Consumer spending beat April forecast
The Commerce Department's monthly retail report shows consumer spending dropped last month, but not as much as predicted. Dan Grech looks into why and what the numbers say about the overall economy.
Shoppers walking by stores (iStockphoto)
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Renita Jablonski: Overall retail figures out this morning from the Commerce Department suggest consumer spending is more resilient than many analysts anticipated. Marketplace's Dan Grech explains.
Dan Grech: Auto sales were off nearly 3 percent in April. Excluding that, retail sales were actually up half a percent last month, well above most predictions. Joe Skorupa edits RIS News, a retail industry publication. He says the economic slowdown so far has hit Wall Street far harder than Main Street.
Joe Skorupa: The perfect storm for retail sluggishness can really be seen in layoffs. Until we see unemployment spiking up 3 and 4 percent, I don't expect to see a consumer spending dip until that happens.
This month, the Bush administration started sending out checks as part of its economic stimulus package. That's $100 billion that retailers are hoping will juice sales in May.
I'm Dan Grech for Marketplace.
