Economy

California’s unemployment rate fell to 5.2 percent in December, as state employers added a net of 3,700 non-agricultural jobs, according to data released Friday. Trade, utilities, transportation and hospitality posted the largest gains, while professional and business services – usually a reliable growth category – posted losses, the state Employment …

The U.S. economy added an estimated 156,000 non-agricultural jobs in December, according to data released Friday. Wages were up 2.9 percent year-over-year, the strongest gain in that category in seven years and a sign that the economic recovery is finally showing up in workers’ paychecks, the U.S. Bureau of Labor …

The Inland Empire’s manufacturing sector is no longer growing. The two-county region’s purchasing managers index was 47.4 in December, the third consecutive month that figure was below 50, according to data released Wednesday by the Institute of Applied Research and Policy Analysis at Cal State Fullerton. Because 50 is the …

The Inland Empire economy grew slightly more during the third quarter than previously estimated, according to data recently released. Riverside and San Bernardino County’s gross metropolitan product grew 2.6 percent annually through the third quarter, not 2.2 percent as was reported last month, the UC Riverside School of Business Center …

California employers added 13,600 jobs in November, enough to drop the unemployment rate to 5.3 percent, according to data released Friday. The state added jobs during the four months before November, yet its unemployment rate never changed from 5.5 percent, so Friday’s numbers represent a slight breakthrough, the state Employment …

The Federal Reserve’s decision to raise interest rates is likely to have little impact on the Inland Empire economy, according to several local economists. The increase, which was announced Wednesday, had been long anticipated. It lifts the Fed’s benchmark rate to a range of 0.5 percent to 0.75 percent, still …