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Wal-Mart Exec: Spending 'Not Getting Any Better'

Employers may be hiring, but the job market's recovery is not giving consumers enough confidence to increase spending, a top Wal-Mart exec said.
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/ Source: Reuters

U.S. employers may be hiring again, but the job market's recovery is not giving ordinary consumers enough confidence to increase their spending, a top Wal-Mart executive said Monday. In an interview with Reuters at the retailer’s headquarters, Bill Simon, the president and chief executive officer of Wal-Mart U.S., said, “It's really hard to see in our business today … that it's gotten any better.” He added: “We’ve reached a point where it’s not getting any better but it’s not getting any worse — at least for the middle (class) and down." Last week, the U.S. Labor Department reported that employment growth jumped in June, and the jobless rate closed in on a six-year low. The news, which was seen as proof the economy was finally growing briskly after years of a lackluster recovery, helped send the Dow Jones Industrial Average above 17,000 for the first time ever.

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-Reuters