Singapore Oct retail sales fall as recession bites

The Associated Press SINGAPORE – Singapore’s retail sales fell in October, more evidence the city-state’s economy likely contracted for a third straight quarter as dwindling consumer demand adds to drops in manufacturing and exports. Retail sales fell a seasonally adjusted 2.1 percent in October from the previous month and decreased 3.6 percent from the same month a year earlier, the statistics department said in a statement Monday. Earlier on Monday, the manpower ministry said the unemployment rate was steady in the third quarter at 2.2 percent, but the economy added just 55,700 jobs, less than in the previous quarter and the third quarter last year. “The labor market is starting to soften…

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