ALIQUIPPA — Former employees of Commonwealth Medical Center, which closed after filing for bankruptcy protection, will get back pay.

The Aliquippa hospital and its chief lender, Bridge Finance Group, agreed Tuesday to pay some of the money today and Thursday and then the rest within a few weeks.

The hospital filed for bankruptcy Dec. 5 and closed a week later. Under a plan approved in bankruptcy court that month, executives were paid, but about 200 employees weren't.

Former employees have been rallying at the closed hospital, outside bankruptcy court and in Chicago at Bridge Finance Group's headquarters to gather support for their cause.

HARRISBURG — Pennsylvania labor officials said jobless residents can now receive as much as 33 weeks of federal emergency unemployment compensation after their state benefits run out.The maximum for the federal benefits was previously 20 weeks.Labor and Industry Department spokesman David Smith said Tuesday the benefits are being expanded because the state's rate of jobless residents covered by unemployment insurance is just over the 4 percent threshold the state must meet to qualify.Pennsylvania's jobless rate rose to 6.7 percent in December — the highest level since March 1994.Smith said the state has distributed $639 million in federally funded unemployment compensation since the end of June.At least 22 other states previously qualified for similar benefits.

MUSKEGON, Mich. — Some workers at a Michigan pancake restaurant found a sweet way to help out their boss and the workplace they love.With customer traffic down a bit at Mr. B's Pancake House lately, lead server Mary VanDam asked co-workers if they might be willing to work a shift without wages to help out owner Dave Barham.The 17 servers, cooks, busboys, dishwashers, cashiers and hostesses who worked the day shift Jan. 18 received only tips for compensation."This is a wonderful business. We want to see it succeed," VanDam, 51, said.When customers heard about the workers' effort, they tipped a little more. The shift's workers divided the gratuities equally and each took home $51."Isn't that something?" Barham asked.He said he doesn't want people to get the impression his business is doing poorly, but "it's tight for everyone all over."VanDam said Barham met his payroll more than once by dipping into his own pockets.All 31 of the restaurant's workers volunteered, but they agreed the no-wage effort would be for one shift."We wish we could have saved him $5,000," VanDam said. "We wanted to give back to him, lighten the load a little."

HARRISBURG — Hershey, the nation's second-biggest candy maker, said Tuesday its fourth-quarter sales rose and profit soared, helped by lower restructuring costs, higher prices and a huge advertising investment behind its core Reese's and Hershey's brands.Hershey earned $82.2 million, or 36 cents per share, in the fourth quarter, up from $54.3 million, or 24 cents per share, a year earlier, when it was spending heavily to expand overseas and streamline its domestic supply chain.The company's shares jumped nearly 7 percent Tuesday, up $2.38 to $37.48.President and Chief Executive David J. West credited a 26 percent boost in advertising spending with fueling sales in spite of the impact of higher commodity costs and unfavorable foreign currency-exchange rates.The positive results capped a year in which Hershey pulled out of a two-year skid that claimed the jobs of West's predecessor and a majority of the board.The company revamped its domestic strategy to adjust to toughening competition and revive lackluster sales, and has gotten some relief from easing dairy and gas prices.

SAN FRANCISCO — With the recession forcing tech companies to announce thousands of layoffs, IBM is joining the fray — but not advertising it.The Armonk, N.Y.-based company has cut thousands of jobs over the past week, including positions in sales and the software and hardware divisions. IBM said the cuts are simply part of its ongoing efforts to watch costs, and the company won't release specific numbers, even as reports of firings stream in from IBM facilities across the country.Workers have reported layoffs in Tucson, Ariz.; San Jose, Calif.; Rochester, Minn.; Research Triangle Park, N.C.; East Fishkill, N.Y.; Austin, Texas; and Burlington, Vt.Meanwhile, other tech companies such as Intel, Microsoft, Texas Instruments, Sprint Nextel and Google have all publicly revealed job cuts as part of their strategies for riding out the economic crisis. More than 20,000 jobs will be lost from those companies alone.One of IBM's biggest rivals — Hewlett-Packard — also is laying off workers. HP is shedding 24,600 jobs, nearly 8 percent of its 320,000-employee work force, as it digests the acquisition of Electronic Data Systems.IBM said it doesn't have to reveal the number of jobs it is cutting, since the Securities and Exchange Commission requires companies to disclose only "material" events. And IBM considers its job cuts a regular part of the company's business model, since thousands of jobs are cut every year but are usually added back in other places.