The latest economic numbers show a rise in personal spending and a drop in jobless claims but also a drop in job creation.

"We're at the lowest number of jobs being created in the last 10 months," San Jose State University business Professor Caroline Chen said.

Chen said that does not bode well for future shopping habits.

"You continue to have spending where people feel somewhat positive about their spending, however, on the flipside, we don't know necessarily whether those particular people are putting themselves more into debt," she said.

The latest unemployment numbers show California at 5.5%, highest among the 50 states. The Bay Area is about a point lower than that.

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