US retail sales surge in May

US retail sales surged a record 17.7 percent increase in May, the Commerce Department said Tuesday, the biggest monthly increase dating back to 1992, though total spending remained below levels before coronavirus.

The reopening of stores and restaurants after lockdowns in virtually every state, along with federal stimulus checks and tax refunds, fed the record increase.

Economists surveyed by The Wall Street Journal forecast that retail sales increased 7.7 percent in May from a month earlier.

Retail sales totaled $486 billion in May and the increase followed three straight months of declining retail sales.

Total sales, which include purchases in stores and online as well as money spent at bars and restaurants, rose 17.7 percent in May from the previous month, the Commerce Department said. That followed a 14.7 percent drop in April, the largest monthly decline in nearly three decades of record-keeping, and an 8.3 percent decline in March.

The report showed that apparel and furniture sales posted strong gains last month, with sales at clothing stores rising 188 percent from the prior month and furniture sales jumping 89.7 percent. Online sales continued to gain.

``We still have so far to go," André Kurmann, associate professor of economics at Drexel University told The Wall Street Journal. ``We are still so far below the prepandemic employment levels. ``Stores can reopen to some extent, but how many people are going to come back is the big question," he added.