AROUND TOWN

Is your adult child living in your basement, eating like there’s no tomorrow and sleeping till noon? The latest good news is that we now have more job openings than unemployed Americans, the Labor Department reports. Now Junior may get a job and get out of your basement. Job openings rose to a 6.7 million in April with 6.3 million unemployed. This is the latest sign the U.S. is facing a historically tight labor market. The jobless rate fell further in May to 3.8%, the lowest in 18 years.

Productivity rises slowly

With a surge in the economy and more of us working, you might think productivity would rise. It did, but less than was forecast. In the first three months this year, labor costs grew slightly faster, but employee productivity for each hour on the job increased at a 0.4% annual rate in the first quarter, the Labor Department said. Compensation costs rose 2.9% compared with an initial estimate of 2.7%.

UPS raising shipping prices

UPS really doesn’t want to ship your socks with your refrigerator. Refrigerators and other oversize items will cost 30% more because UPS aims to divert large items to a freight network. _| UPS’s distribution centers like the one at Columbia Metropolitan Airport are built for small and medium-size packages. UPS charges $650 for the largest items to discourage shipping kayaks and refrigerators in a network meant for smaller parcels.

Shopping center sold

Ziff Properties has sold Lexington Towne Centre, a 131,809-square-foot retail shopping strip on North Lake Drive for $12.575 million. The property is home to a Food Lion super market and other retailers. The buyer was an undisclosed New York investor. Berkeley Capital and The Palomar Group represented Ziff in the sale.

Kay Plumbing ribbon cutting

Master Plumber Konrad Orzechowski and his family held a rbbon cutting for Kay Plumbing’s new location at 199 Alta Vista Court in Lexington. They can be reached at 803-445-3707.