BRIEFCASE REPORT: GROWTH OF JOBS PROMISING.

Byline: - Staff and Wire Services

The recession cost California 63,000 jobs but the worst is over, according to a state report released Thursday.

Job growth is averaging 1,500 new positions a month this year, compared with losses of 2,200 a month in 2001.

Next year, the state could see job growth of 2 percent above its existing 14.7 million nonfarm jobs, according to the Employment Development Department report.

The state is expected to add about 3.2 million jobs by 2010. More than 450,000 of those positions could be added in retail sales, cashiering, food preparation and service, computer support and software engineering, the EDD study said.

The fastest-growing sectors of the job market are expected to be computers, health and education.

Bill sets new rules for fixing defects

SACRAMENTO - A bill aiming to jump-start the condominium construction market for California home buyers cleared the state Assembly on Thursday, amid applause and hopes to end years of strife between state home-builders and lawyers.

The bill, a result of intense negotiations between warring camps over the past year, sets new ground rules for fixing construction defects in single-family homes and attached condominiums.

Supporters called the vote a victory for affordable housing in a state with one of the nation's lowest homeowner rates. Legislators hope it will keep unhappy home buyers out of court and return insurers to a construction industry they have largely abandoned in the past decade.

The Assembly voted 73-0 for the bill and sent it immediately to the Senate.

HP, Dell won't use Microsoft bundle

SAN JOSE - In a rare chink in Microsoft's dominance of personal computing, the two largest PC makers have opted against bundling the Microsoft Works productivity suite on some models in favor of rival software from Corel Corp.

Hewlett-Packard Co. and Dell Computer Corp. said earlier this month that they will not bundle Works on some models geared toward consumers. Instead, a version of Corel's WordPerfect Office suite is pre-installed.

The standard Works suite - including word processor, spreadsheet, calendar and database software - can be purchased separately for $109 but is often included on new computers as a bonus to buyers.

Mortgage rates down for week

WASHINGTON - Rates for 30-year and 15-year mortgages edged down this week, while rates on one-year adjustable rate mortgages held steady, according to a nationwide survey released Thursday.

Freddie Mac, the mortgage company, reported that the average interest rate on a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage dropped to 6.22 percent, from 6.27 percent the previous week. This week's rate matches the lowest rate in 32 years of record keeping, which was set the week ending Aug. 16.

Rates for 15-year fixed-rate mortgages, a popular option for refinancing, also edged down this week, dropping to 5.64 percent, compared with 5.71 percent last week.

However, rates on one-year adjustable mortgages held steady at 4.34 percent this week, unchanged from last week.

United workers asked to take cuts

CHICAGO - United Airlines said Thursday that it is asking its employees to approve cutting its labor costs by $1.5 billion annually over the next six years as part of its emergency restructuring plan.

The labor cutbacks, to include pay reductions and the scrapping of recently negotiated raises, would provide the bulk of the $2.5 billion the struggling carrier has targeted in annual savings in order to ensure its recovery.

The first specifics of United's plan to transform itself into a smaller, more cost-efficient carrier came at the halfway point of its selmposed 30-day deadline for reaching agreements with labor and other groups on far- reaching cutbacks.

``The company believes that the $2.5 billion target will better align costs with anticipated future revenues and increase the likelihood that the company will qualify for $1.8 billion in loan guarantees from the Air Transportation Stabilization Board,'' the airline said in a statement late Thursday afternoon.

The unions did not immediately respond to United's proposals, which were given to them Wednesday.