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WASHINGTON, D.C. – General Motors announced its support for the U.S. Department of State Veterans Innovation Partnership (VIP), which offers military veterans a one-year paid fellowship in a U.S. Government agency.

“We know that transitioning from military to civilian life can seem like a daunting task, and we want to do everything in our power to help them,” said Ken Barrett, GM chief diversity officer. “These men and women have given so much for our country that they deserve our best efforts to make a difference in their life.”

Launched by the U.S. Department of State in support of Executive Order 13518, Employment of Veterans in the Federal Government, VIP supports veterans’ transition to diplomacy and development careers by assisting with educational opportunities to study international relations; establishes fellowship opportunities at U.S. Government foreign affairs agencies, and facilitates international public and private employment opportunities.

GM employs thousands of military veteran employees and has supported the U.S. armed forces for generations. GM is a corporate sponsor of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation’s “Hiring Our Heroes” program, which helps returning veterans and their spouses find jobs and a partner in the a coalition of private sector businesses dedicated to hiring 100,000 veterans by 2020.

The company also established GM’s Service Technical College, which offers free training to veterans and returning service members to prepare them for technical and non-technical entry-level roles in a dealership. GM also assists veterans by supporting The Achilles Freedom Team of Wounded Veterans, which helps wounded veterans overcome injuries through athletics.

“The Veterans Innovation Partnership is about recognizing not just how the State Department can help veterans, but about how veterans can help the State Department – we want to tap into the important leadership and service experience that they offer,” said Andrew O’Brien, special representative for Global Partnerships. “We are grateful to partners like General Motors for their commitment in making a program like this possible.”

General Motors Co. (NYSE:GM, TSX: GMM) and its partners produce vehicles in 30 countries, and the company has leadership positions in the world’s largest and fastest-growing automotive markets. GM, its subsidiaries and joint venture entities sell vehicles under the Chevrolet, Cadillac, Baojun, Buick, GMC, Holden, Jiefang, Opel, Vauxhall and Wuling brands. More information on the company and its subsidiaries, including OnStar, a global leader in vehicle safety, security and information services, can be found at http://www.gm.com.

New York, – The 100,000 Jobs Mission announced today that its coalition of private companies has collectively hired more than 217,000 U.S. Military veterans through the end of 2014 and is now committed to hire another 100,000 veterans for a total of 300,000.

“Four years ago, servicemembers struggled to find meaningful jobs because many employers did not fully understand how to apply veterans’ skills and experience to their businesses. Since then, the 100,000 Jobs Mission has connected more than 200,000 veterans to good jobs that put their skills to good use,” said Maureen Casey, director of Military and Veterans Affairs for JPMorgan Chase, a founding member of the coalition. “But our work isn’t done yet. With nearly one million military members returning to civilian life over the next few years, the 100,000 Jobs Mission is committed to continuing its mission of helping U.S. veterans and military spouses obtain meaningful careers.”

“JPMorgan Chase and the rest of the 100,000 Jobs Mission should be commended for their leadership and sustained commitment over four years. They have stepped up and joined forces to create opportunities for our nation’s veterans and military spouses,” said Colonel Steve Parker, Executive Director, Joining Forces. “They have been excellent partners with Joining Forces and have made a direct impact on reducing veteran unemployment. We look forward to working with the Mission as they look to hire another 100,000.”

The 100,000 Jobs Mission was founded in 2011 by 11 companies, including JPMorgan Chase & Co., that pledged to hire at least 100,000 veterans by 2020. The coalition reports its hiring results quarterly and shares best practices for hiring and retaining veterans in their organizations. Many of these can be found on jobsmission.com. Since the coalition’s establishment, membership has grown to 184 companies that represent nearly every industry in the U.S. economy, including Timken, which joined the group in late 2013.

“Timken is proud to be a member of the 100,000 Jobs Mission, and being an active member of the coalition helps us stay on the forefront of best practices for hiring and retaining U.S. military veterans and spouses,” said Shaun Branon, Director, Talent Acquisition. “Military veterans possess the skills and experience that make them successful members of our company.”

Among the companies that joined the 100,000 Jobs Mission in 2014 were Amtrak and Chipotle, whose leaders understand the importance of the Mission and similar initiatives.

“Amtrak values the leadership, reliability and technical skills that veterans bring,” said Joseph H. Boardman, a Vietnam Veteran, Amtrak President and CEO. “We joined the 100,000 Jobs Mission because we want to make an impact on veteran employment. Working with the other coalition companies will help us achieve mission success.”

“Chipotle is growing quickly, and we are always looking for top performing employees that have the ability to empower top performers to achieve high standards. We are committed to hiring veterans from all branches of the military who have this ability, and are eager to watch their success as they help build strong restaurant teams!” said Monty Moran, Co-CEO.

The 100,000 Jobs Mission continues to seek like-minded large employers to join the commitment to hiring veterans and military spouses.

About the 100,000 Jobs Mission
Launched in 2011, the 100,000 Jobs Mission brings together companies committed to hiring U.S. military veterans and military spouses. The 184 companies now involved have pledged to hire 300,000 veterans. They have hired 217,344 veterans through the end of 2014. For more information on the 100,000 Jobs Mission, visit jobsmission.com.

WASHINGTON — U.S. Secretary of Labor Thomas E. Perez issued the following statement about the January 2015 Employment Situation report released today:
“2015 is picking up right where 2014 left off – with strong, steady, sustained job growth that is leading a dynamic recovery.

“Employers and workers alike are showing renewed confidence in the economy, which added 257,000 jobs in January (267,000 in the private sector). Private employers have now created 11.8 million jobs over the last 59 consecutive months of growth since early 2010. The January unemployment rate is 5.7 percent.

“In the fourth quarter of his presidency, President Obama is committed to policies that will further invigorate the economy, creating more opportunity that leads to rising incomes and broadly shared prosperity. In his State of the Union address, he outlined an agenda based on middle-class economics and the belief that everyone willing to work hard should have the chance to get ahead in America.

“To support that vision, the president has offered a 2016 budget that invests in our people and their potential, while reforming the tax code and further reducing the deficit. By making two years of community college free for responsible students and expanding apprenticeships, we can help more people get the skills they need to succeed in 21st century jobs. By providing greater access to child care and promoting paid leave, we can ease the burden on working families, making their paychecks go further and giving them greater economic security.

“2014 was a breakthrough year for the nation and the economy. With sound leadership and smart investments, we can have a strong 2015, while laying the foundation for further growth in the long run.”

U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker today announced that U.S. exports in 2014 set a record for the fifth consecutive year, reaching $2.35 trillion. International Trade in U.S. Goods and Services data released today by the U.S. Department of Commerce show that U.S. exports are up more than $760 billion since 2009.

“Exports have played a critical role in America’s economic comeback, and they continued to do so in 2014,” said Secretary Pritzker. “President Obama has set an ambitious trade agenda that will open up more markets to ‘Made in America’ goods and services, allowing our businesses to sell their products all over the world so they can expand and hire here at home.

“Central to that task is the passage of trade promotion legislation and the enactment of strong trade agreements that uphold our values. These agreements are essential to the continued growth of our economy, the creation of good American jobs, the economic security of our families, as well as our nation’s competitiveness and national security.”

U.S. Goods Exports
U.S. goods exports increased 2.7 percent to a record $1.64 trillion in 2014. Key industry sectors setting records included capital goods; consumer goods; petroleum products; foods, feeds, and beverages; and automotive vehicles and parts.

In 2014, the largest export markets for U.S. goods were Canada, Mexico, and China, with exports to each country registering annual records.

U.S. Services Exports
Annual services exports hit an all-time high of $710.3 billion, led by increases in the travel, transport, charges for the use of intellectual property, and financial services sectors. Exports from these sectors were all record highs in 2014.

The trade surplus in services exports reached a record $231.8 billion, an increase of 2.9 percent from 2013.

U.S. Free Trade Agreement Partners
Goods exports to the 20 economies that have trade agreements with the United States reached a record $765.1 billion – an increase of 4.3 percent from 2013.

Increased U.S. exports to Colombia (up 10.5 percent), South Korea (up 6.8 percent), and the CAFTA-DR partners (up 5.7 percent) highlight the benefits of trade agreements.

U.S. exports in 2013 supported 11.3 million jobs, an increase of 1.6 million export-supported jobs since 2009.

Recognizing that 95 percent of consumers live outside our borders, the Obama Administration is taking concrete steps to make it easier for U.S. companies to begin exporting or expand international sales. In May 2014, Secretary Pritzker launched the second phase of President Obama’s National Export Initiative – NEI/NEXT. Through NEI/NEXT, 20 federal agencies are advancing program and policy improvements to provide exporters more tailored assistance and information; streamline export reporting requirements; expand access to export financing; ensure market access and a level playing field; and partner at the state and local level to support export and foreign direct investment attraction strategies. These efforts will enable more U.S. businesses to capitalize on existing and potential opportunities created by free trade agreements and the U.S. trade agenda.

Burbank, Calif., –The Walt Disney Company announced that it is accepting applications for its second Disney Accelerator program powered by Techstars. Disney Accelerator will select a class of 10 startup companies for a three-month mentorship and investment program beginning July 6, 2015 and concluding with a Demo Day on October 6, 2015.

The program is open to technology-based startups with a vision for making an impact on the world of media and entertainment. Participants will be offered $120,000 in investment capital along with mentor support from top Disney executives, entrepreneurs, investors and other notable business leaders from the entertainment and technology communities.

In 2014, Disney launched its first Disney Accelerator with companies focused on a range of products including connected toys, mobile video, STEM applications, social media, advertising technology and more. Disney continues to work with many of the alumni from the inaugural class, which included Choremonster, Codarica, Jogg, Naritiv, Sidelines, Smart Toy, SnowShoe, Sphero, Twigtale and TYFFON.

The 2014 Disney Accelerator class reached a number of significant milestones during the program. SnowShoe secured $2.2 million in seed financing; ChoreMonster and Codarica both launched mobile apps; Sphero introduced its new Ollie product and Smart Toy was acquired by Cartwheel Kids, a Los Angeles-based manufacturer of children’s products.

“The Disney Accelerator was born of Disney’s long term commitment to innovation and its position at the intersection of technology and entertainment,” said Kevin Mayer, Disney’s Executive Vice President, Corporate Strategy and Business Development. “The 2014 Disney Accelerator demonstrated that pairing Disney’s creative and business talent with entrepreneurs can produce an energizing and valuable exchange of ideas and promote tremendous innovation. We look forward to working with a new group of start-ups in the months to come. ”

For more information, please go to www.DisneyAccelerator.com.

About The Walt Disney Company
The Walt Disney Company, together with its subsidiaries and affiliates, is a leading diversified international entertainment and media enterprise with five business segments: media networks, parks and resorts, studio entertainment, consumer products and interactive. Disney is a Dow 30 company and had annual revenues of $48.8 billion in its Fiscal Year 2014.

About Techstars
The massive Techstars interconnected network of over 3,000 successful entrepreneurs, mentors, investors, and corporate partners help the most promising startups do more faster. With 15 programs worldwide, our mentorship-driven accelerators fund the best companies in the most entrepreneurial communities. Since 2006, 80% of the 500 companies from almost 40 Techstars programs have received funding, representing approximately $2.5 billion in market capitalization. For more information, visit www.techstars.com.

– See more at: http://thewaltdisneycompany.com/disney-news/press-releases/2015/01/walt-disney-company-announces-second-startup-accelerator-program#sthash.nytmKmKu.dpuf

In his December 2014 address to Federal Senior Executives, President Obama said, “[W]e need the best and brightest of the coming generations to serve. [T]hose of us who believe government can and must be a force for good…we’ve got to work hard to make sure that government works.” Through the Management Agenda’s focus on People and Culture, the Administration is committed to undertaking executive actions that will attract and retain the best talent to the Federal workforce and foster a culture of excellence. The Budget supports efforts to reform the Senior Executive Service (SES) and improve employee engagement in order to fully capitalize on the talents in today’s Federal workforce at all levels, and recruit and develop the talent needed to continue moving the Federal Government forward in the 21st Century.

3.4.1
Leading America’s Workforce
More than half of the Government’s SES leaders are currently eligible to retire, and that number will rise to 64 percent by 2016. The impending SES “retirement wave” provides a unique opportunity to train the next generation of leaders. Agencies are piloting a number of reforms to transform the SES in preparation for 21st Century service. For example, the current hiring process for SES can now take almost a year to complete, so one pilot currently underway looks at accelerating hiring speeds. Another pilot focuses on new performance management measures and onboarding procedures to better prepare SES for their new positions and support top performers. In addition, agencies are improving their recruitment techniques to ensure the SES cadre better reflects the diversity of the workforce they lead and the American people they serve. To achieve these goals, the Budget proposes new funding for the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) to strengthen SES hiring and accountability.

The Administration has launched two new efforts that will start in 2015 and continue into 2016 to support SES reform:

White House Advisory Group. In order for SES reform to be successful, it cannot happen in a vacuum. Regular, high-quality feedback is needed from senior executives, the people who are both charged with implementing the reforms and best positioned to evaluate their impact on the ground. The White House Advisory Group on SES Reform was established to provide that direct feedback and advice on the core components of the Administration’s efforts to improve the SES corps. The Advisory Group members were selected by their agency leadership as examples of highly effective SES, Senior Level, and Senior Technical professionals, as well as some aspiring SES, and will provide a broad set of advice on the current and future state of the senior career leadership. They will be charged with helping improve the way the Government recruits, hires, develops, and retains senior career leaders. They will also advise on effective performance management and accountability mechanisms for the SES. The breadth of experience of this group, as well as its close connections to SES in the field, will ensure we are getting the best ideas directly from the front lines.

White House Leadership Development Program. As part of the President’s continued commitment to training and developing the Government’s high performers and strengthening the next generation of SES, the Administration is launching the White House Leadership Development Program. Through this program, top civil servants and SES candidates will participate in rotational assignments to drive progress on Cross-Agency Priority (CAP) Goals and lead change across Departments and programs. Participants in the program will gain valuable experience by playing a key role in addressing critical management challenges facing the Federal Government and will gain valuable experience to bring back to their agencies.

3.4.2
Employee Engagement
In both the private and public sector, an employee’s investment in the mission of their organization is closely related to the organization’s overall performance. Engaged employees display greater dedication, persistence, and effort in their work, and better serve their customers — whether they are consumers or taxpayers. This makes employee engagement a critical performance measurement for Federal agencies. Overall, employee engagement levels in Government are at 63 percent, below the private sector average. Further, wide variation exists across and within agencies, including among organizations that perform similar functions. The Administration is committed to strengthening employee engagement, and aims to increase engagement levels to 67 percent by 2016. However, there is no single solution that will guarantee positive results. Rather, it takes actions at all levels of an organization to achieve these targets. Recent Budgets have invested in OPM to enhance its ability to measure employee engagement, most notably by making the Federal Employee Viewpoint Survey (EVS) an annual survey. From the EVS, OPM derives the Employee Engagement Index, which measures employees’ attitudes toward office leadership, their supervisors, and their workplace experience. This allows agency and administration leadership to closely follow changes in employee engagement Government-wide and within particular organizations. In 2014, OPM released UnlockTalent. gov, a dashboard providing managers with deep insight into the data from the EVS results of 21,000 organizations. These data help managers see in minute detail their employees’ attitudes toward issues such as leadership, training, and promotion, allowing agency leaders to tailor strategic plans that specifically address employee needs. The Budget funds tools to enhance the value of the EVS through UnlockTalent.gov and other mechanisms that communicate this critical information about the Federal workforce to a wider audience.

In December 2014, the Directors of OMB, OPM, and the White House Presidential Personnel Office jointly issued a memorandum laying out the annual cycle for strengthening employee engagement and linking employee engagement to mission outcome. Moving forward, agency Chief Human Capital Officers and other senior officials will facilitate and ensure distribution of EVS results to all executives, supervisors/managers, and employees at the component and office level, within three months of the survey completion date. The Administration has also clarified the roles and responsibilities of agency heads, Deputy Secretaries, component heads, Chief Human Capital Officers, Performance Improvement Officers, SES, and others in advancing employee engagement. For example, component heads will review progress on workforce improvement efforts at least quarterly, and SES will begin to have some aspects of employee feedback incorporated into their performance plans.

3.4.3
Encouraging an Agile Workforce
Part of successfully engaging with employees is ensuring an agile Federal workforce that can put its large store of talent to the best possible use, whether that is within their own office or agency, or to address critical problems at other agencies. To support this and encourage an engaged and flexible workforce, the Administration is building innovative tools to share talent across agencies. For example, the GovConnect workforce agility program allows managers to find employees outside their agencies that have the necessary skills to manage special projects. With GovConnect, managers can assemble virtual teams to work on new projects, or manage in the face of crisis. This project is being piloted throughout 2014 and 2015, and agencies will begin adapting successful pilot models for their own mission needs in 2016.

Government must be able to keep pace with the innovation and user experiences that the American people and businesses expect. Throughout 2014, the Administration piloted new and innovative approaches to increase the Government’s ability to drive impact for Americans on national priorities, including initiatives that help veterans find employment and help workers invest in safe and affordable retirement accounts. The Budget invests in scaling those pilot programs and processes that have proven successful. Ultimately, a more effective Government will more efficiently use taxpayer dollars to better deliver for citizens.

3.1.1
Ramping Up Smarter Information Technology Delivery
The Administration has embarked on a comprehensive approach to fundamentally improve the way that the Government delivers technology services to the public. Top technologists and entrepreneurs are being recruited to work within agencies on the highest priority projects. The best processes are being leveraged to increase oversight and accountability for IT spending. In addition, several efforts are being piloted to improve IT procurement and ramp up Government contracting with innovative companies.

People. Getting the best talent working inside of Government is a key component of the Administration’s Smarter IT Delivery strategy. In 2014, the Administration piloted the USDS by recruiting a select group of private sector innovators, entrepreneurs, and engineers to Government service. Since standing up, this team of America’s best digital experts has worked in collaboration with Federal agencies to implement cutting-edge digital and technology practices on the Nation’s highest impact programs, including the successful re-launch of HealthCare.gov in its second year, the Veterans Benefits Management System, and an improved process for online visa applications, among others. In addition to their work on these high priority projects, this small team of technical experts has worked to establish best practices and recruit still more highly-skilled digital service experts and engineers into Government.

Every agency in Government has citizen-facing digital projects that are critical to its mission. Too often, these services have been delivered over budget, behind schedule, and in ways that do not meet citizen needs. Unsurprisingly, since the launch of USDS in 2014, there has been significant demand for its expertise, from project design and development to recruiting technical experts. To address this problem, the Budget scales and institutionalizes this new approach to technology by providing funding to 25 agencies for the development of their own agency digital services teams. These small, high-impact teams will drive the quality and effectiveness of the agencies’ most important digital services. USDS will work closely with agencies to stand up these teams by providing support for hiring, training, and procurement.

Process. The Administration has made significant progress encouraging data-driven processes to provide effective oversight of Government IT. By establishing mechanisms such as PortfolioStat, a data-based review of agency IT portfolios, we have not only strengthened Federal IT, but made it significantly more cost effective. PortfolioStat has helped the Government achieve more than $2.2 billion in savings over the past three years while ensuring agencies are efficiently using taxpayer dollars to deliver effective and innovative solutions to the public. PortfolioStat promotes the adoption of new technologies, such as cloud computing and agile development practices. For example, as a result of these continuing efforts, the Federal Government now spends approximately 8.5 percent of its budget on provisioned services such as cloud computing, on par with leading private sector companies.

In addition, agencies involved in PortfolioStat are becoming more effective in rapidly delivering value in IT. For example, agencies have increased their use of agile development practices and are delivering IT capabilities 21 days (11 percent) faster than they were in May 2013. Agile development is an incremental, fast-paced style of software development that better meets evolving user needs. Using agile development ultimately increases the ability to deliver a better product, faster.

In 2016, the Administration will continue to use PortfolioStat to drive efficiencies in these programs, and also will continue to revise and encourage adoption of the TechFAR and Digital Services Playbook, which were released to the public in the fall of 2014. These tools provide clear guidance to agencies on using agile development and innovative contracting practices to deliver IT services that work for 21st Century consumers. Throughout 2016, the Administration will continue to scale up best practices by institutionalizing them within the agency digital service teams.

Companies. The Government must work with private sector innovators to ensure the best use of cutting-edge technologies and practices. Yet, too often, there are barriers to entry that prevent agencies from contracting with these firms. Over the past year, initial steps have been taken to address this challenge. For example, the Administration has piloted FBOpen, a tool that helps small and innovative companies search for opportunities to work with Government, and launched an online national dialogue on procurement reform to solicit ideas for reducing barriers to access. As part of the broader strategy to transform the Federal marketplace, the Administration is piloting new initiatives in IT acquisition. In 2016, these early pilots will be expanded to increase digital acquisition capability within agencies, train agency personnel in digital IT acquisitions, and test innovative contracting models.

3.1.1
Delivering World-Class Customer Service
The Administration is continuing its efforts to improve the quality, timeliness, and effectiveness of Federal services. A customer service Community of Practice has been established to develop standards, practices, and tools for agencies to improve their customer service. The Federal Customer Service Awards program has also been established to recognize individuals and teams who provide outstanding customer service directly to the American people. The awards will begin in the fall of 2015, and will support innovative practices and provide performance incentives to frontline employees.

Agencies are also increasing their focus on improving the most frequently used Government services, and the Budget supports the introduction and scale-up of these programs. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has launched IRS Direct Pay, which provides taxpayers a no-fee electronic payment option and allows them to establish installment agreements; built an e-Authentication tool that provides taxpayers a user-friendly, low-cost way to securely access IRS online tools and applications; and launched IRS2Go, a downloadable app that allows taxpayer self-service access to IRS information and services on any device. Since its release, it has been downloaded more than 5.4 million times. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) is continuing to improve passenger experience at airports, including continuing to expand and improve TSA Pre-Check, an expedited passenger screening program. TSA is exploring new and innovative ways of collecting and responding to customer feedback to provide the best possible service while keeping U.S. airports safe. Going forward, the Administration will build and expand on this progress by improving the collection and use of customer feedback data across Government to make tangible improvements in customer interactions.

The Budget continues to invest in efforts to open up Government-generated assets, including data and the results of federally funded research and development — such as intellectual property and scientific knowledge — to the public. Through these efforts, the Government can empower citizens and businesses to increase the return on investment with innovation, job creation and economic prosperity gained through their use of open Government data and research results. The use of this data and scientific knowledge has impacted the private sector, including fueling innovative start-up companies and creating American jobs, increasing the transparency of retirement plans, helping consumers uncover fraudulent charges on their credit card bills, assisting potential homebuyers in making informed housing decisions, and creating new life-changing technologies, such as leading-edge vaccines.

3.3.1
Opening Data to Spark Innovation
The Administration places a high priority on opening Government data as fuel for private sector innovation and public use. Since 2009, the Administration has released over 75,000 data sets to the public, while continuing to protect individual privacy, with over 67,000 of these data sets released in the last year alone. These data sets include everything from credit card complaints, to weather and climate measurements, to what different hospitals charge for different procedures. In demonstrating its commitment to open data, the Administration has developed performance metrics to measure agency progress in reaching open data goals, provided tools to make it easier for Federal agencies to publish data, and released guidance to agencies on how to engage with the community to identify priority data sets for release. The Administration continues to invest in and support efforts to unlock Federal data sets with a high potential for economic impact, including in the areas of health care, energy, education, employment, public safety, tourism, and agriculture. In addition, the Administration is committed to fueling the open data ecosystem by taking steps to connect agencies, entrepreneurs, and other innovators. The Budget provides $16 million for E-Government initiatives in GSA’s Federal Citizen Services Fund, supporting important IT investments including open data and digital Government initiatives. While emphasizing the opening of Federal data, safeguarding the privacy, confidentiality, and security of sensitive information is of the utmost importance, and agencies are required to do thorough reviews of their data prior to publication to ensure no sensitive information is released.

3.3.2
Accelerating and Institutionalizing Lab-to-Market Practices
As discussed in the chapter on Investing in America’s Future, the Budget invests $146 billion in research and development (R&D) across Government. The Federal Government’s investment in R&D yields extraordinary long-term economic impact through the creation of new knowledge, new jobs, and ultimately new industries. The Federal R&D enterprise must continue to support fundamental research that is motivated primarily by an interest in expanding the frontiers of human knowledge and diffusing this knowledge through open data and publications. At the same time, economic growth can be accelerated through more effective transition of R&D results from the laboratory to the marketplace, based on close collaboration with industry.

The Budget reflects the Administration’s commitment to accelerating the transfer of the results of federally funded research to the commercial marketplace by proposing increased funding for technology transfer from Federal labs in the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and for the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) public-private Innovation Corps (I-Corps) program. In response to the President’s 2011 Memorandum on Accelerating Technology Transfer and Commercialization, the Budget proposes an additional $4 million for NIST efforts to accelerate and expand technology transfer across the Federal Government, which will enhance the competitiveness of U.S. industry by sharing innovations and knowledge from Federal laboratories. The Budget also proposes $30 million for the public-private I-Corps program at NSF aimed at bringing together the technological, entrepreneurial, and business know-how necessary to bring discoveries ripe for innovation out of the university lab.

Another example of federally funded R&D powering marketplace innovation can be seen in the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) Lab-Corps program. This program empowers National Laboratory teams to identify market applications and private sector partners to commercialize high-impact new EERE technologies. The initial Lab-Corps pilot will be completed by the end of 2015, and in 2016, depending on the results of the pilot, DOE will expand the Lab-Corps program to other laboratory partners.

WASHINGTON, – This year may well see a rare occurrence for world commodity markets – a decline in all nine key commodity price indices, says the World Bank’s latest Commodity Markets Outlook, released today.

While oil prices have seen the most dramatic decline, the third largest since World War II, other commodities have also been gradually weakening in recent months. And this broad-based weakness is expected to continue throughout 2015, before beginning a modest turn around in 2016.

In oil markets, a “perfect storm” of conditions has led to a plunge in prices since mid-2014: growth in unconventional oil production, decline in demand, appreciation of the U.S. dollar, receding geopolitical risks, and a major redirection toward maintaining market share rather than targeting prices by the world’s oil cartel, Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC). Oil prices have dropped 55 percent in seven months, from the most recent high of $108 per barrel in mid-June 2014 to $47 two days ago. Should the current slide continue, it could surpass the previous records of a 7-month decline of 67 percent, set in 1985/86, and a 75 percent drop in 2008.

In addition, the World Bank’s three industrial commodity price indices – energy, metals and minerals, and agricultural raw materials – experienced near identical declines between early 2011 and the end of 2014, of more than 35 percent each, and will continue to contract this year. Prices of precious metals are also expected to decline by 3 percent in 2015, on top of the 12 percent decline seen in 2014. Again, ample supplies, weak demand, and a strengthening U.S. dollar have weighed on prices of these commodities as well.

Food commodity prices, which have declined by 20 percent since 2011, are projected to drop by a further 4 percent in 2015, given that current good crop prospects for grains, edible oils and meals, and beverages (led by coffee) in the 2014/15 season.

“Global supply and demand conditions have conspired to generate lower price expectations for all nine of the World Bank’s commodity price indices – an extremely rare occurrence,” said Ayhan Kose, Director of the World Bank’s Development Prospects Group.

The proximate causes of the steep drop in oil prices, however, have two key similarities with one previous episode.

“Both the current oil price collapse and the one experienced in 1985/86 followed an increase in oil production from unconventional sources and OPEC’s abandonment of price targeting,” said John Baffes, Senior Economist in the World Bank’s Development Prospects Group.

The current forecast sees oil prices averaging $53 per barrel in 2015, 45 percent lower than in 2014. The weakness in oil prices is likely to impact trends in other commodity prices, in particular those of natural gas, fertilizers, and food commodities.

Metal prices are forecast to drop by more than 5 percent in 2015, while more moderate declines are foreseen for fertilizers and precious metals. A pullback of nearly 3 percent in precious metal prices will result mainly from waning interest by institutional investors. The moderation in natural gas prices is expected to lead to a 2 percent decrease in fertilizer prices.

By 2016, a recovery in the prices of some commodities is likely to be underway, although the increases will be small compared to the depths already reached.

WINONA, Miss., Jan. 23, 2015 – Agriculture Under Secretary Lisa Mensah today announced five awards to expand access to credit for rural businesses, particularly small businesses in poor and underserved areas.

“Helping rural businesses get access to investment capital is one of the most effective ways to help rural economies grow,” Mensah said during a visit here today. “These loans will help businesses create jobs, expand their operations, invest in materials and equipment, and promote their success and growth.

USDA Rural Development is providing a total of $2.55 million in loans to five non-profit groups through the Intermediary Relending Program (IRP). Under the IRP program, USDA provides loans to local organizations so they can create revolving loan funds for businesses.

Mississippi’s North Central Planning and Development District (NCPDD) has been selected to receive a $600,000 IRP loan. NCPDD is one of 10 planning and development districts in Mississippi. The districts were created by local governments to reduce poverty and address economic development and infrastructure issues on a multi-jurisdictional basis. NCPDD and all other IRP recipients are encouraged to work with other state and regional organizations that can provide additional resources.

The other four IRP awardees are:

Iowa, Newton Development Corporation, $200,000
New Hampshire, Coastal Economic Development Corporation, $500,000
Missouri, Missouri Agricultural and Small Business Development Authority, $500,000
South Dakota, Four Bands Community Fund, $750,000
Mensah announced the awards during a meeting today with NCPDD Executive Director Steve Russell, Mississippi Rural Development State Director Trina George and other NCPDD officials. Later in the day, she will participate in a roundtable in Greenwood, Miss., hosted by the Delta Regional Authority and USDA Rural Development to discuss business, infrastructure and other community needs.

Before she arrived in Mississippi, Mensah visited several rural communities in Alabama earlier in the week. Noting that this is her first trip since being confirmed as Under Secretary for Rural Development, Mensah said, “I am excited to engage in the work of USDA Rural Development because we are uniquely positioned to provide investments in rural areas that have not unlocked their economic potential and fully shared in the recovery seen in other parts of the country. These investments work. They will spur job creation and generate a stronger middle-class economy.”

NCPDD provides planning, economic and community development, job training and social services in a rural, primarily agricultural area in North Central Mississippi. Its service region spans more than 150 miles from the Tennessee border to the middle of the state.

The area has a large low-income population. Many counties in the region have poverty levels above 20 percent and have been targeted for development aid through USDA’s Strike Force for Rural Growth and Opportunity Initiative. Unemployment rates in the region are significantly above the November 2014 state average of 7.3 percent.

NCPDD has been a valuable partner with USDA Rural Development for many years. Today’s award is its first through the Intermediary Relending Program. In 2010, the organization received a $2.2 million USDA Community Facilities loan/grant combination to help finance its new building. The new, larger facility enables NCPDD to provide more development training and other services to businesses and groups in the region.

In FY 2014, USDA Rural Development invested $460 million in rural Mississippi businesses and communities. More than 50% of Mississippians live in rural communities.

President Obama’s historic investments in rural America have made our rural communities stronger. Under his leadership, these investments in housing, community facilities, businesses and infrastructure have empowered rural America to continue leading the way – strengthening America’s economy, small towns and rural communities.

At an open-ended meeting with all members today – the first of 2015 – Director-General Roberto Azevêdo launched a new process of consultations with the aim of agreeing a work programme on the remaining Doha Development Agenda issues by July this year. This new deadline was set by members at a special meeting of the General Council in November.

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The Director-General urged members to build on the progress that had been made during 2014 and to recall the ingredients which they would need in order to reach a successful outcome, such as:

maintaining a sense of urgency;
identifying and prioritising the issues that are of the most substantive importance;
targeting outcomes that are doable for all parties;
maintaining a high level of engagement;
and tackling all issues at the same time rather than trying to sequence them.
The Director General told members attending the meeting:

“We must maximise the time we have available to us before July — and maintain the momentum that we regained at the end of 2014. We need to have a detailed, substantive discussion that includes agriculture, non-agricultural market access, services and all of the other DDA issues, including development and issues of interest to LDCs. Today we are restarting our conversation on all of these issues. So be ready — and get involved.”
Under the intensified process launched today, discussions on the substantive issues of the DDA will be convened by the Chairs of the various Negotiating Groups and by the Director-General. Meetings will be held in a variety of formats and configurations. Replicating the inclusive and transparent approach that proved effective in the lead up to Bali, regular meetings of all members will be the spine of this work. The next such meeting is scheduled for Thursday 29 January.

Total nonfarm payroll employment rose by 252,000 in December, and the unemployment
rate declined to 5.6 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today.
Job gains occurred in professional and business services, construction, food
services and drinking places, health care, and manufacturing.

———————————————————————-
| |
| Revision of Seasonally Adjusted Household Survey Data |
| |
| Seasonally adjusted household survey data have been revised using |
| updated seasonal adjustment factors, a procedure done at the end |
| of each calendar year. Seasonally adjusted estimates back to |
| January 2010 were subject to revision. The unemployment rates for |
| January 2014 through November 2014 (as originally published and as |
| revised) appear in table A, along with additional information about |
| the revisions. |
———————————————————————-

Household Survey Data

The unemployment rate declined by 0.2 percentage point to 5.6 percent in December,
and the number of unemployed persons declined by 383,000 to 8.7 million. Over the
year, the unemployment rate and the number of unemployed persons were down by 1.1
percentage points and 1.7 million, respectively. (See table A-1.)

Among the major worker groups, the unemployment rate for adult women (5.0 percent)
decreased by 0.2 percentage point in December, while the rates for adult men (5.3
percent), teenagers (16.8 percent), whites (4.8 percent), blacks (10.4 percent),
and Hispanics (6.5 percent) showed little change. The jobless rate for Asians, at
4.2 percent (not seasonally adjusted), changed little from a year earlier. (See
tables A-1, A-2, and A-3.)

In December, the number of long-term unemployed (those jobless for 27 weeks or
longer) was essentially unchanged at 2.8 million and accounted for 31.9 percent of
the unemployed. Over the year, the number of long-term unemployed has declined by
1.1 million. (See table A-12.)

The civilian labor force participation rate edged down by 0.2 percentage point
to 62.7 percent in December. Since April, the participation rate has remained
within a narrow range of 62.7 to 62.9 percent. In December, the employment-
population ratio was 59.2 percent for the third consecutive month. However, the
employment-population ratio is up by 0.6 percentage point over the year. (See
table A-1.)

The number of persons employed part time for economic reasons (sometimes referred
to as involuntary part-time workers) was little changed in December at 6.8 million.
These individuals, who would have preferred full-time employment, were working
part time because their hours had been cut back or because they were unable to
find a full-time job. (See table A-8.)

In December, 2.3 million persons were marginally attached to the labor force,
little changed from a year earlier. (The data are not seasonally adjusted.) These
individuals were not in the labor force, wanted and were available for work, and
had looked for a job sometime in the prior 12 months. They were not counted as
unemployed because they had not searched for work in the 4 weeks preceding the
survey. (See table A-16.)

Among the marginally attached, there were 740,000 discouraged workers in December,
down by 177,000 from a year earlier. (The data are not seasonally adjusted.)
Discouraged workers are persons not currently looking for work because they believe
no jobs are available for them. The remaining 1.5 million persons marginally
attached to the labor force in December had not searched for work for reasons such
as school attendance or family responsibilities. (See table A-16.)

Establishment Survey Data

Total nonfarm payroll employment increased by 252,000 in December. In 2014, job
growth averaged 246,000 per month, compared with an average monthly gain of 194,000
in 2013. In December, employment increased in professional and business services,
construction, food services and drinking places, health care, and manufacturing.
(See table B-1.)

Employment in professional and business services rose by 52,000 in December.
Monthly job gains in the industry averaged 61,000 in 2014. In December, employment
increased in administrative and waste services (+35,000), computer systems design
and related services (+9,000), and architectural and engineering services (+5,000).
Employment in accounting and bookkeeping services declined (-14,000), offsetting
an increase of the same amount in November.

Construction added 48,000 jobs in December, well above the employment gains in
recent months. Specialty trade contractors added jobs in December (+26,000), with
the gain about equally split between residential and nonresidential contractors.
Employment also increased in heavy and civil engineering construction (+12,000)
and in nonresidential building (+10,000).

In December, employment in food services and drinking places increased by 44,000.
The industry added an average of 30,000 jobs per month in 2014.

Health care added 34,000 jobs in December. Job gains occurred in ambulatory health
care services (+16,000), nursing and residential care facilities (+11,000), and
hospitals (+7,000). Employment growth in health care averaged 26,000 per month in
2014 and 17,000 per month in 2013.

In December, manufacturing employment increased by 17,000, with durable goods
(+13,000) accounting for most of the gain. Manufacturing added an average of 16,000
jobs per month in 2014, compared with an average gain of 7,000 jobs per month in
2013.

Employment in wholesale trade and in financial activities continued to trend up
in December.

Employment in retail trade changed little in December, following a large gain in
November. Employment in other major industries, including mining and logging,
transportation and warehousing, information, and government, changed little in
December.

The average workweek for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls was unchanged
at 34.6 hours in December. The manufacturing workweek edged down by 0.1 hour to
41.0 hours, and factory overtime edged up by 0.1 hour to 3.6 hours. The average
workweek for production and nonsupervisory employees on private nonfarm payrolls
edged up by 0.1 hour to 33.9 hours. (See tables B-2 and B-7.)

In December, average hourly earnings for all employees on private nonfarm payrolls
decreased by 5 cents to $24.57, following an increase of 6 cents in November. Over
the year, average hourly earnings have risen by 1.7 percent. In December, average
hourly earnings of private-sector production and nonsupervisory employees decreased
by 6 cents to $20.68. (See tables B-3 and B-8.)

The change in total nonfarm payroll employment for October was revised from
+243,000 to +261,000, and the change for November was revised from +321,000 to
+353,000. With these revisions, employment gains in October and November were
50,000 higher than previously reported.

_____________
The Employment Situation for January is scheduled to be released on Friday,
February 6, 2015, at 8:30 a.m. (EST).

—————————————————————-
| |
| Revisions in the Establishment Survey Data |
| |
| Effective with the release of January 2015 data on February 6, |
| 2015, the Current Employment Statistics (CES) survey will |
| introduce revisions to nonfarm payroll employment, hours, |
| and earnings data to reflect the annual benchmark adjustment |
| for March 2014 and updated seasonal adjustment factors. Not |
| seasonally adjusted data beginning with April 2013 and |
| seasonally adjusted data beginning with January 2010 are |
| subject to revision. |
| |
—————————————————————-

—————————————————————–
| |
| Upcoming Changes to the Household Survey |
| |
| Effective with the release of January 2015 data on February 6, |
| 2015, new population controls will be used in the Current |
| Population Survey (CPS) estimation process. These new controls |
| reflect the annual updating of intercensal population estimates |
| by the U.S. Census Bureau. In accordance with usual practice, |
| historical data will not be revised to incorporate the new |
| controls; consequently, household survey data for January 2015 |
| will not be directly comparable with data for December 2014 or |
| earlier periods. A table showing the effects of the new controls|
| on the major labor force series will be included in the January |
| 2015 news release. |
| |
—————————————————————–

—————————————————————–
| |
| Upcoming Changes to the Employment Situation News Release |
| |
| Effective with the release of January 2015 data on February 6, |
| 2015, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics will introduce several|
| changes to The Employment Situation news release tables. |
| |
| Household survey table A-2 will introduce seasonally adjusted |
| series on the labor force characteristics of Asians. These |
| series will appear in addition to the not seasonally adjusted |
| data for Asians currently displayed in the table. Also, in |
| summary table A, the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate for |
| Asians will replace the not seasonally adjusted series that is |
| currently displayed for the group. |
| |
| Household survey table A-3 will introduce seasonally adjusted |
| series on the labor force characteristics of Hispanic men age |
| 20 and over, Hispanic women age 20 and over, and Hispanic |
| teenagers age 16 to 19. The not seasonally adjusted series for |
| these groups will continue to be displayed in the table. |
| |
| The establishment survey will introduce two data series: (1) |
| total nonfarm employment, 3-month average change and (2) total |
| private employment, 3-month average change. These new series |
| will be added to establishment survey summary table B. |
| Additionally, in the employment section of summary table B, the |
| list of industries will be expanded to include utilities |
| (currently published in table B-1). Also, hours and earnings of |
| production and nonsupervisory employees will be removed from |
| summary table B, although these series will continue to be |
| published in establishment survey tables B-7 and B-8. A sample |
| of the new summary table B is available on the BLS website at |
| www.bls.gov/ces/cesnewsumb.pdf. |
| |
—————————————————————–

Revision of Seasonally Adjusted Household Survey Data

At the end of each calendar year, BLS routinely updates the
seasonal adjustment factors for the labor force series derived
from the Current Population Survey (CPS), or household survey.
As a result of this process, seasonally adjusted data for
January 2010 through November 2014 were subject to revision.

Table A shows the unemployment rates for January 2014 through
November 2014, as first published and as revised. The rates
changed by one-tenth of a percentage point in 3 of the 11 months
and were unchanged in the remaining 8 months. Revised seasonally
adjusted data for other major labor force series beginning in
December 2013 appear in table B.

An article describing the seasonal adjustment methodology for
the household survey data and revised data for January 2014
through November 2014 is available at www.bls.gov/cps/cpsrs2015.pdf.

Historical data for the household series contained in the A tables
of this release can be accessed at www.bls.gov/cps/cpsatabs.htm.
Revised historical seasonally adjusted data are available at
www.bls.gov/cps/data.htm and http://download.bls.gov/pub/time.series/ln/.

ROSELAND, N.J. – January 7, 2015 – Private sector employment increased by 241,000 jobs from November to December according to the December ADP National Employment Report®. Broadly distributed to the public each month, free of charge, the ADP National Employment Report is produced by ADP®, a leading global provider of Human Capital Management (HCM) solutions, in collaboration with Moody’s Analytics. The report, which is derived from ADP’s actual payroll data, measures the change in total nonfarm private employment each month on a seasonally-adjusted basis.

Payrolls for businesses with 49 or fewer employees increased by 106,000 jobs in December, up from 99,000 in November. Employment among companies with 50-499 employees rose by 70,000, down slightly from November’s increase of 73,000. Employment at large companies – those with 500 or more employees – increased from 54,000 the previous month to 66,000 jobs added in December. Companies with 500-999 employees added 22,000 jobs, up from November’s 12,000, which accounted for most of the increase. Companies with over 1,000 employees added 43,000 jobs, just above November’s 42,000.

Goods-producing employment rose by 46,000 jobs in December, up from 40,000 jobs gained in November. The construction industry added 23,000 jobs, up from last month’s gain of 20,000. Meanwhile, manufacturing added 26,000 jobs in December, well above November’s 16,000 and the second highest monthly total of 2014 in that sector.

Service-providing employment rose by 194,000 jobs in December, up from 187,000 in November. The ADP National Employment Report indicates that professional/business services contributed 69,000 jobs in December. Expansion in trade/transportation/utilities grew by 44,000, down from November’s 54,000. The 16,000 new jobs added in financial activities was well above last month’s 5,000 and represented the largest monthly gain for 2014 in that sector.

“December delivered another strong number well above 200,000 to close out a solid year of employment growth with over two and a half million jobs added,” said Carlos Rodriguez, president and chief executive officer of ADP. “Small businesses continued to lead the way, but mid-sized and large companies also showed solid gains.”

Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody’s Analytics, said, “The job market continues to power forward. Businesses across all industries and sizes are adding to payrolls. At the current pace of job growth, the economy will be back to full employment by this time next year.”

The matched sample used to develop the ADP National Employment Report was derived from ADP payroll data, which represents 411,000 U.S. clients employing nearly 24 million workers in the U.S. The November total of jobs added was revised from 208,000 to 227,000.

To obtain additional information about the ADP National Employment Report, including additional charts, supporting data and the schedule of future release dates, or to subscribe to the monthly email alerts and RSS feeds, please visit www.adpemploymentreport.com.

About the ADP National Employment Report®
The ADP National Employment Report® is a monthly measure of the change in total U.S. nonfarm private employment derived from actual, anonymous payroll data of client companies served by ADP®, a leading provider of human capital management solutions. The report, which measures nearly 24 million U.S. workers, is produced by the ADP Research Institute®, a specialized group within the company that provides insights around employment trends and workforce strategy, in collaboration with Moody’s Analytics, Inc.

Each month, ADP issues the ADP National Employment Report as part of the company’s commitment to adding deeper insights into the U.S. labor market and providing businesses, governments and others with a source of credible and valuable information. The ADP National Employment Report is broadly distributed to the public each month, free of charge.

The data for this report is collected for pay periods that can be interpolated to include the week of the 12th of each month, and processed with statistical methodologies similar to those used by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics to compute employment from its monthly survey of establishments. Due to this processing, this subset is modified to make it indicative of national employment levels; therefore, the resulting employment changes computed for the ADP National Employment Report are not representative of changes in ADP’s total base of U.S. business clients.

For a description of the underlying data and the statistical model used to create this report, please see “ADP National Employment Report: Development Methodology” at www.adpemploymentreport.com/docs/ADP-NER-Methodology-Full-Detail.pdf.

About Moody’s Analytics
Moody’s Analytics helps capital markets and risk management professionals worldwide respond to an evolving marketplace with confidence. The company offers unique tools and best practices for measuring and managing risk through expertise and experience in credit analysis, economic research and financial risk management. By providing leading-edge software, advisory services and research, including the proprietary analysis of Moody’s Investors Service, Moody’s Analytics integrates and customizes its offerings to address specific business challenges. Moody’s Analytics is a subsidiary of Moody’s Corporation (NYSE: MCO), which reported revenue of $3.0 billion in 2013, employs approximately 9,700 people worldwide, and has a presence in 31 countries. More information is available at www.moodysanalytics.com.

About ADP
Employers around the world rely on ADP® (NASDAQ: ADP) for cloud-based solutions and services to help manage their most important asset – their people. From human resources and payroll to talent management to benefits administration, ADP brings unmatched depth and expertise in helping clients build a better workforce. A pioneer in Human Capital Management (HCM) and business process outsourcing, ADP serves more than 610,000 clients in 100 countries. ADP.com.

U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker and U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman today hosted a Chinese delegation led by Vice Premier Wang Yang for the 25th session of the U.S.-China Joint Commission on Commerce and Trade (JCCT), which took place in Chicago. At the conclusion of the discussions, the United States announced key outcomes in the areas of agricultural market access, intellectual property rights protection, innovation policies, and competition law enforcement.

Today’s negotiations followed a full day of events designed to facilitate private sector engagement with officials from the U.S. and China in a reinvigorated JCCT. Yesterday’s program included a roundtable discussion on bilateral investment hosted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Paulson Institute; a luncheon to celebrate the Gateway Cities partnership hosted by World Business Chicago; a cooperative travel and tourism program hosted by the U.S. Travel Association; and a discussion on developing a shared vision of economic leadership hosted by The Chicago Council on Global Affairs.

U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack and U.S. Ambassador to China Max Baucus also participated in this year’s JCCT.

“The JCCT is the time and place for the U.S. and China to address issues of mutual concern so we can get more business done between our two countries,” said U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker. “While we enjoy a robust trade relationship with China – our exports were $161 billion in 2013 – there is more we can do to facilitate greater cooperation between our governments and our private sectors. This year we sought to ‘reimagine’ the JCCT to engage businesses from both countries in a dialogue about how to strengthen the trade and investment relationship between the world’s two largest economies, and we made significant progress.”

“This year’s JCCT produced concrete results. We achieved progress on tough issues that American exporters face in our largest export market outside North America,” said U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman. “The benefits will be felt around the country, in our agricultural heartland, in high-tech from medicines to semiconductors, in the creative industries, and in many other sectors that support good-paying jobs across our economy.”

“The vice ministerial-level Strategic Agricultural Innovation Dialogue that we agreed to will begin early next year with multiple Chinese ministries,” said Secretary Vilsack. “These discussions will showcase U.S. innovation and create new economic opportunities in a wide range of agricultural industries, while addressing food security, climate change and environmental protection.”

The JCCT holds high-level plenary meetings on an annual basis to review progress made by 16 working groups that meet throughout the year to focus on a wide variety of trade and investment issues. These working groups address topics such as intellectual property rights, agriculture, pharmaceuticals and medical devices, information technology, tourism, commercial law, environment and statistics.

Established in 1983, the JCCT is the primary forum for addressing bilateral trade and investment issues and promoting commercial opportunities between the United States and China. The 2013 JCCT meeting was held in Beijing.

Overview of JCCT Discussions

Through sustained engagement over the course of this past year, the United States and China have reached agreement in several areas of key importance to U.S. farmers, innovators, manufacturers and workers, including in the following areas:

Agriculture market access: China has made commitments that should promote significant increases in U.S. exports of soybeans, corn and dairy products to China. Specifically, China announced that it would approve the importation of new biotechnology varieties of U.S. soybeans and corn ­– current annual U.S. exports of soybeans and corn to China total $14 billion and $3.5 billion, respectively – and also that it would pursue a regular dialogue with the United States focused on the benefits of the increased use of innovative technologies in agriculture, for both the United States and China. China also agreed to strong IP protections for products that use trademarks or common names like “parmesan” or “feta” cheese, which in recent years have begun to demonstrate a potential for rapid export growth vis-à-vis China.

IPR protection: China’s IPR-related commitments cover a range of needed improvements, which should benefit U.S. businesses in a wide variety of industries that rely on the ability to protect their trade secrets, as well as U.S. holders of patents, trademarks and copyrights. For example, in the area of trade secrets, building on prior bilateral commitments made by China, the United States has gained China’s agreement to take specific additional steps to protect companies’ trade secrets and to work on a new trade secrets law to further enhance their protections. The United States also has secured China’s agreement to, among other things, bring new focus to the two countries’ work together to determine how best to foster a better environment for facilitating increased sales of legitimate intellectual property-intensive goods and services in China.

Innovation policies: The United States continued to pursue changes to Chinese policies and practices that have pressured foreign companies to transfer valuable intellectual property rights to enterprises in China. For example, China committed to ensure that they treat foreign IP rights the same as domestic IP rights. China also has agreed to streamline China’s regulatory processes and cut red tape for imports of new, innovative pharmaceuticals and medical devices, which should lead to increases in U.S. exports and U.S. jobs in these two important sectors.
Indeed, according to industry data, the U.S. pharmaceuticals industry directly employs more than 810,000 workers and supports a total of 3.4 million jobs in the United States, while annual exports of U.S. pharmaceutical products to China have exceeded $1.2 billion. The U.S. medical device industry, meanwhile, includes over 7,000 companies, most with less than 100 employees, supports 1.9 million U.S. jobs overall, and was responsible for $2.7 billion in exports to China in 2013.

Competition policy enforcement: The United States was able to address a significant concern for many foreign companies, which have expressed serious concern about insufficient predictability, fairness and transparency in the investigative processes of China’s Anti-Monopoly Law enforcement. The Chinese side agreed that, under normal circumstances, a foreign company in an Anti-Monopoly Law investigation would be permitted to have counsel present and to consult with them during proceedings. China also made several additional commitments, including to treat domestic and foreign companies equally and to provide increased transparency for investigated companies.

The United States and China also held a strategic economic discussion of excess capacity – from steel to solar panels, its causes and costs, and strategies for dealing with it.

MILWAUKEE, The latest Manpower Employment Outlook Survey, released today by ManpowerGroup, demonstrates a continuation of U.S. employers’ growing optimism about the labor market. The result is a seasonally adjusted Net Employment Outlook of +16% for the first quarter of 2015, a level last reported seven years ago in Q1 2008 when the Outlook was also +16%. The Outlook is relatively stable compared to Q4 2014 and slightly improved from one year ago at this time.

Globally, staffing levels are expected to grow by varying margins in all but four countries, but there is little evidence of a broad-based acceleration of hiring activity. In addition to the U.S., employer confidence in the U.K. also keeps up its gradual improvement. Hiring intentions in China and Brazil remain positive, but the energetic pace that once characterized both labor markets continues to slow to more modest levels. Meanwhile, hiring in Ireland and Spain is expected to regain momentum as Outlooks again turn positive following the dips into negative territory three months ago.

U.S. Results Summary
Of the more than 18,000 U.S. employers surveyed, 19 percent anticipate an increase in staff levels during Q1 2015, while 6 percent expect to reduce workforce levels. Seventy-three percent of employers report no change in their hiring plans, and the final 2 percent of employers are undecided about their hiring intentions. When seasonal variations are removed from the data, the U.S. Net Employment Outlook is +16%.

“As overall demand improves, we continue to see consistent, gradual strengthening in U.S. employers’ hiring plans,” said ManpowerGroup CEO Jonas Prising. “There’s a little wind at our backs, as evidenced by the broadly positive hiring plans, and we see that as boding well for 2015.”

U.S. Hiring Plans by Regions, Industry Sectors and States/Metro Areas

The first quarter research shows a slight increase in U.S. employers’ quarter-over-quarter hiring intentions across all regions, and a moderate increase in the Midwest and West compared to one year ago at this time.

Employers have a positive Outlook in all 13 industry sectors included in the survey, with Leisure & Hospitality, Wholesale & Retail Trade, Transportation & Utilities and Professional & Business Services employers reporting the strongest hiring intentions.

Employers in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico have positive hiring Outlooks. Those in Hawaii, North Dakota, Delaware, Michigan and Texas indicate the strongest Net Employment Outlooks, while New Jersey, Alaska, New Hampshire and Rhode Island employers project the weakest Outlooks.

Among employers in the 100 largest metropolitan statistical areas, the strongest job prospects are expected in:

Cape Coral, Fla.
McAllen, Texas
Deltona, Fla.
Grand Rapids, Mich.
Milwaukee, Wis.
Oxnard, Calif.
The weakest Outlooks are projected in:

Spokane, Wash.
Portland, Ore.
Syracuse, N.Y.
Rochester, N.Y.
Indianapolis, Ind.
Global Results Summary

More than 65,000 employers across 42 countries and territories were interviewed to anticipate global labor market activity. Around the globe, employers in 38 of the 42 countries and territories report positive first-quarter hiring plans. This compares with 36 of 42 in Q4 2014.
Hiring intentions strengthen in 22 of 42 countries and territories when compared with Q4 2014, but decline in 12. When compared year-over-year, hiring intentions strengthen in 24 countries and territories but decline in 13.
Hiring confidence for the first three months of the new year is strongest among employers in India, Taiwan, New Zealand, Japan, Turkey and Panama while the weakest and only negative outlooks are reported in Finland, Italy, Netherlands and Switzerland.
“Employers are acutely aware that the economic situation could change on short notice due to unfolding geopolitical events or a slowdown in Europe, and that is contributing to moderate global jobs growth and a continuation of the patterns we’ve seen in prior quarters,” added Prising. “It remains a very slow and uneven labor market recovery globally, and employers are reacting to an uncertain environment with a degree of caution.”

Complete results for the Manpower Employment Outlook Survey are available for download. Data specific to the U.S. can be found here, and results for all 42 countries and territories surveyed are available here.

The next Manpower Employment Outlook Survey will be released on March 10, 2015, to report hiring expectations for Quarter 2 2015. Sign-up here to receive e-mail notification when the survey is available each quarter.

*The Net Employment Outlook, often shortened to simply Outlook or NEO, is derived by taking the percentage of employers anticipating an increase in hiring activity and subtracting from this the percentage of employers expecting a decrease in hiring activity.

About ManpowerGroupManpowerGroup™ (NYSE: MAN) has been the world’s workforce expert, creating innovative workforce solutions, for more than 65 years. As workforce experts, we connect more than 600,000 men and women to meaningful work across a wide range of skills and industries every day. Through our ManpowerGroup family of brands — Manpower®, Experis™, Right Management ® and ManpowerGroup™ Solutions — we help more than 400,000 clients in 80 countries and territories address their critical talent needs, providing comprehensive solutions to resource, manage and develop talent. In 2014, ManpowerGroup was named one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies for the fourth consecutive year and one of Fortune’s Most Admired Companies, confirming our position as the most trusted and admired brand in the industry. See how ManpowerGroup makes powering the world of work humanly possible: www.manpowergroup.com.