Economy

Nearly 203 million people shopped during the Thanksgiving weekend, a record for that five-day period, according to the National Retail Federation. That number is up from 197 million shoppers in 2024, and it tops the previous record of 200.4 million set in 2023, the trade association reported. This year’s number total …

California exported $15.4 billion worth of goods in August, a $4.7 billion year-over-year decline, according to Beacon Economics in Los Angeles. During the same same period, the value of U.S. exports fell by 0.4 percent, to $179.7 billion, Beacon reported in its monthly analysis of state and national exports. California’s …

One hundred and eighty seven million people will shop during Thanksgiving weekend, three million more than last year’s record turnout, according to a National Retail Federation-Prosper Insights & Analytics survey. Seventy percent of those surveyed (130.4 million) said they will shop on Black Friday, the most popular shopping day of …

The upcoming holiday season probably won’t set any records for temporary hiring. Challenger, Gray & Christmas has released its annual holiday hiring forecast, and it’s not optimistic. The Chicago-based executive outplacement firm predicts that U.S. retailers will add less than 500,000 jobs during the fourth quarter of 2025, when retailers …

U.S. retail sales made a comeback in October, posting monthly and year-over-year gains, according to the National Retail Federation. Total sales last month – not counting automobile and gasoline sales – were up 0.6 percent seasonally adjusted month-over-month and up five percent unadjusted year-over-year in October, the federation reported. In …

The National Retail Federation is predicting that holiday retail spending will reach $1.01 to $1.02 trillion this year. If that forecast is correct, it will be a year-over-year increase of 3.7 percent and 4.2 percent in November and December, according to the Washington, D.C.-based trade association. Last year’s holiday sales …