Tagged: economy

After he was laid off in 2008, writer T.M. Shine adopted a unique approach to finding a job. He says his new goal is being nice to people, and he put that right at the top of his resume. Host Michel Martin speaks with Shine about his journey from unemployment back to work, which he wrote about for this week's Washington Post Magazine.

The American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, one of the country's largest unions, is facing a difficult climate. Local governments are slashing employee pensions and state governments are considering measures to curb collective bargaining rights. Host Michel Martin talks with Lee Saunders, AFSCME's new president.

The bad news: Retail sales fell 0.5 percent in June from May, the Census Bureau says. It's the third straight month that sales have been down from the month before.

But, Census adds that June sales were 3.8 percent above the pace of June 2011. And, "sales for the April through June 2012 period were up 4.7 percent ... from the same period a year ago."