By Staff
Wednesday, October 5, 2022 1:48 PM
Consumers have become cautious—but they have not stopped spending. Growth is not as high as last year, but households continue to spend each month as more jobs, wage growth and savings backstop their finances and help them confront higher prices.
By Staff
Wednesday, October 5, 2022 12:55 PM
Fat Bear Week, an annual celebration of the bulky
bears that live in Katmai National Park and Preserve, has returned. Every year, the National Park holds an online competition where users can vote on their favorite fat bear—and there's still time to get involved. Head over to
Mashable to learn more about the competition, to the
National Parks website for a bio on each bear, or go straight to
Explore.org to get voting.
By Staff
Wednesday, October 5, 2022 12:45 PM
Women have overtaken men and now account for more than half (50.7 percent) of the college-educated labor force in the United States, according to a Pew Research Center
analysis of government data. The change occurred in the fourth quarter of 2019 and remains the case today, even though the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in a sharp recession and an overall decline in the size of the nation’s labor force.
Today, there are more women ages 25 and older with a bachelor’s degree or more education in the labor force than before the pandemic: 31.3 million in the second quarter of 2022, compared with 29.1 million in the same quarter of 2019. The number of college-educated men ages 25 and older in the labor force is also greater than before the pandemic—30.5 million, up from 29.1 million—though their ranks have not increased as quickly as those of women.
The upshot of these disparate changes in the labor force by gender and education is that women have increased their representation in the college-educated labor force since 2019. At the same time, there has not been much change in the gender composition of the labor force that has some college or less education.
By Staff
Wednesday, October 5, 2022 9:38 AM
With a strong presence in the DACH countries—Switzerland, Austria and Germany—which are confirmed as the main markets for its eyewear collections, the Swiss brand Nirvan Javan has recently widened its distribution to new countries, both with direct sales agents and distribution agreements.
By Staff
Wednesday, October 5, 2022 8:54 AM
NEW YORK—The national average for gross revenue at ECP locations decreased last week, Sept. 26-Oct. 2 at a rate of -2 index points. That places gross revenue at a level 7 index points above where it was at this point in time (Week 40) when compared with last year, equal to the same period in 2020, and 11 points above 2019. All optical sales categories, except one, were down last week when compared with the previous week. The contact lenses category experienced the only increase last week, by 4 index points.
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By Staff
Wednesday, October 5, 2022 8:34 AM
One of the ongoing challenges for optometric practices is finding and retaining staff. When offices are short-staffed or staff members need to be trained for a variety of roles, it can stretch employees thin. Amanda Whitener, regional account director at VisionWeb, said that can reach critical levels in a number of areas, but one place where there might be some relief is in outsourcing billing services. “If billing staff either isn’t trained properly or the billing tasks fall to the bottom of the priority list, that affects the bottom line,” she said.
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By Staff
Wednesday, October 5, 2022 7:56 AM
The last time you were in a large crowd at a live event like a concert, did you wander from one place to the next? Or did you stay in one area for a while and move with the crowd to another spot? Your answer may offer insights into how likely it will be for you to contract, or pass along to others, an illness like COVID-19 in large gatherings, according to new research.
By Staff
Wednesday, October 5, 2022 12:24 AM
NEW YORK—The national average for gross revenue at ECP locations decreased last week, Sept. 26-Oct. 2 at a rate of -2 index points. That places gross revenue at a level 7 index points above where it was at this point in time (Week 40) when compared with last year, equal to the same period in 2020, and 11 points above 2019. All optical sales categories, except one, were down last week when compared with the previous week. The contact lenses category experienced the only increase last week, by 4 index points.
By Staff
Wednesday, October 5, 2022 12:21 AM
PINELLAS PARK, Fla.—Transitions Optical will host “A Day of Education” on Wednesday, November 2. The online event will include various sessions between 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. EST.
By Staff
Wednesday, October 5, 2022 12:18 AM
NEW YORK—
Black Eyecare Perspective and optometrists of the Black community are once again being intentional in their impact and on Tuesday, Oct. 18, 2022, will create a pipeline for students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities and beyond to raise awareness and provide assistance to students to bring attention to the field of optometry.
By Staff
Wednesday, October 5, 2022 12:15 AM
MORRIS PLAINS, N.J.—
Charmant has announced that Don Shouse is Charmant USA’s new key account manager. Shouse, who has 25 years of experience in eyewear industry sales, joins Charmant’s sales management team under the helm of Bill Hurst, Charmant’s VP of sales.
By Staff
Tuesday, October 4, 2022 3:06 PM
As part of a partnership to support the next generation of eyecare professionals, Transitions Optical in Canada and the Opticians Association of Canada (OAC) are now accepting submissions for the 2022 Students of Vision Scholarship Program. Currently enrolled (for the 2022-2023 school year) opticianry, optometry and optometric assistant students from across Canada are eligible to apply for the chance to win one of three prizes: a $2,500, $1,500 or $500 scholarship.