U.S. Retail Sales Lift, Foodservice Sales Flatten as Delta Variant Hampers Economic Recovery

The U.S. economy is showing signs of rebounding, albeit a slow and uneven recovery. 

U.S. retail sales grew by 0.7% in August, according to a Commerce Department report released Thursday. That number is dulled by a major decline in car sales, which, the Wall Street Journal points out, can be attributed in part to ongoing chip shortages and shipping problems. Excluding car sales, retail sales experienced a 1.8% spike in August.

That news is heartening after a July that saw decreased sales across sectors, sparking fears that the COVID-19 Delta variant was beginning to erase the economic gains made since last year’s near-collapse. But the sales lift was not ubiquitous, with foodservice sales remaining flat.

The discrepancy in gains made by retail and foodservice suggests that the Delta variant is indeed a factor in the speed and strength of the U.S.’s economic recovery. While renewed social distancing and mask restrictions have hampered the revival of the foodservice industry, “broader forces are uplifting the retail sector and economic recovery: a historically high level of savings, strong job growth and rising wages,” writes economic reporter Josh Mitchell in the Wall Street Journal.

Or, in the words of Ian Shepherdson, chief economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, quoted in the same article, “This report suggests Delta fears aren’t stopping people spending some of their abundant cash resources on goods, even as they retreat from services.”

According to the Labor Department, jobless claims grew from 20,000 to 332,000 in August, perhaps a result of layoffs caused by Hurricane Ida.

Read more at wsj.com.