Northeast

New York in July posted the largest monthly increase in private sector employment since 2005, the state Labor Department reported last week. The state added 29,000 private sector jobs last month, a 0.4% increase.

Emily Youssouf, former president of the New York City Housing Development Corp., will begin teaching at New York University this fall, it was announced last week.

Gov. Chris Christie last week signed into law a bill to create the Fort Monmouth Economic Revitalization Authority, which will transform an 1,100-acre Army base in northeastern New Jersey for civilian use.

Moody's Investors Service last week downgraded $1.1 billion of New Jersey cigarette tax bonds to Baa3 from Baa2. The outlook is negative.

A poll this week of 504 Pennsylvania residents shows that 95% of participants believe that the quality of the state's transportation is extremely, very, or somewhat important to the state's economy. Overall, 69% of those polled said that the state should increase its spending on roads, bridges, and highways, Republican pollster Frank Luntz said during a press conference with Gov. Edward Rendell Thursday on the survey.

School districts in New York are finding that mistakes made when filing for state aid that were once resolved without fanfare are seemingly insurmountable in a fiscal crisis.

The Delaware River Port Authority is embarking on a series of reforms intended to professionalize the bi-state agency, which has been the subject of allegations of fiscal mismanagement, and avoid similar problems in the future.

Central Falls, R.I., plans to sell $2.1 million of deficit bonds to balance its budget under an austerity plan released by its state-appointed receiver Wednesday.

Scott Balice Strategies LLC will advise Harrisburg, Pa., on the refinancing of $282 million of Harrisburg Authority incinerator debt as the agency continues to operate without a board.

The Connecticut State Bond Commission approved two transactions totaling $1.47 billion at a special meeting on Tuesday. Both deals are expected to price before the end of the calendar year.