Afternoon Coffee: Unemployment rate goes from 6.3% to 6.2%; Sidewalk delivery robots get new funding; PRO recap: SirionLabs 3-part 2021 update

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The US Labor Department reported Friday that hiring surged in February, with nonfarm payrolls jumping 379,000 for the month, according to CNBC.

Meanwhile, the unemployment rate fell to 6.2%. Those numbers sat in comparison to the expected 210,000 new jobs and the unemployment rate holding steady from 6.3% in January, the article said.

“Today’s jobs report sets an extremely positive tone as we move into warmer months and the pace of COVID-19 vaccinations accelerates,” Tony Bedikian, head of global markets at Citizens Bank, told CNBC. “While the labor market still has a lot of ground to make up, we are in a different place than we were a year ago and the economy seems poised for a strong rebound.”

Uber start-up investment, Serve Robotics, gets new round of funding

Sidewalk delivery robots might come to a street near you soon after Serve Robotics, a company backed by Uber, confirmed it received a new round of funding, according to TechCrunch.

Postmates X, the robotics division of an on-demand delivery start-up that Uber acquired last year, officially spun out as an independent company called Serve Robotics. With the funding, the company will keep an eye out toward expansion and continue working on designing, developing and operating delivery robots that can navigate sidewalks, TechCrunch reported.

“While self-driving cars remove the driver, robotic delivery eliminates the car itself and makes deliveries sustainable and accessible to all,” Ali Kashani, co-Founder and CEO of Serve Robotics, told TechCrunch. “Over the next two decades, new mobility robots will enter every aspect of our lives — first moving food, then everything else.”

Spend Matters' analyst looks at SirionLabs for CLM

This week, Spend Matters PRO analyst Nick Heinzmann provided a three-part vendor analysis of SirionLabs, a contract lifecycle management solution provider.

Our PRO subscribers can read the full articles, but all readers can see the lengthy intros that frame the issues being discussed. This week:

• SirionLabs: Vendor Analysis, 2021 Update (Part 1) — Background & CLM Solution Overview
• SirionLabs: Vendor Analysis, 2021 Update (Part 2) — Product Strengths & Weaknesses
• SirionLabs: Vendor Analysis, 2021 Update (Part 3) — Company SWOT, SirionLabs’ competitors, tech selection tips, analyst conclusion

Read more about a PRO membership.

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