Finance & Capital Management

Purchase, N.Y. -- A report release Thursday by MasterCard Advisors said that in October total retail sales, ex-auto, grew by 3.3% year-over-year, the strongest year-to-year pace since April.

Similarly, according to MasterCard Advisors’ SpendingPulse, a macro-economic report tracking national retail and service sales, seasonally adjusted month-to-month sales were up by 3.1%. Excluding both auto and gasoline, on a seasonally unadjusted basis, year-over-year sales in October grew by 2.7%, slightly more than double September’s 1.3% increase.

Chelmsford, Mass. -- A report released by workforce management solution-provider Kronos found that holiday hiring levels are lagging behind 2009 numbers.

According to the Kronos Retail Labor Index, which analyzes demand and supply sides of the labor market within the U.S. retail sector, the index decreased in October to 3%, down 16% from the September 2010 level of 3.6%. (A level of 3% means that for every 100 applications received, three hirings occurred).