Last Friday’s (May 4) monthly nonfarm payrolls report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), despite showing continued job growth and a slight dip in the unemployment rate, provided plenty of fresh evidence of an anemic U.S. labor market and economy.

The signs are starting to appear everywhere: the U.S. economy is slowing again.

This morning, the U.S. Commerce Department reported that real gross domestic product (GDP) — or the inflation-adjusted total value of all goods and services the nation produces — grew just 2.2 percent in the first quarter of this year. That’s a substantial slowdown from the 3 percent pace of GDP growth in the fourth quarter of 2011. The latest GDP number also fell short of the 2.5 percent rise economists had largely been expecting.

The field has narrowed to five in the annual Creative Core Emerging Business Competition.

CenterState CEO announced finalists for the contest’s $200,000 grand prize Wednesday. The winner will be announced April 4 at the CenterState CEO annual meeting.