If this continues, jobs will follow:
Retail sales in the U.S. continued to rise in July as consumers purchased more cars, garden supplies and clothing.
Meanwhile, prices of imported goods rose for a second month in a row as prices of food, feeds and beverages surged.
Retail sales rose by 1.4% last month, the Commerce Department said Wednesday, following upward revisions to both June and May data.
July sales were boosted by a 3.2% gain in automobile sales. Without autos, overall retail sales would have risen by 0.8%. Excluding gasoline and auto sales, retail sales would have risen by 0.7%, a figure economists say is a better gauge of consumer spending.
The report was stronger than analysts expected. A Dow Jones-CNBC survey of 20 economists predicted that overall sales would rise by 1% for the month and by 0.6% if auto sales were excluded.
Source: Smartmoney.com: Breaking News: Retail Sales Surged in July
Posted by Steven Taylor at August 13, 2024 01:50 PM | TrackBackYea! More jobs kiddies! Get your applications into Wal-Mart right now. The economy doesn't turn around until the real jobs return. We cannot exist for long selling t-shirts and hamburgers to each other. The fat cats don't care where the stuff is made, as long as they get their share of the profits, and sure, the cheap priced imported goods are good for the two working partent consumer family who barely earn enough for the mortgage as it is. Nope, the system is broke and there ain't no way to fix it. The only real roads to opportunity in the US anymore seem to be in pro sports or Hollywood.
Posted by: Tiger at August 13, 2024 02:42 PMFeeling bitter today, Tig? :)
Posted by: Steven at August 13, 2024 02:43 PMTiger:
You've got to permit Steven to post his stories about how wonderful the economy is. Note how you'll never see Akerlof on this site--at least not until Akerlof starts to see the benefits of high unemployment and lower wages.
I smell desperation from Steven. Bush may have to start another war if the economy keeps getting 'better.'
Posted by: JadeGold at August 13, 2024 03:06 PM