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Shifting and uncertain target dates for retirement are becoming the norm in the American workforce, making it harder for employees to establish meaningful financial plans, recent MetLife research indicates. According to the company’s 9th annual Employee Benefits Trends Study, four out of ten employees have changed their predicted retirement date since last year, and 30% raised their expected retirement age. Furthermore, this trepidation about hitting retirement goals could be accelerating – 59% of workers in the study expect to work beyond age 65, compared with 52% one year ago.

A major reimagining of retirement is taking place in the Middle Class, with a growing number of American consumers expecting to work well beyond traditional retirement age in a retooled world of part-time opportunities featuring intellectual engagement and personal fulfillment, according to the First Command Financial Behaviors Index®.

There were 3.0 million job openings on the last business day of May, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. The hires rate (3.1 percent) and separations rate (3.1 percent) were again little changed over the month. This release includes estimates of the number and rate of job openings, hires, and separations for the total nonfarm sector by industry and by geographic region.

The Conference Board Employment Trends Index™(ETI) increased slightly in June to 100.0, up from May’s revised figure of 99.5. The June figure is up 5.4 percent from a year ago.

Kelley Blue Book www.kbb.com, the leading provider of new car and used car information, today reports that fuel-efficient vehicle values are likely to fall 15 percent by year-end in response to stabilizing gas prices and a return to normal production levels for Japanese manufacturers, as covered in the company's Blue Book Market Report for July 2011.

The June CBIZ Small Business Employment Index, a barometer for hiring trends among companies with 300 or fewer employees, increased by 0.67 percent through the month, after posting an increase of 0.22 percent in May.

Almost three years after the onset of the worst economic downturn since the Great Depression, employees still harbor a deep distrust of company management. A new Maritz® Poll conducted by Maritz Research, a leader in employee satisfaction research, found that despite a slight improvement in business conditions, the American workforce remains less engaged with their employers than they did one year ago. Poor communication, lack of perceived caring, inconsistent behavior, and perceptions of favoritism were cited by respondents as the largest contributors to their lack of trust in senior leaders.

Nonfarm payroll employment was essentially unchanged in June (+18,000), and the unemployment rate was little changed at 9.2 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported today. Employment in most major private-sector industries changed little over the month. Government employment continued to trend down.

Car owners continue to hold onto their vehicles longer, planning to put more miles on them than in previous years, according to a survey of car owners conducted by AutoMD.com. And, the majority of car owners appear to be resisting changing this, with 58% saying a 'recovering' economy has not decreased the number of miles they plan to put on their current vehicle. Meanwhile, nearly 80% plan to put up to or over 50,000 more miles on their current vehicle than they put on their previous vehicle, indicating that extended vehicle ownership is a habit that is taking hold, regardless of any signs of recovery - and especially as economic challenges continue.

Americans say they expect the economy to get worse in the next year, and their recent behavior shows a buckling-down and cutting-back mentality, possibly in preparation for hard times ahead. Over three quarters of Americans have begun purchasing more generic brands to save money (67%), up from six in ten who said they did this in February (61%) and the highest number reporting doing so since the question was first asked two years ago.