WASHINGTON–Consumers boosted their spending in November as the holiday shopping season began, the government said Monday, drawing from rising incomes to add their buying power to a slow expansion.
Spending climbed by 0.5 percent, to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of $7.413 trillion, the Commerce Department said. The increase, the biggest since July, followed a 0.4 percent rise in October.
Americans’ incomes, including wages, interest and government benefits, climbed 0.3 percent in November, increasing for the fourth month in a row.
The gain in personal incomes topped Wall Street economists’ forecasts for a 0.2 percent rise, but the spending increase was in line with expectations.
“November’s consumer spending results were boosted by people getting a jump on their holiday shopping,” said Carl Tannenbaum, chief economist at LaSalle Bank.
