Economy

Families with children in elementary school or high school plan to spend an average of $858 on back-to-school items this year, down from $874 in 2024, according to the National Retail Federation. Those items include clothing, shoes, school supplies and electronics, with an expected increase in spending on apparel and electronics, the …

Fears about the economy caused retail sales to fall last month, according to the National Retail Federation. Total retail sales – not counting automobiles and gasoline – were down 0.3 percent between May and June, but were up 3.1 year-over-year in June, the Washington, D.C.-based trade association reported recently. That …

Inland Empire manufacturing slowed considerably in June, in what could be the start of a long-term slowdown. The region’s purchasing managers index last month fell to 50, down from 65 in May, by far the sharpest drop in recent months, according to the Institute of Applied Research and Policy Analysis …

The Inland Empire is at an economic crossroads. That’s the conclusion of State of Workers in the Inland Empire 2025, a report released this month by the Inland Empire Labor and Community Center at UC Riverside. While the study has some positive things to say about the Inland economy, its …

The Inland Empire recorded 4.8 percent unemployment in May, essentially unchanged from the revised 4.9 percent of the previous month, according to data released June 20. California’s unemployment rate was 4.9 percent last during the fifth month of the year, while the nation recorded a four percent jobless rate during …

Retail sales nationwide continued to grow in May, despite consumers apparently slowing their stockpiling of goods in anticipation of tariffs, according to the National Retail Federation. Sales last month were up 0.49 percent month-over-month and 4.4 percent year-over-year, compared with increases of 0.72 percent and 6.7 percent, respectively, in April, …