Retail Sales Fell 1.1% in November, Biggest Drop in 7 Months

NEW YORK — Americans held back on spending during the start of the holiday shopping season, a troubling sign for retailers and the state of the U.S. economy. U.S. retail sales fell a seasonally adjusted 1.1% in November, according to the U.S. Commerce Depar...

Picture of US Economy Is Worrisome as Virus Inflicts Damage

WASHINGTON — Gripped by the accelerating viral outbreak, the U.S. economy is under pressure from persistent layoffs, diminished income and nervous consumers, whose spending is needed to drive a recovery from the pandemic. A flurry of data released Wednesday...

Dow Returns to Record, S&P 500 Adds to Gains on Vaccine Hopes

NEW YORK — The Dow Jones Industrial Average returned to a record Monday for the first time since plunging nine months ago in despair about the pandemic, riding a swell of optimism that a vaccine may soon control the coronavirus and the economic destruction it’...

709,000 Seek US Jobless Aid as Pandemic Escalates

WASHINGTON — The number of people seeking U.S. unemployment benefits fell last week to 709,000, a still-high level but the lowest figure since March and a further sign that the job market might be slowly healin...

Unemployment Drops to 6.9% and Us Adds a Solid 638,000 Jobs

WASHINGTON — The U.S. job market showed a burst of strength in October, with employers adding 638,000 jobs and the unemployment rate tumbling to 6.9%. Still, the pace of hiring isn’t enough to rapidly soak up the millions of Americans who were thrown out of wo...