Washington ? The United States was struggling with a “sluggish” economy during the past two months with weak retail sales, tough times in manufacturing and a lackluster job market, the Federal Reserve reported Wednesday.

The Fed, releasing the findings of surveys done by its 12 regional banks, found an economy performing at sub-par levels as the country continues to struggle to mount a sustainable rebound from last year’s recession.

The Fed’s new survey clearly left the door open to further cuts in interest rates when Fed policy-makers meet Nov. 6.

The Fed has left a key interest rate at a 40-year low of 1.75 percent since an 11th rate cut last December, when the Fed was aggressively lowering borrowing costs in an effort to combat the first recession in a decade.

In its latest survey, known as the “Beige Book” for the color of its cover, the Fed said, “Most districts reported that economic activity remained sluggish in September and early October.”

The survey found that retail sales were weak in many districts with auto sales cooling off after a surge earlier this year triggered by attractive financing deals that automakers have been able to offer because the Fed has kept interest rates at such low levels.

The Chicago, Dallas, Kansas City and San Francisco districts all reported that retail sales had slowed in the past two months.

The Fed survey found that manufacturing, which has been the hardest hit sector of the economy for more than two years, continued to face tough times with various districts using such words as “tough,” “stagnant” and “sluggish” to describe manufacturing conditions.

Richmond, Va., reported that shipments, new orders, factory operating rates and manufacturing employment declined during the survey period while Dallas and Chicago reported weak demand.

Overall, the Fed survey found that the job market remained “lackluster, with only a few reports of increased hiring.”