Despite inflation and supply chain issues, the economy is showing signs of bouncing back to normal from the two-year malaise of the pandemic.
According to the most recent Advance Estimates of U.S. Retail and Food Services issued by the U.S. Department of Commerce, retail and food services sales increased by 0.9 percent in April from March, but were up 8.2 percent over April 2021.
The biggest gains came in the areas most affected by lockdowns and the general wariness caused by covid. The generic retail stores’ category grew 4 percent in April over March and has increased by 18.6 percent from a year ago. Non-store sales showed a growth of 2.1 percent since March and 12.7 from April 2021. Food and drinking establishments increased 2 percent from March and 19.8 percent from a year ago.
Even with gas prices higher, gas stations are seeing a lot more cars than a year ago. Although the stations saw a drop of 2.7 percent in the past month, they are still up a whopping 36.9 percent over April 2021.
But not everyone is experiencing rosy numbers.
Motor vehicles and parts sales are down 1.7 percent from this time a year ago, although they are showing signs of reversing that trend – they increased by 2.2 percent from March. Electronics and appliance sales decreased 5.2 percent from April 2021 and sporting goods, hobbies, and bookstores show a 5.4 percent decrease from a year ago.
Several other areas that have shown overall growth from a year ago have been trending downward over the past few months. Those areas include grocery stores, building materials stores, and furniture and home stores.
The Federal Reserve, which has already bumped up its interest rate by 0.75 percent this year is expected to increase it by another 0.75 to 1 percent by the end of summer, which will likely further impact sales of big-ticket items.
