WASHINGTON — Sales at U.S. retailers and restaurants increased modestly in September as resilient consumers moderated their spending after splurging over the summer.
Sales rose 0.2% in September from the previous month, the Commerce Department said Tuesday, in a report delayed more than a month because of the government shutdown. Sales jumped 0.6% in July and August and 1% in June. Numerous reports on inflation, employment, spending, and growth remain delayed and the government won’t likely be caught up until late December.
The retail sales figures suggest that Americans pulled back a bit in September as many households are still struggling with high prices for groceries, rent, and many imported goods hit by tariffs. Still, the modest increase in spending may lift the economy’s growth to a solid 3% or higher annual rate in the July-September quarter, economists forecast, after a sluggish 1.6% expansion in the first half of the year.
At the same time, hiring has been weak and the unemployment rate has ticked higher, which could drag down consumer spendin g and the broader economy if it worsens. Unemployment rose to 4.4% in September, the highest in nearly four years, from 4.3%, according to the delayed monthly jobs report released last week.
Higher-income consumers are driving much of the gains, according to data from Bank of America and reports from retailers such as Walmart, as l ower-income shoppers seek bargains