Due to the importance of the work and functions they support, fast, reliable enterprise resource planning (ERP) applications are the lifeblood of a well-oiled manufacturing business.

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) -- North Carolina's community colleges are working to train factory workers comfortable in a new manufacturing world of computers and robots.

State community college leaders are meeting Friday with manufacturers to assemble training courses in line with a skills certification plan that's recognized by factories across the country. The program mixes advanced manufacturing education and work-site training to turn out workers who can keep North Carolina makers competitive.

SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) -- The Canadian government has launched an aggressive campaign to lure Silicon Valley tech workers frustrated by U.S. visa policies northward, just as Congress wrestles with a long-sought overhaul of America's immigration system.

Canada's minister of citizenship, immigration and multiculturalism, Jason Kenney, arrived in the San Francisco Bay area Friday for a four-day visit aimed at snapping up talent for his country's high-tech economy by offering startup entrepreneurs a new visa.

Johnson & Johnson's DePuy orthopedics business plans to stop selling a couple of hip replacement systems not widely used by doctors.

DePuy will discontinue both its Ultamet Metal-on-Metal Articulation and Complete Ceramic-on-Metal Acetabular systems worldwide at the end of August. It made the decision as part of a push to streamline its product portfolio. DePuy said Thursday the discontinuations were not connected to concerns about safety or effectiveness, and they were not recalls.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The organic food industry is gaining clout on Capitol Hill, prompted by rising consumer demand and its entry into traditional farm states. But that isn't going over well with everyone in Congress.

Tensions between conventional and organic agriculture boiled over this week during a late-night House Agriculture Committee debate on a sweeping farm bill that has for decades propped up traditional crops and largely ignored organics.

JACKSON, Miss. (AP) -- Nissan Motor Co.'s Mississippi plant is on track to receive more state aid and tax breaks than what state and company officials have previously revealed, according to a study paid for by the United Auto Workers, which is questioning whether the state is getting enough for its money.

DETROIT (AP) -- Shares of General Motors reached an important milestone on Friday, topping their initial public offering price of $33 for the first time in more than two years.

The automaker's stock, which has been on a tear since January, reached $33.58 Friday morning before slipping back to $33.52, up 3.5 percent, around midday. The auto giant sold shares to the public for $33 in a November 2010 IPO, but they hadn't traded above that price since May 4, 2011.

PARIS (AP) -- A four-month strike at a car factory north of Paris has come to an end, although the workers say they will still fight a plan to close the plant.

PSA Peugeot Citroen said Friday that it had signed an agreement with the CGT union to end the strike, which started in January. The CGT called the strike "suspended."

Peugeot said around 130 of the plant's 2,500 workers have been on strike since Jan. 16.

France's largest automaker is cutting 8,000 jobs and has slated the Aulnay-sous-Bois factory as it struggles to compete in Europe's stagnant car market.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Solid hiring helped push down unemployment rates in 40 U.S. states last month, the most since November. The declines show job markets are improving in most areas of the country.

The Labor Department says unemployment rates only rose in Louisiana, Tennessee and North Dakota. Rates were unchanged in seven states.

California, New York and South Carolina all reported the largest declines in April unemployment. Each states rate fell by 0.4 percentage points.

The report noted that 30 states added jobs in April; 18 reported fewer jobs.

WASHINGTON (AP) -- A measure of the U.S. economy's future health rose solidly in April, buoyed by a sharp rise in applications to build homes and a better job market.

The Conference Board said Friday that its index of leading indicators increased 0.6 percent last month to a reading of 95. That followed a 0.2 percent decline in March.

The index is intended to signal economic conditions three to six months out.

Conference Board economist Ken Goldstein said the index is 3.5 percent higher at an annual rate than it was six months ago, suggesting expansion for the economy.