Economy

California lost 5,500 non-agricultural jobs in October, according data released by the Employment Development Department. That follows a month in which the state added a revised 12,700 non-farming jobs, the department reported Nov. 15. The state’s adjusted unemployment rate in October – 5.4 percent – was essentially unchanged from September. …

U.S. retailers are adding a healthy number of seasonal hires for the upcoming holiday shopping season, although not quite as many as they did one year ago, according to a forecast. Stores will hire approximately 520,000 temporary workers to help them with this year’s Christmas rush, slightly under the 564,200 …

Inland Empire manufacturing continued to grow in October despite a drop in production within the two-county region, according to a report. The purchasing managers index last month was 53.3, down from 56.2 in September, according to the Institute of Applied Research and Policy Analysis at Cal State San Bernardino. A …

California exported $15.9 billion worth of goods in September, a 6.4 percent year-over-year increase, according to a report. U.S. exports were essentially unchanged during September, going up only 0.1 percent to $171.4 billion, according to an analysis by Beacon Economics in Los Angeles based on data compiled by the U.S. Census …

U.S. consumer spending is expected to reach an average of $902 per person during the holiday shopping season, according to the National Retail Federation. That is about $25 more per person than in 2023, and $16 higher than the previous record set in 2019, the Washington D.C.-based trade association reported …

The Inland Empire recorded an unadjusted 5.4 percent unemployment rate in September, according to data released last week. That was down from a revised six percent in August, and above the 5.1 percent forecast of one year ago, the state Employment Development Department reported Oct. 18. Those number do not …