Mass. businesses added 900 jobs in January

Massachusetts bucked the national trend last month, as employers added 900 jobs to payrolls, the state Department of Workforce Development said. Nationally, employers sliced payrolls by 17,000 jobs in January, the first reduction in more than four years. The state's unemployment rate rose to 4.5 percent from 4.3 percent in December, but remains below the national rate of 4.9 percent. Over the past year, the state has added about 17,000 jobs, but still has 95,000 fewer jobs than its 2001 employment peak. Educational and health services, which includes universities and hospitals, led the state's job gains in January, adding 4,300 jobs. Another key sector, technology-laden professional, scientific, and technical services, added 1,500. Leisure and hospitality, which includes tourism-related businesses, rose 900. On the other side, manufacturing shed 1,300 jobs; construction lost 1,000 jobs; and financial services lost 500. (Robert Gavin)

A half-dozen Massachusetts nonprofits that counsel people facing foreclosure will get more than $1 million in federal aid to expand their efforts. The money is the state's share of about $130 million Congress allocated in December to fund counseling for up to 400,000 families nationwide. Most of Massachusetts' share will be distributed by the Housing Partnership Network to nonprofits in Springfield, on Cape Cod, on the South Shore, and possibly to a fourth group in Boston. The remainder will be divided among a nonprofit with a statewide focus, the Citizens' Housing and Planning Association, and two smaller groups focused on Boston. (Binyamin Appelbaum)

Liberty Mutual Group of Boston said it is opening a customer center in Springfield that will employ 150 by year-end and could ultimately have 300 employees. The office in STCC Park, the former Springfield Armory, will include a call center, claims operations, and legal administration. Liberty also said it is hiring 30 salespeople in anticipation of the state's auto insurance reform, in which companies will compete more freely for customers based on rates and service. The new auto insurance system takes effect April 1. Liberty, the fourth-largest auto insurer in the state, said its 2008 auto rates are on average 10.7 percent lower than last year. Liberty has 4,400 employees in Massachusetts. (Jeffrey Krasner)

Boston Scientific Corp. said the Justice Department is investigating allegations the company and other suppliers of bile-duct stents promoted the devices for unapproved uses. Natick-based Boston Scientific described the investigation as civil rather than criminal and said the company was cooperating with authorities. No subpoena has been issued, according to a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. A company spokesman declined to comment. (Bloomberg)

In a cost-cutting move, Time Warner Inc. said it plans to merge its Warner Bros. Entertainment unit with its independently operating New Line Cinema, the studio behind "The Lord of the Rings" trilogy. Time Warner also said New Line cochairmen and chief executives Robert Shaye and Michael Lynne had decided to leave the studio but were discussing possible business deals with the company. (AP)

The Food and Drug Administration has approved short-term use of AstraZeneca's drug Nexium for children ages 1 to 11 who have acid reflux disease. The agency said it approved liquid and delayed-release capsules in doses of 10 to 20 milligrams for these youngsters. (AP)

A trader at MF Global Ltd. rang up $141.5 million in losses on the broker's account this week, the company said, a black eye that cost the company almost a fifth of its market value. The company said it discovered Evan Dooley, a trader at its Memphis branch, trading wheat contracts in amounts that exceeded how much he was allowed to trade. MF Global fired Dooley and liquidated the wheat contracts, which led to a $141.5 million loss. An entry-order system that should have blocked the trades failed, the company said. (AP)