Retail Sales Fell at Sharpest Rate Since September 2009

In last week’s economic news, US job openings reached a record high at 7.3 million, marking 1.2 jobs available for every unemployed person. However, despite the record-breaking job market, the week’s most notable news was a relatively steep decline in retail sales during the month of December. US retail sales dropped 1.2% during the month, or the greatest percent decline in more than nine years.

• According to the U.S. Job Openings and Labor Turnover Survey, job openings surged to a record high in December 2018 to 7.3 million, the highest since the series started in 2000. On the back of 169,000 new job openings, the job openings rate climbed from 4.6% in November to 4.7%, underscoring the labor market strength during the 9.5-year economic expansion. Once again, hiring lagged behind job openings during the month, rising to 5.9 million. In fact, there are 1.2 job openings for every unemployed person in the month.

• U.S. retail sales fell at their fastest one-month rate in more than nine years in December, according to the Commerce Department. Retail sales fell 1.2% during the month to $506 billion, the largest decline since September 2009 and suggested a sharp slowdown in economic activity at the end of 2018. Also, growth in November retail sales were marked down to 0.1% from the previously announced rate of 0.2%.

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• The U.S. Producer Price Index, reported by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, fell 0.1% in January, matching December’s 0.1% decline. Much of the decline in prices can be attributed to the recent drop in energy prices, which fell 3.8% last month. In fact, the Core Producer Price Index, PPI excluding energy and food, rose 0.2% in December. Over the last twelve months, the overall PPI increased 2.0%.