U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez issued the following statement about the May 2014 Employment Situation report released today:

"The economy in May continued its steady recovery from the Great Recession, and we have now added 9.4 million new private-sector jobs over 51 consecutive months. The economy generated 217,000 new jobs in May – the fourth consecutive month exceeding 200,000 new jobs – and the unemployment rate held steady at 6.3 percent.

- The Supply/Demand rate for April fell below 2 (fewer than 2 unemployed for every vacancy) for the first time in over six years

- Labor demand remains flat in 2014 and extends last year's flat trend

- Demand falls in May for Sales, Management and Computer workers but is up in Transportation, Production, Construction and Installation

U.S. economy sparks an increase in hiring plans for the second half of 2014 after first quarter slowdown

More hiring managers say the U.S. economy has sparked an increase in hiring plans for the second half of 2014, despite the slowdown registered by gross domestic product in the first quarter, according to the national hiring survey conducted by Dice Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: DHX), a leading provider of specialized websites for professional communities.

American Express study finds that maintaining and expanding customer base trumps increasing sales for Canadian retailers, a shift in mindset since 2012
The Canadian Retail Insights Report, released today by American Express, reveals that retailers across industries nationwide plan to place more of their focus on dropping prices this year to retain customers. In 2012, the Insights Report revealed that only 35 per cent of those surveyed would reduce prices to promote loyalty; this year 48 per cent say they will - a dramatic increase from the original study conducted two years ago.

Manufacturers in Canada signalled the slowest improvement in overall business conditions in four months during May, largely reflecting a further moderation in output growth, according to the RBC Canadian Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index™ (RBC PMI™). A monthly survey, conducted in association with Markit, a leading global financial information services company, and the Supply Chain Management Association (SCMA), the RBC PMI offers a comprehensive and early indicator of trends in the Canadian manufacturing sector.

North America commands 30% of the global release liner market, of which 45% is currently in the production of labelstock, and is poised to grow at an overall healthy rate in the medium term of around 3%. But, as the newly-published North American Release Liner Market Study 2014 explains, that growth will come primarily from market segments other than labeling, such as medical disposables, graphic arts materials, and tapes.

Electronic shopping is showing rapid growth compared to the rest of the retail trade sector, with the number of establishments growing 27.4 percent between 2011 and 2012, according to new U.S. Census Bureau statistics released today. Drawn from County Business Patterns: 2012, the new data provides the only detailed annual information on the number of establishments, employees and payroll for nearly 1,200 industries at the national, state and county levels.

The number of electronic shopping and mail-order houses establishments grew from 23,697 to 30,185 between 2011 and 2012.

America's manufacturing skills gap – and how it's threatening the nation's economic recovery – will be addressed by a panel of manufacturing and educational experts at a National Press Club Newsmakers news conference in the Club's Zenger Room at 2:00 p.m. Tuesday, May 6th in the National Press Building, 529 14th St. NW, Washington, D.C.

U.S. manufacturing employs more than 11 million workers directly and creates almost seven million additional jobs in related industries. 

The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index®, which had increased in March, declined slightly in April. The Index now stands at 82.3 (1985=100), down from 83.9 in March. The Present Situation Index decreased to 78.3 from 82.5, while the Expectations Index was virtually unchanged at 84.9 versus 84.8 in March.

The monthly Consumer Confidence Survey®, based on a probability-design random sample, is conducted for The Conference Board by Nielsen, a leading global provider of information and analytics around what consumers buy and watch. The cutoff date for the preliminary results was April 17.

• Sixty percent of CEOs are optimistic about the 12-month outlook for the US economy.
• A majority (52 percent) of companies are planning some sort of business expansion initiative this year, 10 points up from a year ago.
• Two-thirds (63 percent) of private companies plan to hire workers in 2014.

The Conference Board Leading Economic Index® (LEI) for Mexico declined 0.5 percent in February to 121.2 (2004 = 100), following a 1.4 percent decline in January, and a 0.2 percent decline in December.

At the same time, The Conference Board Coincident Economic Index® (CEI) for Mexico, a measure of current economic activity, increased 0.1 percent in February to 123.0 (2004 = 100), following a 0.2 percent increase in January, and a 0.2 percent increase in December.

Standard Media Index (SMI) Ad Spend Report

SMI pools aggregated Ad Spend data from a number of agency groups. SMI's proprietary methodology captures approximately 60 percent of total agency spend, offering timely, unparalleled visibility into global macro and micro market dynamics.