Menu

Online advertised vacancies dipped by 27,400 in February to 4,245,600 according to The Conference Board Help Wanted OnLine™ (HWOL) Data Series released today. Labor demand has risen 1.41 million since the series’ low point in April 2009. This increase offsets approximately 80 percent of the 1.76 million drop in ad volume during the 2-year downturn period from April 2007 through April 2009.

CPAs expressed their highest level of optimism on the U.S. economy since the third quarter of 2007, according to the latest AICPA/UNC Quarterly Economic Outlook Survey. This upbeat assessment follows a modest outlook last quarter. In addition, there was a slight improvement in expectations for hiring and an uptick in plans for capital spending for IT and other areas over the next 12 months. On the broader level, there was concern about inflation.

A net 5 percent of executives interviewed for The Robert Half Professional Employment Report said they expect to add full-time, professional-level employees in the second quarter of 2011. Nine percent plan to increase staff, while 4 percent anticipate declines. The net 5 percent projected increase is unchanged from the first-quarter survey, with most respondents, 86 percent, expecting to maintain current personnel levels.

Mortgage rates continued to fall this week, with the benchmark conforming 30-year fixed mortgage rate dropping back to 5.03 percent, according to Bankrate.com's weekly national survey. The average 30-year fixed mortgage has an average of 0.42 discount and origination points.

There may still be a great deal of uncertainty on where the job market is heading, but people seem to be feeling a little more positive overall on the economy. Looking ahead, one-third of Americans (34%) say they expect the economy to improve in the coming year, one-quarter (25%) say they expect it to get worse and two in five (42%) say they expect it to stay the same. In December, just three in ten (29%) said they expected the economy to improve in the coming year, while 45% thought it would stay the same and one-quarter (26%) said it would get worse.

Every day, Americans use online tools to gather information, pay bills, communicate with friends, and conduct business. Intuit Health’s second annual Health Care Check-Up Survey shows that they want and expect that same connectivity and convenience from their doctor’s office.

Consumer confidence declined slightly in February, as dampening consumer views about the state of the U.S. economy correlated with rising gas prices sparked by Middle East tensions, according to the Discover U.S. Spending Monitor.

U.S. investors are now as worried about government finance issues as they are about traditional economic concerns, according to the 2011 Wells Fargo/Gallup Investor and Retirement Optimism Index.

According to the Retail Consumer Report, commissioned by RightNow and conducted by Harris Interactive, retailers are using social media channels to bring back dissatisfied customers. The research demonstrates that by listening and proactively responding to complaints on the social web, retailers have an opportunity to turn disgruntled customers into brand advocates.

As a result of competing priorities during the financial crisis, benefits education and communications moved to the bottom of companies’ priorities for their benefits programs. According to The Importance of Employee Benefits Enrollment and Diversity Communications Strategies, the third in a series of research briefs stemming from Prudential’s fifth annual study of employee benefits, helping employees make better benefits decisions and addressing the diverse benefits needs of a company’s employee population have been at the bottom of the list of employer objectives, with plan sponsors ranking them at 35 percent and 28 percent respectively in terms of importance.