Economy

Retail sales were strong nationwide last week, boosted by seasonal demand and warm weather throughout much of the country. Sales rose 1.6 percent during the week that ended Saturday compared with the previous week, and were up 3.1 percent year-over-year, according to the International Council of Shopping Centers and Goldman …

That’s the verdict of local economist John Husing, and a Los Angeles economics firm is almost as optimistic. Both agreed the region is getting close to where it was before the recession.   Let’s hope the local economists are right about the immediate future of the Inland Empire economy.   …

California’s unemployment rate was 8.1 percent last month, unchanged from February and down 9.2 percent in March 2013, a state agency said last week. Non-agricultural jobs in the state totaled more than 15.3 million last month, a year-to-year addition of 325,100 jobs and an increase of 2.2 percent during that …

National retail sales took a slight dip last week. With demand varying in different retail categories, sales dropped 1.5 percent nationwide for the week ending March 22 compared with the previous week, according to data released Tuesday by the International Council of Shopping Centers in New York. The good news …

Hiring in the Inland Empire should improve as the year progresses, a major personnel agency said this week. Employers who want to hire new workers are expected to outnumber those who are considering letting people go by 3 to 1 during the second quarter, according to the Manpower Employment Outlook …

Six students from Yucaipa Christian School have placed third in a regional art contest and will advance to the state finals March 29 at the Riverside Convention Center. Elementary school students Lily Bosse, Cameron Dominguez, Savannah Hewitt, Leo Walt, Saela Wardlow and Joshua Waters competed in the regional round of …