Budgets/Spending/Market Size

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).

Los Angeles -- Supermarket retailer Arden Group reported Wednesday that the company earned $3.5 million in the quarter ended Oct. 2, compared with net income of $4.7 million in the year-ago period.

The parent of Southern California supermarket chain Gelson's Markets cited economic conditions and competition for the profit decline.

Revenue decreased 3% to $100.3 million. Same-store sales fell 3.3%.
 

Washington, D.C. -- A report released Wednesday by the Labor Department said that applications for jobless benefits declined by 24,000 to 435,000 in the week ended Nov. 6, the lowest level in four months.

The total number of people collecting unemployment insurance fell to the lowest level since November 2008, and those receiving extended payments also declined.

The four-week moving average, a less volatile measure than the weekly figures, dropped to 446,500 last week, the lowest since September 13, 2008, from 456,500, the report showed.