Business

Employers posted a blockbuster 339,000 jobs in May in the latest sign that a booming labor market continues to keep the country from slipping into a recession, but the economy also gave new warning signs with an increase in the unemployment rate. The unemployment rate rose in May to 3.7 percent from 3.4 percent, one of the fastest increases since early in the pandemic, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics data released Friday.

A simmering dispute between Major League Baseball and the Hunt Valley-based broadcaster Sinclair erupted into public view Wednesday in federal bankruptcy court. MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred said in court that Sinclair’s executive chairman threatened to force its Diamond Sports Group regional sports networks into bankruptcy, potentially hurting the league, if MLB refused to give it baseball game streaming rights.

One of the hardest parts of running a restaurant coming out of the pandemic has been hiring good workers, and keeping the ones who are good from leaving. It doesn’t help that other jurisdictions around the D.C. region pay more, with D.C., specifically, phasing in a raise from $5 per hour to $16.10 in the coming years.

The owners of Pimlico Race Course are reconsidering plans to shut down off-track betting at the historic venue, a day after a news report indicated the track would stop carrying simulcast wagering by the end of the month. In an email sent to employees Thursday afternoon, 1/ST Racing and Gaming CEO Aidan Butler wrote that ownership is “reassessing” the move, which he indicated would have occurred only “during the summer months when it is not as utilized by our patrons.” A

A group of local investors led by developer Brad Byrnes has acquired the shuttered 12-story Hotel RL Baltimore Inner Harbor with plans to turn it into a 130-unit apartment tower. Byrnes said Thursday the group will pump $18.5 million into the building at 207 E. Redwood St., his latest effort to transform the street in the city’s former financial district.

The Frederick-based Maryland Tech Council (MTC), the largest technology and life sciences trade association in the state, and Mount St. Mary’s University (MSMU) Wednesday announced a partnership to provide MTC’s members with continuing education opportunities needed to advance their careers. With this partnership, the MTC’s more than 700 members will be eligible for 20% tuition savings on courses in the university’s Division of Continuing Studies.

Baltimore County residents want to see walkable, green areas with mixed-use development and entertainment options at the current site of a struggling shopping mall in Woodlawn, according to a county report released Wednesday. The report from the county and consultants JMT, Ayers Saint Gross and Landwise Advisors summarized input gathered from community members and business leaders through months of meetings and surveys, resulting in a long-term “aspirational” vision that would add places for recreation and entertainment, an outdoor greenway network for walking and biking and a combination of residential, office and retail offerings to the property.