Health insurance companies in New York State have submitted their rate requests for 2019, and on average, the 14 companies are requesting a 24% hike for individuals.

That varies quite a bit among the specific companies; Excellus, which has a large presence in the Rochester area, requested an 8.9% increase. MVP Health Plan, another company with a number of customers locally, requested a 6.5% increase for individuals.

A battle over contract negotiations continues at Jordan Health.

Janice Harbin, CEO of the health center says she is saddened and disappointed at how negotiations with 1199SEIU have turned, and believes that what they have offered is fair.

"I have been in community health for 30 years and there’s no game in healthcare. It’s serious and I think we are beginning to feel bullied by this massive organization."

In this WXXI Business Report, Randy Gorbman explains the main findings from Paychex's latest Small Business Employment Watch - it shows a small increase in hiring, but a slight decrease in wage growth. Plus, Wegmans opens store number 97!

Updated at 10:26 a.m. ET

As the country has clawed its way back from the worst recession in generations, companies have been creating plenty of jobs. Employers added another 223,000 positions last month alone, the Labor Department said Friday. And the unemployment rate ticked down to 3.8 percent, the lowest since 2000, from April's 3.9 percent.

The Citizens' Climate Lobby is making progress in its efforts to get federal legislation introduced to mitigate the effects of climate change.

"Five years ago, it felt like a pipe dream, but we're the closest we've ever been to seeing something like this introduced," said Sarah Mittiga, co-leader of the Rochester chapter of the nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that works both locally and in Washington to garner support for one measure on which the group is laser-focused:   A carbon fee and dividend.

Monroe County Executive Cheryl Dinolfo focused on the local economy for a good portion of her State of the County speech Monday night.

Before Dinolfo started talking about jobs in the address she delivered at Frontier Field, she got to talk a little baseball.

Increasing demand means another expansion for the Veterans Crisis Line (VCL). The Canandaigua-based facility is looking to hire another 30 to 50 people.

The job requires some specific skills. Responders take calls from veterans and active duty service members experiencing some of the most difficult struggles of their lives.

A simple question at the pharmacy could unlock savings for millions of Medicare beneficiaries.

Under a little-known Medicare rule, they can pay a lower cash price for prescriptions instead of using their insurance and doling out the amount the policy requires. But only if they ask.

That is because pharmacists say their contracts with drug plans often contain "gag orders" forbidding them from volunteering this information.

Researchers at the University of Rochester are developing ways to improve lie detection, with the hope that it could lead to more accurate airport screenings.

Currently, the way a TSA agent decides who is hiding something is pretty basic: Agents have a set of guidelines, called a behavior detection program, to help them seperate truth from fiction.

The guidelines identify behaviors from wearing certain attire to displaying exaggerated emotions to yawning as possible indicators of deceit.

The program has been called into question.

A San Francisco based software development company is opening an office in downtown Rochester and they are expected to create at least 30 new full-time jobs at that site over the next five years.

The firm is called EmployeeChannel  and they will be located inside the RIT Center for Urban Entrepreneurship on Franklin Street.