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Hourly labour costs in the euro area (EA16) rose by 1.6% in the year up to the second quarter of 2010, compared with 1.9% for the previous quarter. This is the lowest increase registered since the start of the series in 2000. In the EU27, the annual rise was 1.6% up to the second quarter of 2010, compared with 2.1% for the previous quarter.

In July 2010 compared with June 2010, seasonally adjusted industrial production remained stable in both the euro area (EA16) and the EU27. In June production fell by 0.2% in the euro area, but rose by 0.1% in the EU27.

In July 2010, the unemployment rate for the OECD area was steady at 8.5%, unchanged from the previous month and down slightly from the 8.6% level recorded in May. The general pattern of broad stability holds in most OECD countries. In August 2010 however, the unemployment rates increased slightly (by 0.1 percentage point) in both Canada (to 8.1%) and the United States (to 9.6%).

Business Roundtable, an association of chief executive officers of leading U.S. companies, released a report demonstrating how small and large businesses work together to help each other and to strengthen the U.S. economy. The study found that, on average, each large U.S. corporation purchases more than $3 billion worth of goods and services from American small businesses. Collectively, these large firms generate an estimated $1.5 trillion in sales for small businesses annually.

Amid continued trepidation about the health of our nation’s economy, retailers and suppliers believe consumer spending is better than last year and gradually making a comeback. According to the second annual retail outlook study released by CIT Group Inc., a leading provider of financing to small businesses and middle market companies, 65% of retailers and 69% of suppliers believe consumer spending may return to 2007 levels by the end of 2011.

CIOs, CTOs and senior IT executives from 172 U.S. companies cite business productivity and cost reduction as their top business concern according to the 2010 IT Industry Trend Survey, commissioned by the Society for Information Management.

The Conference Board Leading Economic Index® (LEI) for China increased 0.5 percent, and The Conference Board Coincident Economic Index® (CEI) also increased 0.5 percent in July.

The economic recovery in the EU has gained ground of late. GDP growth in the second quarter of 2010 was particularly strong, and more balanced towards domestic demand than previously anticipated. While activity is still expected to moderate in the second half of the year, the outlook is for a slightly improved quarterly profile compared to the spring forecast, due to the spill-over of some momentum from the second quarter. For 2010 as a whole, real GDP growth is now projected at 1.8% in the EU and 1.7% in the euro area, a sizeable upward revision. The recovery remains fragile however, with uncertainty high and developments across Member States uneven. The Commission's inflation forecast for 2010 is broadly unchanged since the spring, at 1.8% in the EU and 1.4% in the euro area.

Americans’ attitudes, ambitions and preparation for retirement have changed dramatically as a result of the recession. Five years after introducing the stages of retirement, Ameriprise Financial revisited its groundbreaking New Retirement Mindscape® study to see how consumers’ journey to and through retirement has changed. The findings underscore the substantial emotional impact the difficult economic environment has had on people, especially those who are approaching retirement or who have retired within the past year. In fact, the economy’s impact has been so severe that a new stage has emerged and another has been renamed.

An AARP report released for the first time paints a picture of the struggles lower-income older adults are facing during the recession. The AARP Closer Look June 2010 survey found that nearly six in 10 Americans 45+ who make less than $25,000 a year say they are either "not at all" or "not too" confident they will have enough money to pay medical and living expenses in retirement, compared to 36 percent of higher income adults.