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A difficult economy has helped spur small businesses to adopt social media marketing in greater numbers, according to “The State of Small Business Report” from Network Solutions and the Center for Excellence in Service at the University of Maryland Robert H. Smith School of Business. Social media usage increased to 24%, from 12% the year before.

The report was issued by Norbert J. Ore, CPSM, C.P.M., chair of the Institute for Supply Management™ Manufacturing Business Survey Committee. “The manufacturing sector grew for the seventh consecutive month during February. While new orders and production were not as strong as they were in January, they still show significant month-over-month growth. Additionally, the Employment Index is very encouraging, as it is up 2.8 percentage points for the month to 56.1 percent. This is the third consecutive month of growth in the Employment Index. With these levels of activity, manufacturers are seemingly willing to hire where they have orders to support higher employment.”

Over three quarters of the organizations surveyed by The Climate Registry said their future carbon management and reduction plans are not contingent on mandatory regulation. Instead, over 80 percent of the organizations indicated their primary driver is to be a sustainable organization, and almost 70 percent hope to save money through increasing their energy efficiency.

As the recession drags on, American consumers are tightening their belts in the expectation that recovery will be slow in coming. Eighty-five percent of survey respondents believe that it will take at least one year to begin to see improvement in the economy, with 42% expecting that the recovery is still one to two years away, according to Cardbeat®, a syndicated market research report published by Auriemma Consulting Group (ACG).

America's young people aren't receiving adequate instruction to use digital technology and navigate cyber space in a safe, secure and responsible manner and are ill-prepared to address these subjects, according to a new poll released by the National Cyber Security Alliance (NCSA) and supported by Microsoft Corporation. The State of K-12 Cyberethics, Cybersafety and Cybersecurity Curriculum in the U.S. Survey found that more than three quarters of U.S. teachers have spent fewer than six hours on any type of professional development education related to cyberethics, cybersafety, and cybersecurity within the last 12 months; more than 50% of teachers reported their school districts do not require these subjects as curriculum; and only 35% taught proper online conduct.

Due to consumer mobile penetration near saturation, soaring retention costs, consumer price sensitivity and surging data traffic demands, mobile carriers must look beyond market share to advance their growth and profitability, according to analysis in PricewaterhouseCoopers' new report: Change is in the Air: 2009 North American Wireless Industry Survey. According to PwC, growth will be driven by making existing customers more profitable and less by finding new customers.

AXA Equitable Life Insurance Company released results from a new survey that polled consumers and economists on numerous topics, including predictions for the economy and how recent market volatility has affected retirement planning.

New research from Deloitte and the International Society of Certified Employee Benefit Specialists (ISCEBS) "2010 Top Five Total Rewards Priorities," indicates some employees, motivated by financial concerns and job security, are getting their financial houses in order while participating in wellness and disease management programs more frequently. Simultaneously, the research indicates employers, faced with annual rising health care costs, are increasing emphasis on disease management and wellness programs designed to reduce costs. This is the strongest alignment of employer-employee interests in the Deloitte/ISCEBS survey series to date, demonstrating a shared focus on health, responsibility and cost reduction that could be mutually beneficial in the long-term.

February new-vehicle retail sales are expected to increase marginally compared with February 2009, according to J.D. Power and Associates, which gathers real-time transaction data from more than 8,900 franchisees across the United States.

Employers took 1,761 mass layoff actions in January that resulted in the separation of 182,261 workers, seasonally adjusted, as measured by new filings for unemployment insurance benefits during the month, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. Each action involved at least 50 persons from a single employer. Both mass layoff events and initial claims increased from the prior month after four consecutive over-the-month decreases. In January, 486 mass layoff events were reported in the manufacturing sector, seasonally adjusted,resulting in 62,556 initial claims. Both figures increased over the month - the first increases since August 2009 for events and since September 2009 for initial claims.