California Business Minute™

Hi, I am Tim Johnson and welcome to the California Business Minute.

The advance estimates of U.S. retail and food services sales for February, adjusted for
seasonal variation and holiday and trading-day differences, but not for price changes,
were $346.8 billion, a decrease of 0.1 percent (±0.5%)* from the previous month
(revised number upward of $347 billion) and 8.6 percent (±0.7%) below February 2008.

However, although retail sales edged down in February for the seventh time in past eight
months, the decline was less than economists expected. In fact, as identified above, retail
sales fell only 0.1% in February, and excluding auto sales and parts would have climbed
 0.7%. Increases in an array of businesses from furniture to clothing and electronics suggest
consumer resilience to a recession that has been fraught with unemployment. Additionally
sales in January were revised up sharply, surging 1.8% instead of rising by 1.0% as originally
reported.

Sales last month climbed 2.8% at clothing stores; 1.2% at electronic stores; 1.3% at general
merchandise stores; 0.3% at mail order and Internet retailers; 0.6% at health and personal care
stores; 0.7% at furniture retailers; and 0.2% at sporting goods, hobby, book and music stores.
Sales fell 0.2% at eating and drinking places; 0.7% at food and beverage stores; and 0.2% at
building material and garden supplies dealers.

I am Tim Johnson and this has been the California Business Minute.