Back to school shopping is a chance for parents to teach their kids about money management before classes start.

A study released by Visa Inc. states that 85 percent of parents surveyed say they talk to their child regularly about money management. One third of the parents with children younger than 18 talk to their kids about money management everyday. Also, 31 percent say they talk to them once a week. However, 16 percent report never talking to their children about using money wisely.

Visa suggests these tips, among others, for back to school shopping lessons:

Visa runs an online money management education program called Practical Money Skills For Life.

Do you use the back to school season to teach your kids money management? Let us know how by leaving a comment or sending an e-mail to brian.everstine@thenewstribune.com.

July’s labor statistics from the Washington State Employment Security Department take more head-scratching than usual.

Employment is up.

And so is unemployment.

“The overall image we’re getting is something of a muddled picture,” said David Wallace, acting chief economist at Employment Security Department. “There’s kind of a mixed signal going on.”

The state’s monthly report, released Tuesday morning, says that, on the whole, Washington added an estimated 3,300 non-agricultural jobs in July.

At the same time, the state’s unemployment rate in July was 5.7 percent, up from 5.4 percent in June.

What the numbers probably mean, Wallace said, is that more people are coming into the labor force, a combination of existing residents who were not previously looking for work and residents from other states, seeking a better economic climate.

Washington’s economy is improving slightly, he said, but not enough to accommodate all the new job seekers.

“It’s tough to tell which effect is stronger,” he said. “Even though our labor market not as ideal as it was a year ago, it’s still better than other places in the country.”

“More and more people in Washington have decided to look for work,” said Employment Security Commissioner Karen Lee, to explain why the unemployment rate increased even though the number of jobs went up.

“With fuel prices and other costs rising, families are looking for ways to increase their income.”

The total number of non-agricultural jobs in Washington in July was up 29,500 over the same time in 2007, a 1 percent increase. Nationally, year-over-year jobs declined by 0.05 percent for the past year.

Industries in Washington with the largest job growth in July were government, with 900 new jobs, retail, with 800 new jobs, and information, with 800 new jobs. The largest declines were in financial activities, and professional and business services, both down 300 jobs.

An estimated 189,300 people (not seasonally adjusted) were unemployed and seeking work in Washington in July, the report says.

I was poking around the Web today and ran across some sites with tips on how to save money shopping.

One site - WiseBread - talks about how to save money at Target.

In addition to the odd lot items that may be lurking among the regular merchandise and could be haphazardly stashed at the end caps, Target has a system for marking down their merchandise weekly:

Monday - Electronics, Kids Clothing and Stationary (Cards, GiftWrap, etc.)
Tuesday - Domestics, Women's Clothing, Pets and Market (food items)
Wednesday - Men's Clothing, Toys, Lawn & Garden, Health and Beauty items
Thursday - House Wares, Lingerie, Sporting Goods, Shoes, Music / Movies, Books, Decor and Luggage
Friday - Auto, Cosmetics, Hardware, and Jewelry

Tacoma-area gas prices are falling almost as quickly as they rose a month ago with low prices passing another milestone today.

Just two weeks after local gas prices fell below the $4 price at one station, another station is posting regular unleaded at below $3.80 a gallon.

The Valero station at 4602 North Pearl posted regular prices at $3.79 this week according to TacomaGasPrices.com.

Dozens more stations were selling regular below $3.90.

According to AAA Washington, the average price for a gallon of regular unleaded fell below $4 over the weekend. The average price now stands at $3.984 a gallon, down 1.3 cents a gallon from Monday.

Statewide, only Vancouver had lower gas prices than Tacoma, an average of $3.96 a gallon, AAA's survey said.

In the Seattle area, regular prices averaged $4.04 today.

With a statewide average of $4.049 today, fuel costs still have a long way to fall to match last year's at this time. Gas on Aug. 12, 2007 sold for an average of $2.881 a gallon in Washington.

The Boeing Co. has begun tests of the 787 Dreamliner's landing gear at its Everett plant this week.

The landing gear tests are the latest in a series of systems checkouts preliminary to the plane's first flight in November.

The 787's electrical and hydraulic systems have already been powered up for testing.

The gear swing tests gauge how well the landing gear retracts and extends. The 787 test aircraft is supported by jacks during the tests.

The plane's three landing gears are being tested individually and together, Boeing said.

Financial aid from Canadian and British governments to Canadian planemaker Bombardier Inc. faces U.S. government scrutiny to ensure it doesn't violate international trade regulations.

Bombardier plans to use loans from the Canadian government and the province of Quebec and from the British government to help finance the design and construction of its new C Series jets. Those two-engine jets will compete with Boeing's 737-700 series aircraft and with Airbus's A319.

"Washington will take a very careful look at the support announced by Canada, Quebec and the U.K.," Gretchen Hamel, a spokeswoman for U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab, told Bloomberg News.

Bombardier C 130

The U.S. and European governments are currently engaged in a fight over alleged subsidies governments provide to Airbus and Boeing.

Bombardier, which now makes smaller regional jets and turboprops, plans to expand into the Boeing's and Airbus's traditional territory with the C Series. Canadian government sources are providing loans of $437 million and U.K. government sources are providing $137 million in loans to Bombardier.

Final assembly of the C Series will be in Quebec, and the wings for the plane are to be built in Northern Ireland.

Indian defense officials are moving closer to signing an order with Boeing for Renton-built sub-hunting aircraft.

Indian news sources says the $2.2 billion purchase of P-8I maritime reconaissance planes has cleared technical hurdles and now must pass muster before two more government committees.

The P-8I is a version of the U.S. Navy's P-8A submarine-hunting aircraft customized with equipment for the Indian Navy.

The P-8A is a militarized version of Boeing's 737 twin jet passenger plane.

The U.S. Navy has said it intends to order 108 of the planes. The first five test aircraft are being built on a special assembly line in Renton adjacent to the regular 737 assembly line. They will be equipped with search and detection equipment and weaponry at Boeing Field.

The Indian Navy now uses Russian-built IL-38 maritime patrol planes. Those planes have become outmoded.