Read the full story.
Making ends meet: Many Americans who struggled to find a job several years ago are now juggling two or three. As USA Today reports, the number of multiple job holders hit an eight-year high in September as several forces reshape the labor market. Many workers are seeking extra income as wages are inching up. Job openings are near record levels. And the burgeoning gig economy is putting a premium on freelance work and short-term projects. The ranks of multiple job holders jumped by 300,000 last month to 7.8 million, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The moonlighters represent 5.2% of all those employed, up from 4.9% in September 2015. Monthly data can be volatile, but the totals through the first nine months of 2016 have averaged 7.5 million, nearly 300,000 higher than the year-ago figure. Read the full story.
