8:30a Retail Sales Retail Sales - M/M change 1.2%
Post# of 123723
Retail Sales - M/M change 1.2% actual vs 8.4% (rev) prior
Retail Sales less autos - M/M change 1.9% actual vs 8.3% (rev) prior
Less Autos & Gas - M/M Change 1.5% actual vs 7.7% (rev) prior
Consensus Outlook
Retail sales fully recovered their pre-virus levels in June. For July, forecasters see sales extending their strong recovery pace, up a monthly 2.0 percent with ex-auto ex-gas seen up 0.9 percent.
Definition
Retail sales measure the total receipts at stores that sell merchandise and related services to final consumers. Sales are by retail and food services stores. Data are collected from the Monthly Retail Trade Survey conducted by the U.S. Bureau of the Census. Essentially, retail sales cover the durables and nondurables portions of consumer spending. Consumer spending typically accounts for about two-thirds of GDP and is therefore a key element in economic growth. Of special attention is the control group; this is an input into the consumer spending component of GDP and excludes food services, autos, gasoline and building materials.
8:30a Productivity and Costs
Nonfarm productivity - Q/Q change - SAAR 7.3% actual vs -0.9% prior
Unit labor costs - Q/Q change - SAAR 12.2% actual vs 5.1% prior
Consensus Outlook
Forecasters are looking for a 1.0 percent increase in second-quarter nonfarm productivity though the range is wide and includes forecasts for deep contraction as well. Unit labor are forecast to increase at a 5.7 percent pace to exceed the first quarter's jump of 5.1 percent, with a similarly wide range of forecasts.
Definition
Productivity measures the growth of labor efficiency in producing the economy's goods and services. Unit labor costs reflect the labor costs of producing each unit of output. Both are followed as indicators of future inflationary trends.