You’ve got a job my friend: Truck driving schools are seeing dramatic increases in the number of students, including former bankers and mortgage brokers, reports KSL-TV in Salt Lake City. Several trucking schools in Utah say they’ve had enrollment double during the recession. “It’s just because so many big companies are laying off their employees, and then they’re having a tough time finding good paying work,” says Ron Nichols, who told the NBC affiliate he’s opened a second school to meet demand. Despite the severe economic downturn, there’s still a demand for truckers, and the jobs start at between $40,000 to $60,000 a year.
Another good sign: Factory orders rose in June for the fourth time in five months, an unexpected gain and the latest sign of recovery in the ailing manufacturing sector. The Commerce Department says factory orders rose 0.4%, after a 1.1% increase in May. Economists expected a 1% drop, according to a survey by Thomson Reuters. A 2.7% rise in orders for nondurable goods, such as chemicals and textiles, was the most since June 2008 and drove the overall increase. Orders for petroleum and coal products jumped 13.2%, as the price of oil rose. Wholesale oil prices rose 18.5% in June, according to economists at JPMorgan Chase & Co.
