Company will replace modular buildings: Shell Exploration and Production Co. is building an office complex near Mansfield that will service its work in the Haynesville Shale natural gas field in northwestern Louisiana. The 72-office administrative building will house 72 employees, with more jobs planned, and will serve as an operation control center for Shell, says operations manager James Blanton. The company has been using a series of modular buildings. Shell has a working interest in more than 340,000 acres in the Haynesville Shale area. Using nine drilling rigs, about 70 new wells will be drilled this year, Blanton told The (Shreveport) Times. Shell once held a visible presence in northwestern Louisiana, with an office in Shreveport that operated from 1951 until 1960.
Hiring picking up? Fewer people applied for unemployment benefits last week, adding to evidence that hiring will pick up this year. The Labor Department says the number of people seeking benefits fell by 37,000 to a seasonally adjusted 404,000 for the week ended Saturday. That’s not much higher than the 391,000 level reached last month, the lowest in more than two years. The decline suggests that an unexpected rise in applications a week earlier was the result of seasonal factors. Applications often rise in early January after retailers lay off temporary holiday workers. When fewer than 425,000 people apply for benefits, it is considered a signal of modest job growth. Economists say applications must fall consistently to 375,000 or fewer to substantially reduce the unemployment rate.
