Retail sales were up 3.6 percent in April for same-store sales, and weekly jobless claims dropped by 18,000 last week, both surpassing expectations.
“I was surprised” by the retail sales growth “but I’m not necessarily convinced it changes the story line,” said Michael P. Niemira, chief economist and director of research for the International Council of Shopping Centers, which released its report based on sales data from 35 chain retailers. In March, sales dipped by 0.5 percent from March 2007.
Somediscounters exceeded expectations, with Wal-Mart posting a 3.2 percent sales increase over April 2007 and a 3.8 percent bump including fuel sales. High-end retailers such as Saks reported a 23.9 percent increase in same-store sales, well above the 1.1 percent analyst predictions.
In total, discount stores saw a 3 percent sales bump, department stores a 1 percent increase, luxury stores a 5 percent spike, and apparel stores witnessed a 1.4 percent sales decline, according to ICSC.
But the way Easter fell on the calendar this year also increased April’s sales, while depressing March’s. A March-April sales comparison shows a 1.6 percent sales gain over 2007.
On the employment front, jobless claims fell from 383,000 the week ending April 26 to 365,000 last week. Economists had only expected a drop in claims of around 5,000, instead of the 18,000.
The metro area is “doing better than the rest of the country” in terms of job growth, said John McClain, senior fellow and deputy director for George Mason University’s Center for Regional Analysis.
In March the Washington region gained 22,500 jobs since March 2007, compared with an 81,000-job loss nationwide. The country lost 20,000 jobs in April overall, while regional April numbers will be released late next week.
McClain predicts a net job gain for 2008 for the region, although not as great as the job increases between 50,000 to 70,000 each year from 2003 to 2006. “We’re not going to bounce right back after we recover from a slow growth time,” said McClain. It will be a “gradual recovery.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
