Retail Sales Rose 3% in January

Washington, DC, February 15, 2023-Advance estimates of U.S. retail and food services sales for January 2023 were $697.0 billion, up 3.0% from the previous month and up 6.4% above January 2022, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

Total sales for the November 2022 through January 2023 period were up 6.1% from the same period a year ago. The November 2022 to December 2022 percent change was unrevised at down 1.1%.

Retail trade sales were up 2.3% from December 2022 and up 3.9% above last year. Food services and drinking places were up 25.2% from January 2022, while general merchandise stores were up 4.5% from last year.

“U.S. retail sales rose 3% in January, sharply rebounding as job growth accelerated and inflation cooled slightly at the start of the year,” reports the Wall Street Journal.

“Inflation, rising borrowing costs and uncertainty about the economy caused households to pull back on spending late last year. But the unexpectedly strong jobs report in January and still solid wage gains bode well for more recent consumer spending, economists said. Some of them think economic growth could be picking up.

“Employers added more than half a million jobs in January and the unemployment rate reached a 53-year low, the Labor Department said earlier this month.”