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Consumers report they are more optimistic, with sentiment numbers climbing to their highest level in more than two years, while Americans claims to be facing fewer financial difficulties than they did one year ago, according to the Consumer Reports Index for January.

There were 3.2 million job openings on the last business day of November, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. The job openings rate was essentially unchanged over the month at 2.4 percent. Both the hires rate and the separations rate were little changed at 3.2 percent each in November. This release includes estimates of the number and rate of job openings, hires, and separations for the total nonfarm sector by industry and by geographic region.

From June 2009 to June 2010, employment declined in 192 of the 326 largest U.S. counties according to preliminary data, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. Yolo, Calif., and Marion, Fla., posted the largest percentage decline, with a loss of 3.7 percent each over the year, compared with a national job decrease of 0.2 percent. Within Yolo, the largest employment decline occurred in trade, transportation, and utilities, which lost 843 jobs over the year (-4.4 percent). In Marion, financial activities had the largest over-the-year decrease in employment, shedding 1,495 jobs (-27.1 percent). Elkhart, Ind., experienced the largest over-the-year percentage increase in employment among the largest counties in the U.S. with a gain of 9.3 percent.

The Conference Board Measure of CEO Confidence™, which had declined in the third quarter, bounced back in the final quarter of 2010. The Measure now reads 62, up from 50 in the previous quarter (a reading of more than 50 points reflects more positive than negative responses).

Kronos® Incorporated announced the January release of the Kronos Retail Labor Index™, a family of metrics and indices that analyze the relationship between the demand and supply sides of the labor market within the U.S. retail sector, and provide a distinct and early indicator of the overall state of the economy. The January report includes data for December 2010.

U.S. healthcare employees can expect an average base salary increase of 2.6 percent in 2011, according to a new Hay Group survey released. That’s up from base salary increases of 2.3 percent reported in 2010 and slightly below increases of 2.8 percent reported across all industries for 2011.

The Conference Board Employment Trends Index™ (ETI) increased in December for the third consecutive month, closing the last quarter of 2010 on a positive note. The index now stands at 99.3, up from November’s revised figure of 98.5. The index is up 7.6 percent from a year ago.

The federal tax credit extension, coupled with an uptick in seasonal buying, helped keep the real estate market on its tracks in the first two quarters of 2010, according to the RE/MAX of New England 2011 Housing Market Outlook and Forecast. Single-family home sales across New England showed the affects of the tax credit extension, as first-time buyers inked deals to beat the spring deadline.

The unemployment rate fell by 0.4 percentage point to 9.4 percent in December, and nonfarm payroll employment increased by 103,000, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. Employment rose in leisure and hospitality and in health care but was little changed in other major industries.

Employed job seekers have been waiting out the recession for years before embarking on a new job search, and many experts are finally predicting 2011 could be their year for change. Monster.com®, the leading job matching engine and flagship brand of Monster Worldwide, Inc., recently asked job seekers about their plans for 2011 and found that an overwhelming majority (98%) of Americans polled indicated they are primed and ready to pursue new job opportunities in 2011.