Back-to-school shopping has apparently started early this year. By early July, 55 percent of back-to-school and college shoppers nationwide had started shopping for the items they will need for the upcoming academic year, according to the National Retail Federation in Washington, D.C. Eighty six percent of consumers say they still …
Read More »Inland Empire unemployment rises
The Inland Empire recorded an unemployment rate of 5.3 percent in June, up from a revised 4.3 percent in May and above the 4.8 percent estimate of one year ago, according to recent report. This compares with an unemployment rate of 5.3 percent for California during the sixth month of …
Read More »State exports rise
California exported approximately $15.8 billion in goods in May, a 5.4 percent increase from exactly one year earlier, according to a recent study. The state’s share of U.S. merchandise exports in the fifth month of the year was 9.1 percent, essentially unchanged year-over-year, Los Angeles-based Beacon Economics reported. During May …
Read More »Inland manufacturing shows first sign of slowing
The Inland Empire’s purchasing managers index fell below 50 in June, a sign of a possible contraction in that sector, according to a report. Last month’s 48.6 index, down from 51.1 in May, marked the first time since January the index fell below 50, the Institute of Applied Research and …
Read More »Report shows negative fallout from giving fast-food workers an extra $4 an hour
At $16 an hour, California has one of the highest minimum wage mandates in the country. Last September, the state got even more generous when Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law AB-1228, which raised the minimum wage of fast-food worker to $20 an hour. That law, which was backed by …
Read More »Inland Empire job market expands
Inland Empire employers added 2,700 non-agricultural jobs month-over-month in May, a solid increase for the two-county region, according to data released last week. The unemployment rate in Riverside and San Bernardino counties during the fifth month of the year was 4.3 percent, down from a revised 4.8 percent in April, …
Read More »