U.S. Retailers Add Most Jobs in 8 Months as Consumers Spend

U.S. retailers added 46,800 workers in July, the most in eight months, as consumers become more comfortable spending money, marking a bright spot in a jobs report that indicated uneven progress in the labor market.

Companies that have been hiring range from luxury retailers such as Nordstrom Inc. and Saks Inc., which are expanding their outlet chains, to Dollar General Corp. and Tractor Supply Co., which supply items their customers have to buy. General merchandise stores added 9,100 jobs last month, and building-material and garden-supply stores added 5,700, Labor Department data showed today in Washington.