By Claudia Hirsch

NEW YORK, Sep 1 (MNI) - U.S. private-sector job creation continued its slow climb in August, as employers refrained from accelerating their permanent hiring amid mixed economic signals, according to personnel executives.

By Claudia Hirsch

NEW YORK, Aug 31 (MNI) - Low inventory levels, flagging consumer sentiment and a seasonal pause slowed U.S. retail new-vehicle sales in August from July, according to auto dealers.

By Claudia Hirsch

NEW YORK, Aug 26 (MNI) - Seasonal inventory patterns have returned to U.S. warehouses and roadways, but volumes stand at much lower levels than before the recession, according to U.S. logistics executives at the center of the supply pipeline.

By Claudia Hirsch

NEW YORK, Aug 24 (MNI) - U.S. commercial furniture manufacturers said second-quarter business ticked higher than anticipated but warned that the industry's recovery pace may not be sustainable, given expectations of a painfully slow revival in corporate spending and the broader economy.

By Todd Buell

FRANKFURT (MNI) - Germany's labor market may continue to surprise on the upside in the months ahead, judging from the hiring intentions of a sampling of industry firms.

"This year, and next year as well, we will add a considerable number of qualified technical staff, such as engineers," said Alexandra Leiner, spokeswoman for KSB, a pumps and valves producer headquartered in the southwestern town of Frankenthal.

By William Wilkes

LONDON (MNI) - The UK employment may well have risen sharply in the last quarter, with improving business confidence likely to have triggered intense hiring activity in the private sector, according to recruitment professionals interviewed by Market News International.

By Claudia Hirsch

NEW YORK, Aug 9 (MNI) - Containerized import volumes to the U.S. strengthened in June from an active May, marking what may turn out to be the start of an early peak holiday shipping season, according to port officials and maritime executives.

By Claudia Hirsch

NEW YORK, Aug 4 (MNI) - U.S. employers continued to repair recession-slashed payrolls at a measured pace in July, through both direct placements and conversions of temporary workers to permanent positions, according to personnel executives.