Chicago ? The housing market and stocks may be looking up, but Americans just can’t shake their job worries.

In a sign that talk of an economic recovery has yet to soothe a recession-battered nation, consumer confidence fell in October and came in well below what analysts were expecting.

For stores, the reading is reason to worry that holiday sales might be even worse than they feared.

In a separate reading, the Conference Board reported shoppers’ sentiments about the state of the economy are the gloomiest in nearly three decades. Americans reported they plan to cut back on spending, in large part because they don’t trust the job market.