Sales of U.S. previously owned homes slumped more than forecast in July and the number of unsold houses swelled, evidence the market is depressed by foreclosures and limited job growth. Purchases of existing homes plunged 27.2 percent to a 3.83 million annual rate, figures from the National Asso...

Job growth continued at a subdued pace in July, the Labor Department said Friday. Private nonfarm payrolls expanded by 71,000 in July lower than the 100,000 gain expected by economists surveyed by MarketWatch. The unemployment rate remained unchanged at 9.5%. Economists forecast the unemployment...

Consumer confidence sank in July to its lowest since February on job market worries, underscoring the slow path to economic recovery, and home prices rose in May but without signs of a sustained rebound, reports released on Tuesday showed. The Conference Board, an industry group, said consumer at...

Consumer confidence fell in July on concerns about jobs and business conditions, following a sharp decline in June, the Conference Board reported Tuesday. July's consumer confidence index fell to 50.4 - the lowest level since February -- from an upwardly revised 54.3 in June. "Concerns about...

Total job growth dropped in June for the first time this year due as a quarter million temporary census workers were laid off, the Labor Department said Friday. Private sector payrolls expanded by a modest 83,000 in June lower than the 115,000 gain expected by economists surveyed by MarketWatch. The...

U.S. consumers are increasingly worried about jobs and the economy, the Conference Board said Tuesday, as it reported that its consumer confidence index plummeted to 52.9 in June - the lowest level since March -- from a downwardly revised 62.7 in May. "Increasing uncertainty and apprehension about...

Consumer spending in the U.S. rose in May more than forecast, a sign households are gaining confidence in the recovery and the job market. Purchases rose 0.2 percent after little change the prior month, Commerce Department figures showed today. Incomes climbed 0.4 and the savings rate increased ...

Japan's consumer confidence index posted its third consecutive monthly gain, rising to 40.9 in March from 39.8 in February as fears of job and wage cuts continued to ease and more people were still willing to buy durable goods, the Cabinet Office said Monday. The headline index hit the highest l...

Japan's jobless rate edged down in December and the availability of jobs improved for the fourth month in a row. The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate fell to 5.1 percent from 5.2 percent in November, government figures showed on Friday. That was better than median market forecast of 5.3 perc...

German unemployment rose for the first time in seven months as a weakening economic recovery and the coldest January in 23 years hurt the job market. The number of people out of work climbed a seasonally adjusted 6,000 to 3.43 million, the first increase since June, the Nuremberg-based Federal L...