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Imports have slowed down after a months-long rush to beat increased tariffs on goods from China, according to the monthly Global Port Tracker report from NRF and Hackett Associates.

Retail jobs grew 15,200 monthly and 37,600 year-over-year in December as labor demand remained strong and more individuals entered the workforce.-

NRF issued a statement from President and CEO Matthew Shay in response to the passing of Nordstrom co-president Blake Nordstrom.

On the last day of NRF 2019: Retail’s Big Show, the keynote stage will close the NRF's 108th annual convention with lessons on brand-building from entrepreneurs Chip and Joanna Gaines and entertainment executive and entrepreneur Scooter Braun. The three will be among 250 speakers featured as more than 37,000 industry leaders from around the world convene in New York City for the three-day conference at the Javits Convention Center.

More than 40 percent of holiday shoppers surveyed expect to finish their holiday gift shopping by today, but the biggest procrastinators will still be buying gifts through Christmas Eve, according to the annual consumer sentiment survey released today by NRF and Prosper Insights & Analytics.

November retail sales were up 0.7 percent from October and 5 percent year over year, completing the first half of the holiday shopping season with spending on track to easily meet NRF's forecast.

NRF and more than 250 retail, restaurant and other companies from across the country are urging Congress to fix a mistake in last year’s tax reform law as part of end-of-year legislation, saying the error has put millions of dollars in job-creating remodeling projects on hold. 

Imports have set another new record, reaching 2 million containers in a single month for the first time as retailers brought merchandise into the country ahead of a now-postponed tariff increase.

Retail employment in November grew by 18,600 jobs from October, accounting for 12 percent of the 155,000-job increase economy-wide, according to NRF. The numbers exclude automobile dealers, gasoline stations and restaurants.

The NRF Foundation and the Ohio Council of Retail Merchants announced today that the Foundation’s suite of RISE Up training and credentials has been approved by the Ohio Department of Education for use in high schools and career-and-technical education centers throughout the state.