Posted on 12/04/2009 4:32:42 PM PST by Diana in Wisconsin
New York, NY (AHN) - Retail continues to lag behind other sectors of the American economy, with government and private reports indicating mixed results for November.
Department stores added 8,000 jobs over the month, the Labor Department reported Friday, while jobs in the shopping center industry fell by 14,000, a trade industry group said Thursday.
The International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) said a survey of 32 retail chain stores found that November sales dipped 0.3 percent from November 2008. Sales had been up the previous two months.
Department stores had the most disappointing results, dropping 4.5 percent from a year ago. Sales at discount stores rose 0.6 percent.
Specialty stores such as Neiman Marcus reported sales were down 12.7 percent.
Retailers blamed the sales slump, in part, on unusually warm weather, which they said forestalled purchases of winter clothing.
In a separate report, ICSC said its executive business barometer rose to 46.4 percent, a 6.5-point increase from October. That's the biggest jump since March for the gauge, which forecasts business performance for the next six months.
That’s because I haven’t been Christmas shopping yet.
That’s the spirit! :)
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