Retail Industry Lost 38,100 Jobs In October

New York City The U.S. retail industry lost 38,100 jobs in October as retailers shuttered stores and scaled back sales help to respond to a dramatic drop in spending amid a worsening financial crisis, the Associated Press reported. The loss is the 11th consecutive month of retail job reductions.

Overall, the nation's unemployment rate soared to a 14-year high of 6.5% in October as another 240,000 jobs were cut, according to data released by the Labor Department on Thursday. The loss was far worse than economists expected.