Business Insider (06/25/14) Sam Ro

U.S. gross domestic product contracted by a 2.9% annualized rate in the first quarter, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. This revised estimate was down substantially from the previous estimated contraction of 1.0% and much worse than the expected 1.8% contraction. Personal consumption growth was cut to 1.0% from 2.4%.

Reuters (06/25/14) Lucia Mutikani

Orders for durable goods declined in May, while a measure of capital spending plans increased. Durable goods orders fell 1.0%, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce, partly due to a decline in orders for defense capital goods. Economists surveyed by Reuters had forecast flat orders for May. Nondefense capital goods orders excluding aircraft, an indicator of potential business spending plans, rose 0.7%. Economists had forecast a rise of 0.5%.

Bloomberg (06/24/14) Matt Boesler; Nina Glinski

Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia President Charles Plosser says he is “fairly optimistic” that the economy will exceed 2.4% growth for the rest of 2014 and 2015 given steady job growth. The expansion likely will slow to 2.4% after 2015, Plosser told the Economic Club of New York.

“The rebound after the bad winter seems to be progressing, the outlook for unemployment is a bit better, and the inflation rate appears to be firming,” Plosser said. “Current data suggest economic strength is fairly broad-based, as witnessed by recent performance and the optimism expressed by firms in many manufacturing and service sectors.”

Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond (06/24/14)

A recent survey by the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond shows a slight increase in manufacturing activity in the mid-Atlantic region in June, though manufacturing employment weakened. The manufacturing employment index dropped to three in June from 10 in May. Numbers above zero indicate growth.

Meanwhile, the index for the average workweek rose four points to seven, and the index for average wages fell 10 points to 12. During the next six months, survey participants expect hiring to pick up, wage growth to strengthen, and the average workweek to increase.

Society for Human Resource Management (06/17/14) Steve Bates

Staffing companies could play a role in repairing the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ troubled health care system, the largest integrated health care system in the country. The department does not have an effective way to determine whether clinics are staffed appropriately and does not know what staffing scenarios would help. Experts say the department should look to the staffing industry for help and explore contingent staffing as well as create a flexible workforce. Other ideas include bringing in physician assistants, outsourcing to relieve patient backlogs, streamlining the onboarding process, and reducing screening requirements for professionals with experience in the department.