Associations

A surprising decline in retail hiring helped trigger a weak employment report for April.

Job growth in April slowed sharply to a seven-month low. The report gave back growth seen earlier in the year, and the retail industry — excluding automobiles, gasoline and restaurants — showed a decline of 4,900 jobs, the National Retail Federation reported.

Joining senior supply chain executives from Lowe’s, Walmart and Amazon on an influential Department of Commerce committee is Jonathan Gold with the National Retail Federation (NRF).

In a move that will directly impact retail and fast-food chains, California legislatures approved a plan to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2022, which will give the state the highest minimum wage in the nation. The measure will be signed into law on Monday by California Gov. Jerry Brown.

March was a solid month for U.S. job makers, with retailers leading the way.

The retail industry — excluding autos, gasoline and food services — added a solid 40,000 jobs in March, the National Retail Federation reported on Friday. The job market overall saw growth of 215,000 jobs in the month of March.

Retail has added an average of 52,000 jobs per month over the last three months.

Sears, Kohl's and The Home Depot are among the retailers that have earned 2016 Energy Star awards from the EPA for leadership in sustainability efforts.

Each year, the Environmental Protection Agency honors a select group of organizations that have made outstanding contributions to protecting the environment through superior energy efficiency. Whether a first time Partner of the Year winner, or a Sustained Excellence winner, these small and large organizations from across the country are leading the energy efficiency movement.

The National Retail Federation is pressing for a further reduction in per transaction fee banks charge retailers when customers use debit cards five years after the Federal Reserve cut the fee in half.

In a letter the National Retail Federation sent to the Federal Reserve the trade group said the cap on debit card swipe fees enacted by the Federal Reserve five years ago has helped reduce costs for retailers and consumers but is still higher than intended by Congress and should be lowered.

Delays in the required certification of payment terminals that accept credit and debit cards with embedded chips are frustrating many retailers, particularly midsized ones, and also costing them as, since Oct. 1, stores that cannot accept chip cards have had to shoulder the cost of fraud — and banks are not shy about passing along the bill, the New York Times reported.