WASHINGTON — Specialty retailers added jobs in September while department stores eliminated positions, the Labor Department said Friday.
Specialty retailers added 2,500 jobs to employ 1.39 million in September. Department stores eliminated 2,100 positions to employ 1.49 million. General merchandise stores, which include department stores, added 1,300 positions to employ 2.95 million.
In the broader economy employers cut 95,000 jobs in September, driven in part by the elimination of a significant number of temporary census jobs. Unemployment remained unchanged at 9.6 percent.
Deeper in the pipeline, textile mills making apparel fabric cut 500 jobs to employ 121,900. Textile product mills, which make mostly home furnishing and industrial fabric, added 200 jobs to employ 122,200. Apparel manufacturers eliminated 900 workers to employ 163,100.