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Article: Job worries keeping consumers at home: ; Unemployment likely to reach 9.7%, analysts say
- Article from:
- Charleston Gazette
- Article date:
- July 29, 2009
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright 2009 Charleston Gazette. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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NEW YORK - Americans are looking past the stock market surge and
signs of a stabilizing economy and focusing on something more
personal - job worries.
Consumer confidence fell this month, the Conference Board said
Tuesday, presenting a big obstacle for already hammered stores as
they head into the critical back-to-school shopping season.
Vanishing job security and reduced work hours continue to plague
shoppers, who are relying more on their paychecks as two previous
sources of money - credit cards and home equity loans - have shrunk.
When the Labor Department releases its monthly jobs report next
week, economists expect it to show unemployment climbed to 9.7
percent in July, up from 9.5 ...