SAN FRANCISCO — A labor group monitoring three Chinese factories that make iPhones and other Apple products says once-oppressive working conditions have steadily improved in the last 18 months, but more must be done to reduce the amount of overtime that employees work.

The audit released Thursday by the Fair Labor Association represents the final assessment in a process that started last year at plants run in China by Apple's largest supplier, Foxconn.

Reports depicting the Foxconn plants as inhumane sweatshops prompted Apple to hold its foreign contractors to higher standards.

WASHINGTON — Americans ramped up spending at retail businesses in November.Consumers bought more cars, electronics, furniture and other big-ticket items. They also did more shopping online.But traditional retail stores didn't benefit as much from the latest burst of spending.Total retail sales rose 0.7 percent in November, the Commerce Department said Thursday, the biggest gain in five months.

DEARBORN, Mich. — Ford Motor Co. says it will hire more than 11,000 people in the U.S. and Asia next year to support an aggressive rollout of new vehicles.Joe Hinrichs, Ford’s president of the Americas, said the company plans to hire 5,000 workers in the U.S. and 6,000 workers in Asia. Many of those hires will work at two new plants that are opening in China. This will be the most people Ford has hired in one year since 2000.2014 also will be Ford’s busiest product year in its 111-year history, with 23 new vehicles introduced worldwide, 16 of which will be sold in the U.S.