PBT Transcript (5/02/2008)

MIKE ARMSTRONG: Coming up: The Federal Jobs Report is out. We’ll take a deeper look at the numbers and explain why there’s both good news and bad news. And a huge victory for NJ Governor Jon Corzine, but will it ultimately hurt the state’s economy? Shares are down 50% for Doylestown’s Discovery Laboratories. We’ll tell you why. It’s all coming up next. Philadelphia Business Today starts now.

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MIKE ARMSTONG: Employers cut 20,000 jobs in April. That was less than economists had expected, but it was the fourth straight month of job losses. Plenty of people have been out looking for work and have been unable to find jobs in their fields. They’re called marginally attached workers and, coming next week, the Inquirer looks at people like John Cashman. He’s got a biochemistry degree and was laid from a tech position six months ago where he was making $80,000 a year. Now he’s cobbling a living from several part-time jobs. Economists say watching people like Cashman, and even those who want jobs but have given up looking for them, is important. When workers can’t get good paying jobs, they can’t spend money and that sends the economy into a downward spiral.

New Jersey has become the third state to require employers to provide paid family leave. Governor Corzine, a strong supporter of the benefit, is expected to sign the bill today. It allows workers to take six weeks off, with pay. California and Washington are the two other states requiring paid leave. The benefit will be paid for by a payroll deduction that will cost workers $33 a year. They’re eligible to start taking leave on July 1, 2009. The state’s businesses fought the effort, saying it would be a hardship on companies needing to replace those workers.

Discovery Laboratories has been working for years to develop a drug to treat Infant Respiratory Distress Syndrome. It even received an “Approvable” letter from the FDA. Sounds good? It’s not. An “approvable” letter means that federal regulators want the company to meet additional criteria before it will allow the drug, called Cerfaxin, to be sold. That could mean more clinical studies, which are expensive to do. The company would only say it’s reviewing the letter and will meet with the FDA to discuss it. Investors smell bad news. Shares fell nearly 50% once trading began today.

That’s it for this week. At the Inquirer, I’m Mike Armstrong for Philadelphia Business Today.

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