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Meanwhile, a report on home prices released Tuesday and a downbeat earnings report from homebuilder D.R. Horton, showed further deterioration in the housing market, another sign that doesn't bode well for consumer spending. The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price Index said that home prices tumbled a record 16.6 percent during the third quarter from the same period a year ago. Prices are at levels not seen since the first quarter of 2004. Fort Worth, Tex.-based D.R. Horton Inc. reported a nearly $800 million loss in its fiscal fourth quarter on slower home sales and more than $1 billion in charges amid a battered housing market. Job security, however, is a top worry among shoppers. The Labor Department reported last month that unemployment in October soared to a 14-year high of 6.5 percent, as American employers shed 240,000 jobs. Economist expect the employment market to further deteriorate when the government reports November figures on Dec. 5. According to Thomson Reuters, the unemployment rate is expected to rise to 6.7 percent in November, with companies expected to cut another 268,000 jobs. The Conference Board results -- derived from responses received through Nov. 18 of a representative sample of 5,000 U.S. households
-- showed that consumers' assessment of the labor market was more negative than a month ago. Those saying jobs are "hard to get" rose to 37.2 percent from 36.6 percent in October, while those claiming jobs are "plentiful" decreased to 8.8 percent from 9 percent.
[Associated
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