Economics and Statistics Administration

WASHINGTON – The Commerce Department’s U.S. Census Bureau today released retail sales data for December and full year 2011. The data reflects strong growth last year, compared to 2010, increasing 7.7 percent.  Excluding automobiles, full year 2011 retail sales grew 7.3 percent.

In the month of December 2011, retail sales increased 0.1 percent from November and 6.5 percent from December 2010.  Excluding autos, December 2011 sales declined 0.2 percent from November but grew 6.0 percent from December 2010.

Department also launches interactive report at www.commerce.gov/competes to highlight study’s findings and work already underway

WASHINGTON – The U.S Department of Commerce today delivered to Congress a comprehensive report on “The Competitiveness and Innovative Capacity of the United States.”  The report serves as a call to arms, highlighting bipartisan priorities to sustain and promote American innovation and economic competitiveness. 

 The report makes three important findings:

WASHINGTON – The Commerce Department's U.S. Census Bureau today released data on new residential construction in November 2011.  Permits for new housing units rose 5.7 percent in November, well-above private-sector expectations of a 1.7 percent decline.  Housing starts soared to their highest level since April 2010, increasing 9.3 percent from October to November and 24.3 percent from November 2010. Private-sector analysts had expected an 0.3 percent rise. 

Today's news was driven in large part by a significant upturn in multi-family housing starts - an increase of 25.3 percent from October to November 2011.  The three-month average of multi-family starts is also up.

WASHINGTON – U.S. Secretary of Commerce John E. Bryson issued the following statement today on the release of the October 2011 U.S. International Trade in Goods and Services report by the Commerce Department’s U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.  Today’s report showed that U.S. exports of goods and services in October 2011 decreased 0.8 percent from September 2011 to $179.2 billion, with this month’s exports of capital goods ($42.3 billion) the highest on record. U.S. imports of goods and services also decreased by 1.0 percent to reach $222.6 billion, causing the U.S. trade deficit to improve by 1.6 percent to reach $43.5 billion in October 2011, the lowest monthly deficit level in 2011.

Washington, DC. The U.S. Commerce Department’s Bureau of Economic Analysis today released data on personal income and outlays for October 2011. Personal income rose 0.4 percent in October, exceeding private-sector forecasts of a 0.3 percent increase. Wages and salaries, the largest part of income, rose 0.5 percent. Real consumer spending edged up 0.1 percent, compared to expectations of a 0.3 percent rise. This followed a pickup of 0.5 percent in September, however.