Retail sector leads dip in jobs

In July, Maryland's retail sector was faring well and had even added a few jobs during the previous 12 months.

Then came August — a disastrous month, leading to retailers cutting 3,000 positions, according to federal and state labor figures released this week. That sector's decline was the largest as the state lost about 6,000 jobs last month, the most since February.

"It's been a tough summer," said Patrick Donoho, president of the Maryland Retailers Association in Annapolis. "June was good [for retail sales]. July really stunk. August was a fairly good month [for sales]."