Mayor Hancock of Denver :: Pass the American Jobs Act

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Thought The Economy Was Tanking? Not So Fast

A few weeks ago, dismal economic reports seemed to be pointing to one conclusion: The economy was slipping into another recession. Investors fled the stock market, pundits predicted doom and political leaders pointed fingers, trying to fix blame for a faltering economy.

Now, new data suggest the outlook may be somewhat better than many had thought. On Friday, the Labor Department said that last month, employers added 103,000 jobs. The department also revised the July and August numbers upward and noted that the workweek grew a bit longer. The unemployment rate was unchanged at 9.1 percent.

"It is encouraging that despite the shocks in August and September from the debt-ceiling crisis and the eurozone sovereign-debt crisis, job creation is still in positive territory," Nigel Gault, chief U.S. economist for IHS Global Insight, said in a written assessment. "We're not now in recession."

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Retail sales jump 5.1%, better than expected

Despite an otherwise sluggish economic outlook, major chain stores posted a better-than-expected 5.1% year-over-year rise, according to Thomson Reuters' tally of 23 large retailers released Thursday.  Sales rose 8.6% at discounters, 3.7% at department stores, 2.9% at apparel sellers and 6.2% at teen apparel chains in September, compared with a year earlier.

All told, 60% of chains beat expectations in September. Sales rose 8.6% at discounters, 3.7% at department stores, 2.9% at apparel sellers and 6.2% at teen apparel chains; all of those sectors performed better than expected.

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