Online Shopping Cuts Into Holiday Retail Hiring

The shift to online commerce appears to be affecting the California job market, as retail employment in December slumped versus a year ago, while hiring for couriers and messengers soared, according to state figures released Friday.Overall, California added 17,200 payroll jobs in December, and the unemployment rate climbed to 4.8 percent from November's 4.6 percent, reflecting an increase in people looking for jobs, the state Employment Development Department reported. That job growth followed a revised gain of 17,300 in November and suggests the state's economy continues to grow steadily, with many sectors participating. Eight of the 11 job categories tracked by the state reported job gains in December, led by education and health services with a boost of 5,200 positions.Retailers also added jobs in the month, but they employed 0.3 percent fewer people than they did the previous December.

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Shopping Around Can Help Shave Rx Drug Costs

It's no secret that prescription drugs can be very expensive. But you're not necessarily stuck paying the high prices. That's important to know, given that more people are paying for large parts of their medical insurance nowadays. But even people with prescription-drug coverage can lower their spending on co-payments for medications. .

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Taxing plastic shopping bags not the answer

Plastic shopping bags must not become the whipping boy for the garbage woes of the City of Toronto. In his drive to divert 70 per cent of Toronto's solid waste from landfill by 2010, the new chair of Toronto's public works and infrastructure committee has declared war on plastic grocery bags. He has stated his intention to tax them out of existence. War it may be, but it's a phony war and the loser will be consumers, retailers, the City of Toronto and even the environment. Why? First, plastic shopping bags are not a problem. They are a minuscule part of Toronto's waste stream. In fact, if every single bag used in Canada ended up in landfill, it would represent less than 1 per cent of residential solid waste. So it's hard to see how attacking bags will help when you have a 70 per cent diversion goal.

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