Economy

Job growth in the Inland Empire is outperforming California’s job growth, as well as some of the state’s larger metropolitan areas. Employment grew 2.6 percent last year in Riverside and San Bernardino counties, compared with 2.2 percent growth statewide, according to report by the non-profit Los Angeles County Economic Development …

Employment in California is expected to grow during the next two years, as the state’s economy continues to make steady improvement, a report released Wednesday predicted. Employment will increase 2.2 percent this year and 2.1 percent in 2016, while the state’s unemployment rate will fall to 6.7 percent by the …

National retail sales are expected to rise 4.1 percent this year, according to the National Retail Federation. That would be the largest increase since 2011, when sales increased 5.1 percent year-over-year, according to the federation’s annual national retail forecast, which was released Thursday. Sales were up 3.5 percent last year. …

Retail added 34,800 jobs in January, as some merchants added to their staffs following the holiday shopping season. Job gains were posted in sporting goods, e-commerce and general merchandise stores, according to the National Retail Federation in Washington, D.C. Another sign that the U.S. economy is in recovery, the retail …

The U.S. economy added 257,000 jobs in January, according to data released Friday by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. More good news: more jobs were added in November and December than previously reported, and average hourly wages in January rose 12 cents to $24.75, the largest gain in that …

The rise in new unemployment claims happened at a lower rate than expected last week, another sign that the job market is getting stronger. Claims in California increased by 11,000 to 278,000 for the week that ended Jan. 31, according to a Reuters report The previous week, claims declined to …