Updated: 14th August 2009, 0030 hrs
US retail sales down, unemployment up in double whammy of bad news
Americans shopped less in July and more of them signed up for jobless benefits last week in a double dose of bad news for the US economy.
A US Commerce Department report showed that total retail sales edged down 0.1 percent after increasing 0.8 percent in June.
Excluding motor vehicles and parts, sales fell 0.6 percent in July after rising 0.5 percent from the previous month.
Analysts had expected a boost to retail sales from the government's "cash for clunkers" programme and had predicted a 0.7 percent advance in sales.
But it seems the programme -- which gives consumers discounts to swap old cars for newer and more fuel efficient models -- had pulled spending away from other sectors.
Separately, a Labor Department report revealed that first-time applications for state unemployment insurance benefits rose by 4,000 last week.
That brought the total to a seasonally adjusted figure of 558 thousand.
Both sets of data were indications that the US economy faced a slow and difficult recovery from the worst recession in more than 60 years.
The data also comes just a day after the Federal Reserve said it saw a leveling out of the slump.
US retail sales down, unemployment up in double whammy of bad news
Americans shopped less in July and more of them signed up for jobless benefits last week in a double dose of bad news for the US economy.
A US Commerce Department report showed that total retail sales edged down 0.1 percent after increasing 0.8 percent in June.
Excluding motor vehicles and parts, sales fell 0.6 percent in July after rising 0.5 percent from the previous month.
Analysts had expected a boost to retail sales from the government's "cash for clunkers" programme and had predicted a 0.7 percent advance in sales.
But it seems the programme -- which gives consumers discounts to swap old cars for newer and more fuel efficient models -- had pulled spending away from other sectors.
Separately, a Labor Department report revealed that first-time applications for state unemployment insurance benefits rose by 4,000 last week.
That brought the total to a seasonally adjusted figure of 558 thousand.
Both sets of data were indications that the US economy faced a slow and difficult recovery from the worst recession in more than 60 years.
The data also comes just a day after the Federal Reserve said it saw a leveling out of the slump.
