DETROIT — In a filing with the U.S. Department of Labor, the United Auto Workers union said Thursday that it had 376,612 members in 2010. That's up 6 percent from the previous year, and the first time since 2004 that the union has gained members.

UAW President Bob King said the gains were due to more hiring in the auto industry as it recovered from the recession. Ford Motor Co. hired 1,200 workers in Chicago last year to make the new Ford Explorer. General Motors Co. and Chrysler Group LLC also have committed to hiring more workers.

The union also has had some success organizing other workers, such as graduate students and casino dealers. But the union's membership is still far below its peak of 1.5 million in 1979, and is currently at its lowest levels since the mid-1940s.

NEW YORK — U.S. companies increased their dividends by a record amount in the first quarter.Since the start of the year, 117 companies in the Standard & Poor's 500 index said they would raise or start paying dividends. That amounts to a record increase of $16.6 billion, according to Howard Silverblatt, senior index analyst at S&P. Just 78 companies raised their dividends in the same period a year ago.In the months that followed the financial meltdown in 2008, companies were frozen by fear. In many cases, they slashed or eliminated dividends and did the same as many Americans: put cash in the bank and sit on it.