Press Release

Secretary Gutierrez Welcomes May Retail Sales

WASHINGTON—Commerce Secretary Carlos M. Gutierrez today released the following statement on May Retail and Food Sales, which showed that retail sales increased 1.0 percent in May, the largest one month increase since last November. Furthermore, after upward revisions to the March and April estimates, sales for the three-month period ending in May 2008 were up 2.6 percent from the same period a year ago.

“Today’s retail sales release is welcome news.The bipartisan economic growth package proposed by the President is starting to kick in and today we are seeing some positive signs of its impact on the U.S. economy. The Treasury Department has acted quickly to distribute stimulus checks to American consumers—approximately half of the payments have been sent out so far—with more to come in the weeks ahead. Putting cash in the hands of about 130 million American households allows consumers to spend their money as they see fit.”