Economy

U.S. retail sales will grow between 2.7 and 3.7 percent this year compared with 2024, with sales expected to total between $5.42 trillion and $5.48 trillion by the end of this year, according to the National Retail Federation in Washington, D.C. The 2025 sales forecast compares with 3.6 percent annual sales …

The Inland Empire recorded a 5.1 percent unemployment rate in February, down slightly from January and below the 5.2 estimate of one year earlier. That compares with the state’s 5.4 percent – same as January – and a 4.5 percent jobless rate nationwide, according to the state Employment Development Department. …

Just as they were one year ago, a majority of Americans say they’re less-than-confident in the country’s immediate economic future. That was the finding of the second annual Wells Fargo Money Study, a 42-page analysis conducted between Sept. 5 and October 4 last year by the San Francisco-based financial institution. …

Growing fears about tariffs caused retail spending to decline slightly between January and February, according to the National Retail Federation. Total retail sales, not counting automobile sales and gasoline, fell 0.22 percent between the first and second month of 2025, but rose 3.8 percent year-over-year, the trade association in Washington, D.C. …

Inland Empire manufacturing posted its second consecutive solid month in February, the result of more orders, better production and higher employment. The region’s purchasing managers index during the second month of 2025 was 60, up from 56.5 in January and well above the abysmal 42.5 posted at the end of …

California exported an estimated $14.9 million in goods in January, a 7.8 percent year-over-year increase, according to a report. During the same period, U.S. exports rose by 1.3 percent, to $172.779 billion, Beacon Economics in Los Angeles reported. California’s share of national exports during the first month of 2025 was …