Retail Sales Up Sharply For Month: New Figures Contradict Earlier Estimates
TIip government reported yesterday unusually sharp Increases in retail sales across the nation, both last month and in October ÛÓ prompting economists to question earlier assertions that consumer spending is tapering otf.</br></br>Commerce Department figures showed retail sales up a steep 2 percent m November to a seasonally adjusted $68,58 billion ÛÓ up from a revised 1.3 percent Jump in October that had been reported earlier as a 0.5 percent drop.</br></br>The lobust performance, combined with a record growth in the number of new jobs reported for November, buoyed key administration economists, who have been glumly lowering their forecasts for 1979.</br></br>One key official said that in light of the recent figures, White House economist1, were going back to their drawing boards. Private analysts have been forecasting a mild recession for 1979.</br></br>Particularly encouraging in yesterdayÛªs report was the disclosure that soles of durable goodsÛÓbig-ticket items such as autos and refrigerators ÛÓclimbed 1.6 percent in November following a 2.3 percent rise the previous month.