NEW YORK, April 18, 2014 /PRNewswire/ – The Deloitte Consumer Spending Index (Index) dropped half a point in March, but continues to indicate positive conditions for consumers. The Index tracks consumer cash flow as an indicator of future consumer spending[i]. “The outlook for consumer spending remains healthy,” said Daniel Bachman, Deloitte’s senior U.S. economist. “The Index declined primarily due [...]

MALVERN, Pa., April 17, 2014 /PRNewswire/ – Forty-four years of Earth Days (April 22) have clearly emboldened employees to demand a greener workplace. A full 3 out of 4 employed U.S. adults[1] (75 percent) say they would insist upon change if they saw obvious wasteful practices at work, according to a new online survey of over 900 U.S. workers [...]

CHICAGO, April 11, 2014 /PRNewswire/ – Don’t skimp on soft skills when writing your resume. The vast majority of employers – 77 percent – believe that soft skills (less tangible skills associated with one’s personality, such as a positive attitude) are just as important as hard skills (skills that are learned to perform a specific job function and [...]

FRESNO – Daniel J. Doyle, chief executive officer of Central Valley Community Bank (CVCB) has announced the expansion of its free document shredding events to 18 locations throughout the San Joaquin Valley with the addition of Tulare County in 2014. In its eighth year, the CVCB Free Document Shredding campaign allows businesses and individuals to [...]

MILWAUKEE, April 9, 2014 / PRNewswire / — The more discipline an individual brings to financial planning, the more financially secure he or she feels in the present, and the greater likelihood they’ll be happy in the future, according to a study released by Northwestern Mutual. These are the first set of findings from the 2014 Planning [...]

WASHINGTON, April 8, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — According to a new analysis by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research (IWPR), women earn less than men in almost all of the 112 occupations for which the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes weekly full-time earnings data for both women and men. In at least 101 of the 112 occupations, women made [...]

BOSTON, April 7, 2014 /PRNewswire/ – The John Hancock Investor Sentiment Index® continued its upward trend of the past two quarters, increasing to +23 in the first quarter of 2014 from +22 in the fourth quarter of last year.  Also remaining stable is an optimistic financial outlook. Half of investors feel they are in a better financial position [...]

ATLANTA, April 4, 2014 /PRNewswire/ — Randstad’s U.S. Employee Confidence Index rose to a six-month high in March, increasing 3.1 points from February to 57.1. In addition, workers reported the highest level of job security since May 2008, with 77 percent indicating it is unlikely they will lose their positions. These upticks reveal that American workers remain confident [...]

NEW YORK, April 3, 2014 /PRNewswire/ – With the first quarter of the calendar year behind us and tax deadlines approaching, many Americans may be putting thought into where their money has gone in the recent past and where it might be going in the near future. While attitudes haven’t changed overwhelmingly since last December, some shifts in [...]

CHICAGO, April 1, 2014 /PRNewswire/ – Temporary employment has accelerated since the last recession, and new data shows that an upward trajectory will continue throughout 2014.  According to CareerBuilder and Economic Modeling Specialists Intl. (EMSI), more than 2.9 million U.S. workers were employed in temporary jobs in 2013, jumping 28 percent since 2010 and outpacing the 5 [...]

CHAPEL HILL, N.C., March 31, 2014 /PRNewswire/ – The first step in defining a corporate value proposition is clearly identifying how an organization’s products and/or services vary from their competitors- or what sets them apart. If a company cannot define a unique characteristic or benefit of their product, customers may default to the most basic option of differentiation [...]

HACKENSACK, N.J., March 28, 2014 /PRNewswire/ — Strativity Group, the world leader in Customer Experience Transformation, presents the results of the 2014 Customer Experience Management survey:Customer Experience in Action Study. A benchmark for Customer Experience and Customer Relationship Management professionals worldwide, the study has previously been cited by numerous media organizations including: CNBC, Business Week, Associated Press, Fast Company, [...]

NEW YORK, March 26, 2014 /PRNewswire/ – The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index®, which had decreased in February, improved in March. The Index now stands at 82.3 (1985=100), up from 78.3 in February. The Present Situation Index edged down to 80.4 from 81.0, while the Expectations Index increased to 83.5 from 76.5. The monthly Consumer Confidence Survey®, based [...]

CHICAGO, March 24, 2014 /PRNewswire/ — For many companies, an associate or bachelor’s degree is increasingly becoming the new high school diploma. According to a new CareerBuilder survey, 27 percent of employers say their educational requirements for employment have increased over the last five years and 30 percent are hiring more college-educated workers for positions that were [...]

NEW YORK, March 21, 2014 /PRNewswire/ – The Conference Board Leading Economic Index® (LEI) for the U.S. increased 0.5 percent in February to 99.8 (2004 = 100), following a 0.1 percent increase in January, and a 0.1 percent decline in December. “The U.S. LEI increased sharply in February, suggesting that any weather-related volatility will be short lived and the economy should [...]

CHICAGO, March 18, 2014 /PRNewswire/ – Snack consumption is on the rise, as half of today’s consumers (51 percent) say that they eat snacks at least twice a day, an increase from the 48 percent who said the same in 2012. And about a third of consumers (31 percent) told Technomic they’re snacking more frequently than they were [...]

CHICAGO, March 14, 2014 /PRNewswire/ – One in six (17 percent) hiring managers spend 30 seconds or less, on average, reviewing resumes, according to a new CareerBuilder survey. A majority (68 percent) spend less than two minutes. With so little time to capture interest, even a candidate’s word choice can make a difference. The nationwide sample of employers [...]

NEW YORK, March 12, 2014 /PRNewswire/ – Planning for retirement is something that weighs heavily on the minds of many Americans, according to a new nationwide survey conducted for TheStreet (NASDAQ: TST) by GfK1. Despite the fact that the majority of those surveyed (85%) think that they need to make sacrifices in the short term in order to save [...]

WASHINGTON, March 11, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — With the help of the Small Business Administration’s Surety Bond Guarantee program small construction firms were awarded in fiscal year 2013 more than $1.2 billion in contracts. This number represents a 61 percent increase over fiscal year 2012.  SBA also guaranteed bonds for public and private contract bids valued at $4.9 billion, resulting in [...]

TULARE – The Tulare County Board of Supervisors announced today Lisa Bertolino has been appointed to permanently fill the public defender position. Bertolino was appointed interim public defender in December 2013 following Michael Sheltzer’s appointment by Gov. Jerry Brown to serve a judgeship in Tulare County Superior Court. “Based on her experience within the department, [...]