Economy

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 …

U.S. retailers should be looking forward to the 2024 holiday shopping season, because it’s expected to be a solid one. It will not, however, be anything spectacular, if several forecasts ends up being correct. Spending on clothing, toys, gift cards, food and other items is expected to grow between 2.5 …