Retail sales continue to grow at a very slow pace
Posted By:
Tom Sanderson
Date Posted:
Monday, January 02, 2012
8:29 AM
Seasonally adjusted real retail sales increased in November to $176.1 billion. (Note that actual sales are deflated using CPI 1982-84=100.) Year-over-year growth was 3.2%, the ninth month in a row under 5%. From peak (Sep '07) to current, retail sales are off 2.3%, a much smaller percentage decline than what has occurred in the housing and auto markets. November sales were 12.6% higher than the trough (Mar '09) of the recent recession. Real retail sales have only recovered to the levels of 2005, which is not much of a recovery. The vertical bars in the graph represent recessions.
